Anna Cifuentes Rius

After 10 years working in a cutting-edge research environment, Anna has evolved as a multidisciplinary scientist with a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary approach and strong entrepreneurial spirit.

As an NHMRC Early Career Fellow at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Anna is working in the design of three-dimensional nanoarchitectures of bioresponsive nanoparticles, containing drugs and bioactives for a range of therapeutic targets including cancer. Her interdisciplinary research is largely focused on the understanding of the biointerface of advanced bio and nano-materials for the application in the emerging field of theranostics. 

She completed her PhD in Bioengineering at IQS School of Engineering - Ramon Llull University (Barcelona, Spain), including a year stint at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US) and at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland (Australia). She is a chemist by training.

Anna's interdisciplinary research is largely focused on the understanding of the physiological and physicochemical principles that govern the interaction of biological systems with key nanoparticle-based formulations and smart biomaterials. Her interest in nanomedicine has a strong translational character at the interface of materials science, nanotechnology and cell biology.