Assoc Professor Vipul Bansal

Position

Associate Professor

School /
Work Unit

Applied Sciences

Contact Details

+(61 3) 9925 2121

vipul.bansal@rmit.edu.au

Location

Building: 3
Level: 2
Room: 13

City Campus

College/Portfolio

Science, Engineering & Health

Dr Vipul Bansal

Current research activities

  • Biological and biomimetic synthesis of functional nanomaterials
  • Ionic liquids mediated synthesis and self-assembly of functional nano(bio)materials
  • Galvanic replacement reactions for synthesis of functional nanomaterials
  • Structure-function relationship of nanomaterials and composites
  • Tailored synthesis of nanostructured surfaces and colloids for applications in:
    • Biological imaging (MRI, PET, CT and NIR imaging)
    • Controlled drug delivery (Polymer and protein nanocapsules)
    • Sensing (SERS and QCM sensors for chemical and biological species such as environmental pollutants, infectious diseases including malaria, and dairy, food and beverages)
    • Nano-genomic and nano-proteomic approaches to evaluate nanomaterial cytotoxicity
    • Antimicrobial applications of nanomaterials
    • Catalysis (Bio-catalysis and electrocatalysis)
    • Flexible electronics

Qualifications

  • Ph.D., Nano-biotechnology, National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune, India, (2007)
  • M.Sc. Res., Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, India, (2003)
  • B.Sc. Hons., Agricultural Sciences, Allahabad Agricultural Institute Deemed University (AAIDU), India, (2001)

Professional affiliations

  • Group Leader, RMIT NanoBiotechnology Research Laboratory (NBRL)
  • Associate Professor of Materials Chemistry and Nanobiotechnology at School of Applied Sciences, RMIT University, Australia
  • Steering Committee Member of the Nanotechnology Research Advisory Group of the Australian Technology Network (ATN) / International Strategic Technology Alliance (ISTA) i.e. ATN NanoNetwork
  • Honorary Fellow, Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The University of Melbourne
  • Core member, RMIT Platform Technology Research Institute (PTRI) and Health Innovation Research Institute (HIRI)

Professional experience

  • 2013–Present: Associate Professor, School of Applied Sciences, RMIT University, Australia
  • 2010–2012: Senior Lecture, School of Applied Sciences, RMIT University, Australia
  • 2008–2010: Lecturer, School of Applied Sciences, RMIT University, Australia
  • 2007: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The University of Melbourne, Australia
  • 2006–2007: ARC International Linkage Visiting Research Fellow, School of Applied Sciences, RMIT University, Australia

Research fellowships

  • 2009–2012: Australian Research Council (ARC) APD Fellowship (RMIT University, Australia)
  • 2006–2007: Australian Research Council (ARC) International Linkage Visiting Research Fellowship (RMIT University, Australia)
  • 2003–2006: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India, Research Fellowship (NCL, India)
  • 2001–2003: Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India Research Fellow (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India)
  • 1997–2001: Sahu Jain Trust Merit Fellowship (Allahabad Agricultural Institute Deemed University, India)

Honours / Awards

  • Scopus Young Researcher of the Year Finalist in Physical Sciences Category, 2011
  • John A Brodie Medal for best paper award in Chemeca, 2010
  • Emerging Researcher Award, School of Applied Sciences, RMIT, 2008
  • Keerthi Sangoram Best Research Scholar of the Year Award (India), 2006
  • Four best poster awards in international conferences, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010
  • University Gold Medal, 2001

Research supervision

  • Successful supervision of two PhD candidates:
    • Dr Rajesh Ramanathan, 2012, Towards understanding the influence of physico-chemical environment on biological synthesis of inorganic materials (PhD in Applied Biology and Biotechnology)
    • Dr Andrew Pearson, 2012, Advanced nanomaterials synthesis for catalysis applications (PhD in Applied Chemistry)
  • Supervised four Honours students (Andrew Pearson 2007, Vivian Li 2008, Daniel Torrez 2010, Thomas Clayton 2011) in the past
  • Currently involved in the supervision and co-supervision of 14 PhD and two Masters by Research students
  • Co-supervised 7 Undergraduate, Honours or Masters Candidates in various disciplines of Nanobiotechnology during PhD

Teaching commitments

  • Course Co-ordinator, Biological Chemistry (BIOL 2260)
  • Course Co-ordinator, Biological Chemistry, Open University Australia (SCB210)
  • Lecturer, Research Methods (ONPS 2412)
  • Lecturer, Nanotechnology Practice (ONPS 2156)
  • Lecturer, Nanotechnology Methodology (ONPS 2155)
  • Guest Lecturer, Protein Technologies (ONPS 1052)
  • Guest Lecturer, Gene Technologies (BIOL 2226)
  • Guest Lecturer, Introduction to Nanotechnology (ONPS 2149)

Editorial and peer-assessment

  • Academic Editor of PLoS ONE (Public Library of Science)
  • Editorial Advisory Board Member of Recent Patents on Nanomedicine (Bentham Science Publishers).
  • Editorial Advisory Board Member of Dataset Papers in Materials Science (Hindwai Publishers)
  • Reviewer of leading international journals from ACS, RSC, Wiley-VCH, Wiley Elsevier and Nature Publishing Groups
  • Grant assessor for National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australia, Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Canada, American Chemical Society (ACS) Petroleum Fund, and the Romanian Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovative Funding (UEFISCDI)

Current Postgraduate Students

  1. Vivian Li (Primary PhD supervisor)
  2. Ahmad E. Kandjani (Primary PhD supervisor)
  3. Nicholas J. Bruzzese (Primary PhD supervisor)
  4. Vishal D. Mistry (Primary PhD supervisor)
  5. Mahsa Mohammadtaheri (Primary PhD supervisor)
  6. Zahra Homan (Primary Masters supervisor)
  7. Nafisa Zohora (Primary Masters supervisor)
  8. Jos L. Campbell (Associate PhD supervisor)
  9. Emma C. Goethals (Associate PhD supervisor)
  10. Hemant K. Daima (Associate PhD supervisor)
  11. Blake Plowman (Associate PhD supervisor)
  12. Aya C. Taki (Associate PhD supervisor)
  13. Nathan Annabell (Associate PhD supervisor)
  14. Adam Chrimes (Associate PhD supervisor)
  15. Pyshar Yi (Associate PhD supervisor)
  16. Ahmad S. Zoolfakar (Associate PhD supervisor)

Grants and funding

Australian Research Council (ARC) funding

  • ARC Discovery Grant. Bhargava, O’Mullane, Bansal, Kantam. “Nano-engineered multi-functional materials for catalysis and sensing by an integrated chemical and electrochemical approach” (DP110105125, 2011-2013)
  • ARC Discovery Grant. Bansal. "Biosynthesis of multiple-nonmetal codoped titania nanoparticles for visible light photocatalysis" (DP0988099, APD Fellowship, 2009-2012)
  • ARC Linkage Grant. Bhargava, Kalantar-zadeh, O’Mullane, Bansal, Ippolito, Rosenberg, Harrison. “A highly sensitive and selective nano-engineered sensor for the online monitoring of mercury vapour emissions from harsh industrial processes” (LP100200859, Industrial partners – Alcoa World Alumina and BHP Billiton, 2010-2013)
  • ARC Linkage Infrastructure and Equipment Facilities Grant. Separovic, Bhargava, White, Wille, Kasapis, Bansal, Keizer, Gooley. “Advanced characterisation of materials by nuclear magnetic resonance” (LE110100097, 2011)
  • ARC Linkage Infrastructure and Equipment Facilities Grant. Mulvaney, McCulloch, Mitchell, Holland, Kalantar-zadeh, Bhargava, Bansal, Coloe, Shanks, Holmes, Sader. "Melbourne platform for surface characterisation of structured materials" (LE0989615, 2009)

International funding

  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Award to participate in the fifth HOPE Meeting with Nobel Laureates (2012-2013)
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Exploration (GCE) Round 5 Grant. Bansal “Nanochip biosensor for infectious diseases and malaria” (2010-2012)

Philanthropic and industrial funding

  • Ian Potter Foundation Science and Medicine Grant. Bansal, Shukla. “Real-time quantitative RT-PCR facility for nanobiotechnology research at RMIT University” (2012-2013)
  • Ian Potter Foundation Science and Medicine Grant. Bansal. “Advanced multimode absorbance, fluorescence and luminescence plate-reader research facility at RMIT University” (2010-2011)

Other Australian Government funding

  • Australian Academy of Sciences Travel Grant (DIISR). Bansal. Fifth HOPE meeting in Japan (2012-2013)
  • AusAID Endeavour Research Award. Bansal, Jaiswal. “Synthesis of hybrid nano-biocomposites of bioactive peptides and functional nanomaterials for anticancer applications” (2012)
  • AusAID Endeavour Research Award. Bansal, Bhargava, Soni, Sarkar. “Lactobacillus (milk bacteria) protoplast as a biocompatible sub-micron/nano drug delivery vehicle for controlled drug release in cancer therapy” (2012)
  • AusAID Endeavour Research Award. Bansal, Bhargava, Raj OU. “Nano-delivery vehicles for plant pathology applications though agricultural nanobiotechnology” (2011)
  • AusAID Endeavour Research Award. Bansal, Bhargava, Soni, Adsul. “Preparation of CNT-catalyst for biofuels production” (2011)
  • AusAID Endeavour Research Award. Bansal, Bhargava, Shiv Shankar. “The use of human erythrocyte RBCs as a drug delivery system for controlled drug release for cancer therapy” (2011)
  • AusAID Endeavour Research Award. Bansal, Bhargava, Soni, Chhipa. “Fluoride removal by nanofibers isolated from agricultural waste materials” (2011)
  • AusAID Endeavour Cheung Kong Research Award. Bansal, Bhargava, Ning, Ming, Campbell. “Novel magnetite core / platinum shell (Pt@Mag) nanoparticles for potential applications in hyperthermal treatment of cancer” (2011)
  • AusAID Endeavour Research Award. Bansal, Coloe, Bhargava, Hassan. "Cancer stem cell nanobiotechnology" (2009-2011)
  • AusAID Endeavour Research Award. Bansal, Coloe, Bhargava, Parikh. "Biomolecular mechanism and genus-wide validation of silver nanoparticles biosynthesis from Morganella sp." (2009)
  • AusAID Endeavour Research. Bansal, Bhargava, Soni. "Enzymatic synthesis of CNTs / hydroxyapatite biocomposite - an artificial bone material from cheap agricultural residues" (2009)
  • DEEWR - Australian Leadership Award. Kalantar-zadeh, Hu, Li, Bansal, Bhargava "Nanostructured electrochemical layers" (2009)

Other grants

  • RMIT Early Career Researcher International Travel Award. Bansal “245th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, Louisiana, USA” (2012)
  • RMIT Emerging Researcher Industry Award. Bansal. “A bioleaching approach towards enhanced dissolution of low grade ores – a case study of copper nanoparticles leaching from copper ores” (2011-2012)
  • Australian Technology Network / University of Waterloo Researcher Exchange Program (REP). Bansal, Chen. “Self-assembled therapeutic peptide nanocapsules as multifunctional nano-vehicles for anticancer drug delivery and tumour imaging” (2010)
  • RMIT SEH Research and Innovation Seeding Grant. Mitchell, Bansal, Bhargava. “The impact of shear stress history on polymer nanocapsules for drug delivery” (2010)
  • RMIT Emerging Researcher Grant. Bansal. "Multifunctional polymer nanocapsules for cancer therapy, imaging and targeting applications" (2009)
  • RMIT SEH Research and Innovation Seeding Grant. Lopata, Wright, Bansal. "Size matters – novel chitosan nanoparticles to improve vaccination therapy" (2009)
  • Victoria Institute of Chemical Sciences (VICS) Summer Fellowship. Bansal, Bhargava. "Shape-dependent antimicrobial applications of silver nanoparticles" (2009)

Selected patents

  • V. Bansal, A. E. Kandjani, M. Griffin, R. Ramanathan. A background correction method for a spectrum of a target sample. Australia Provisional Patent Application No. 2012905622 (21 Dec 2012)
  • V. Bansal, F. Caruso, Y. Wang, A. N. Zelikin. Porous silica shell-mediated assembly of macromolecular capsules for drug delivery. PCT International Application, WO/2009/079688 A120090702 (patent granted – 2 July 2009).
  • V. Bansal, F. Caruso, Y. Wang, A. N. Zelikin. Porous silica shell-mediated assembly of macromolecular capsules for drug delivery. Provisional Patent No. US 2007-16143P, (2007).

Selected publications

Selected gene and protein sequences reported in NCBI database

  • R. Balasaraswathi, S. M. Premkumari, K. S. Rani, V. Bansal. Bougainvillea spectabilis 26S rRNA sequence. NCBI Accession No. AY290718
  • R. Balasaraswathi, K. S. Rani, V. Bansal. Bougainvillea spectabilis antiviral protein (Ap1) complete cds. NCBI Accession No. AY437531.
  • R. Balasaraswathi, K. S. Rani, V. Bansal. Bougainvillea spectabilis antiviral protein. NCBI Accession No. AAR9737.1.

Selected research highlights by Australian and international media