Marland Lab

We are an interdisciplinary research group, working at the interface between electronics and biology. We develop miniature devices that sense biological signals directly from living systems, focusing particularly on synthetic biology and human physiology applications.

Recent examples of our work include implantable sensors for real-time health monitoring, electrodes that read outputs from engineered cell-free systems, and ultra-thin nanowires capable of sensing the electric fields of individual biomolecules.

Underpinning this research are tools and techniques from the semiconductor industry. These enable us to nanofabricate bioelectronic systems that bridge the size gap between biological molecules and engineered devices. This approach facilitates highly reproducible and scalable manufacturing, and offers a pathway for future translation.

Our team is based in the Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems at the University of Edinburgh, and is also a member of the Centre for Engineering Biology and the Institute for Bioengineering. We closely engage with end-users to ensure our research has maximum value and impact, and collaborate across the University and NHS Lothian.