• Fluid mechanics
• Pharmaceutical sprays (aerosols and dry powder inhalers)
• Fuel injection in gas turbine & internal combustion systems
• Atomisation and spray formation
• Multiphase flows
• Hydrodynamic & aerodynamic instability
• Optical diagnostic techniques
• Synchrotron X-ray diagnostic techniques
  • Time resolved radiography
  • X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy
  • X-ray phase contrast imaging
  • Small angle x-ray scattering

Grants

• Linkage Project — Australian Research Council — 2020
  LP190100938, “Enabling precise droplet control in hydrofluorocarbon free sprays.“
  AUD 450k over 3 years – This project aims to investigate the use of blended propellants to replace hydrofluorocarbons in technical aerosols. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of multiphase fluid mechanics and aerosol science through a combination of modeling, optical and synchrotron X-ray measurement techniques. Expected outcomes of this project include a capacity to develop environmentally friendly technical aerosol formulations which can match and potentially outperform currently available hydrofluorocarbon based products. This should provide significant benefits to the pharmaceutical industry through the generation of new knowledge regarding the fundamental physics of multicomponent sprays.
• Discovery Project — Australian Research Council — 2020
  DP200102016, “Engineering an environmentally-friendly metered dose inhaler”
  AUD 180k over 3 years – This project aims to deliver a novel simulation framework to accurately predict the behaviour of metered dose inhaler sprays using advanced numerical methods for flash-evaporating turbulent flows developed by the investigators. The project expects to generate new knowledge of the complex physics which occur in these devices through a first of its kind combination of unsteady non-equilibrium thermodynamics, turbulence and spray models. Expected outcomes of this project include a novel ability to predict and optimise the performance of inhalers to suit environmentally-friendly replacement propellants. This will significantly benefit the pharmaceutical sector as it will accelerate the design of next-generation inhalers and propellants.
• National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme ECR Merit Allocation — 2018,19
  250k core-hours per year on National Computational Infrastructure (Australia) high performance computing facilities to undertake computational fluid dynamics simulations of pressurised metered dose inhaler sprays. Early career researcher category.
• Monash University Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Travel Grant — 2018, 2019
  Awarded a total of 4.9k over 2 years to support research visits to the United States.
• Monash-Penn State Collaboration Seed Fund — 2018
  “An inside look at fluidic inserts – X-ray measurements of novel noise-reduction strategies for supersonic jets”.  AUD 20k over 12 months.
• Australian Synchrotron – International Synchrotron Access Program — 2018
  Proposal 14204, “Time-resolved X-ray radiography and fluorescence measurements of medical inhaler sprays.” AUD 6400 travel grant.
• Engineering Discovery Seed Fund — Monash University Faculty of Engineering — 2018
  Project title – “Engineering particle surfaces for advanced spray drying”. AUD 23k over 1 year.
• Linkage Project — Australian Research Council — 2017
  LP160101845 – “Improving respiratory drug delivery through targeted nozzle design”. Industry Partner – Chiesi Limited
  The project aims to develop designs for inhaler components which significantly reduce the existing variability in the sprays they produce, as well as an enhanced capacity to predict inhaler performance through development of new empirical models. This project will combine recently developed synchrotron x-ray measurement techniques with traditional visible light diagnostics to develop a greater understanding of the link between the geometry of pressurised, metered-dose inhaler components and the drug particles these devices produce. The long term benefit from this research will be improved delivery efficiency and shorter product development times, leading to reduced dose-rate costs. This understanding will enable the development of the next generation of treatment devices with enhanced efficiency in delivery of the drugs used to treat these diseases and reduced costs per dose.
• Discovery Early Career Research Award — Australian Research Council — 2017
  DE170100018 – “Engineering suspended particle sprays through controlled cavitation”
  This project aims to establish how cavitation can be used to engineer particle size in sprays of micronised particles suspended in a propellant, and deliver a physical mechanism by which this process occurs. This will be achieved through a novel combination of high-resolution optical imaging techniques and synchrotron x-ray diagnostics. Understanding how cavitation affects the size of agglomerates in the liquid phase, and how it affects droplet size in a spray is critical to the development of spray devices that require precise control over the final particle size. This research will provide physical insight that will have applications for inhaled and topical pharmaceutical sprays, as well as industry spray drying of food products.
• Co-operative Research Project, Agilent Technologies Australia — 2017
  “Novel Sample introduction techniques for Plasma based Atomic Spectroscopy”.
• US Department of Energy Laboratory Directed Research & Development (LDRD) Seed Grant — 2016 [concluded]
  Grant 2017-098-N0 – “X-ray Investigation of the Potential of Pressure-Assisted Atomization Technology for Medical Inhaler Sprays.”
  Recieved USD 25.5k in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to undertake a 6-month research project using synchrotron x-rays at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory to investigate the commercial potential of pressure assisted atomization for pharmaceutical sprays.

Awards, Prizes and Career Highlights

• Research Fellow, Monash University, 2017-present
  • Applications of X-ray and laser diagnostics to pressurised metered dose inhaler sprays.
  • Multiphase flow, sprays, aerosols, cavitation and spray drying.
• Postdoctoral Appointee, Argonne National Laboratory, 2011— 2017
  • Applying x-ray diagnostics to fuel injection, sprays, and cavitation at the Advanced Photon Source
  • Spearheaded a collaborative research project using x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and radiography to study spray and drug distribution in pressurized metered dose inhaler sprays.
  • Developed novel experiments to measure the quantitative distribution of cavitation vapor inside metal and plastic nozzles using x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and radiography techniques. Lead a collaborative project to develop these experiments in line with state-of-the art models developed by academic partners.
  • Our team developed a novel approach to droplet size measurements in the dense core of a high-pressure diesel spray, using ultra-small-angle x-ray scattering.
  • Technical expertise in time-resolved x-ray computed tomography, x-ray radiography, x-ray phase contrast imaging, x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and ultra-small angle x-ray scattering
.
• Research Associate (Postdoctoral), Monash University, Australia, 2013
  • Development of high-speed backlit imaging experiments to measure the impact and break-up of solid drug particles from a powdered metered dose inhaler
  • Technical expertise in high speed imaging, planar particle image velocimetry, dynamic mode decomposition, proper orthogonal decomposition, high performance computing.