Barbara Pierscionek is School Associate Dean for Research in the School of Science & Technology at Nottingham Trent University.

Barbara's role at the University

Professor Pierscionek's role as Associate Dean Research is a very broad one that involves:

• leading, directing, co-ordinating and managing research and research related activities across the School
• setting School research strategy and implementing College and Institutional Research strategies in the School
• working with the Dean and HoDs to support research activities across the School
• working with  PVC and Head of College and the Senior PVC research as well as other ADR to ensure that research is supported and to ensure that we create and maintain an environment for research to thrive and expand
• to develop opportunities for postgraduate research students and ECRs
• to optimise the REF submission
• to introduce new avenues and themes for interdisciplinary research

An exciting international career 

Professor Pierscionek graduated from Melbourne University and started her research career in Australia as an NHMRC research fellow (MRC equivalent) embracing interdisciplinary research. Barbara moved the medical research council grant and fellowship to an Engineering department, where she helped to develop optical and biomedical engineering courses.

She then moved to Faculty of Medicine at Monash University before coming to UK. Professor Pierscionek led the Vision Research group in Biomedical Science at Ulster University and was then appointed as the Associate Dean (Research and Enterprise) in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing in Kingston University. Barbara led, directed and managed research across 8 schools which included all STEM disciplines, co-ordinated all REF activities, project managed design and building of new laboratories and developed enterprise.

Professor Pierscionek has continued as an active researcher in the areas of optics, vision, ageing, biomedical engineering, nanotechnology and Big Data. Whilst at Kingston, Barbara brought in grants from EU, charities, Royal Society and industry as well as being awarded beam time for work in Japan at the world’s largest synchrotron.

In addition to qualifications in science, she has an MBA and legal degree. Barbara's research interests are in ethico-legal aspects of Big Data and vulunerable populations. She has also worked in the criminal justice system and as a lay judge in employment tribunals.

Key research areas

Barbara's current work projects:

• investigate the optics and biomechanics of the eye
• design of intraocular implant lenses
• ethico-legal aspects of medical databases for harmonisation across the EU
• new means of developing cell culture for growing cells in 3-dimensions
• binocular vision and dyslexia
• fibre optic sensing for medical applications
• nanotechnologies
• new drug modalities for eye disease

Professor Pierscionek's research is currently supported by EU Horizon 2020, Royal Society, Japanese government and Industry.

External activity

Barbara is a peer-review college member for the EPSRC and an expert evaluator for the Horizon 2020, Director of Education for School Vision UK and Scientific Director for Safer Medicines Trust.

Barbara has worked with the press and appeared on national television in Australia on the science program Quantum, on the One Show in UK and on RTE in Ireland. She has also had work published in the national press in Australia and appeared on an Insight video in the UK.

Sponsors and collaborators

Professor Pierscionek's work at the Japanese synchrotron is supported by the Japanese government in the form of beam-time; she has industry support from the optical industry: Essilor and Zeiss and collaborates with colleagues at Cardiff, Ulster and Kingston Universities in the UK, with consortia from Greece, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Sweden and Italy, with colleagues in Japan, China, India, US, New Zealand, Australia and Poland.
 

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