Achieving carbon neutrality targets by 2050 is widely recognised as the world's most important and challenging mission. Over 70% of the UK pharmaceutical CO2e footprint comes from drug product manufacture. The proposed research aims to address the challenges of decarbonising medicines development and manufacturing and is committed to making a useful and positive contribution to societal and environmental challenges, locally and globally. The project will thoroughly assess the current and emerging medicines development and manufacturing practices, e.g., solvent use, waste disposal, and carbon emission, supporting ultimately upgrading the traditional practices towards net zero API manufacturing.

The University of Strathclyde takes account of The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies and other UK and European reference points in order to secure the academic standards of its PhD degree programme. The faculty of Engineering support on Postgraduate Certificate in Research Professional Development (PG Cert), Professional Services and external bodies will offer a range of opportunities to continue their personal, professional and career management skills development. A multidisciplinary supervision team (Dr Jun Li, Prof Alastair J Florence) has been formed for this PhD project, as well as general support from the Departmental of Chemical & Process Engineering and the CMAC Future Manufacturing Research Hub.

This fully funded PhD project is part of the UK RPIF Net Zero project, providing the students to gain expertise in process engineering and environmental analysis. It is ideally suited to students with the creativity and drive to pursue doctoral studies. The applicant will be expected to participate in relevant national and international conferences and develop journal papers within the research field.