Alan Stephen

Masters (Hons) in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Oxford. (4 year MBiochem)

Alan graduated from his MBiochem degree in 2015. During his Master’s year, he investigated the intracellular localisation of the different isoforms of the RGS3 protein and their involvement in neuron development at the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics at Oxford. He also took a masters level course on the metabolic engineering of biofuels and pharmaceuticals. 

Alan’s current research focuses on utilising Rhodobacter species to produce Biohydrogen from organic acids.  He aims to increase the efficiency of this process and minimise the production of by-products. He further aims to utilise the waste biomass in fuel cell catalyst synthesis. By utilising waste bacteria as a scaffold he synthesizes nanoparticles that can be utilized as catalysts in PEFC.   

His main areas of interest are in bio-hydrogen production and bio-synthesized nanoparticles. 

Outside of his PhD Alan has a keen interest in volunteering and charity work. He previously worked with various education charities including EPAfrica which invests in sustainable projects to improve the quality of education in rural East Africa.