Edrea was born in Singapore, where she attained a Diploma in Materials Science at Singapore Polytechnic. She was also attached for a 6-week industrial program at Ngai Hing Hong Co Ltd in Shanghai studying the rheological and crystalline properties of pearl pigments. Her final year project was on the development of conductive polymer, studying the resistivity of the polymer with the addition of carbon fibre to different polymers with Mr Nee Pai How. As part of the student committee, she organised social events for the course.

Edrea attended Loughborough University for her BEng (Hons) in Materials Engineering. She represented the university as part of the United Kingdom Singapore Students’ Council. Her BEng project was on the development of biomimetic ceramics where she studied the interactions between nanoparticles and bacteriophages with Dr Houzheng Wu and Dr Tao Sun. She recently completed her PhD at Loughborough University, researching on the development of nanocomposites for protection with use of bacteriophages with Dr Houzheng Wu, Dr Tao Sun, and Dr Helen Willcock. She also worked as a Research Scientist at Novatica Technologies Ltd on the development of an efficient and environmentally friendly biorefinery process to extract high value phenolic compounds in feedstocks before becoming a Research Associate at Loughborough University.

Qualifications:

• 2010 – 2013 Diploma in Materials Science, Singapore Polytechnic
• 2011 – 2013 Certificate in Sustainability, Singapore Polytechnic
• 2013 – 2016 BEng (Hons) in Materials Engineering, Loughborough University
• 2018 – 2022 PhD in Materials, Loughborough University

Key Awards:

• 2013 Singapore Polytechnic Outstanding Class Leader Award

Outline of main research interests:

Polymer Nanocomposites; Material surface interaction; Polymer Processing; Thermoplastic recycling; Biomaterials