Doctor Lewis MacKenzie
Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow
Pure and Applied Chemistry
Personal statement
I am a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Chancellor's Fellow in the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry. My group's research primarily focuses on the development of photonic upconversion nanoparticle (UCNPs) systems for biomedical applications. My research group has leading equipment for the synthesis and application of UCNPs, including a high-safety autoclave reactor, a microwave reactor, and the UK's only dedicated upconversion spectrometer. My background is interdisciplinary, spanning biophotonic applications in physics and chemistry. Beyond UCNPs, my research interests include biophotonics, imaging, spectroscopy, microscopy, circularly polarised luminescence (CPL), optical instrumentation, and quantative science communication research. I can offer project opportunities for masters-level and PhD students. Please email me for details. For more details, please my group website: www.mackenzie-lab.org
Prize And Awards
- Recipient
- 12/2025
- Recipient
- 2025
- Recipient
- 17/5/2022
- Recipient
- 9/2020
- Recipient
- 11/2019
- Recipient
- 2019
Qualifications
2025. Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. Advance HE. In recognition of attainment against the Professional Standards Framework for teaching and learning support in higher education
Ph.D. 2016. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow. Thesis title: 'In vivo oximetry using multispectral imaging'. Supervisor: Prof. Andy Harvey.
M.Sc. Astrophysics. 2012. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow.
B.Sc. (Hons). Physics and Astronomy. 2011. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow.
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Publications
- Puente Andrew R, , , , , Barron Laurence D, Polavarapu Prasad L
- Journal of Physical Chemistry A Vol 130, pp. 2238-2251 (2026)
- , Black Dominic J, Pal Robert
- (2026)
- , , Puente Andrew R, , Love Andrew J, Polavarapu Prasad L, Barron Laurence D, , ,
- Journal of Physical Chemistry A Vol 129, pp. 11884-11887 (2025)
- SHIFT 2025: Spectral shaping for biomedical and energy applications (2025)
- ,
- Nanoscale Horizons Vol 10, pp. 1242-1249 (2025)
- , Glasgow Jodie, Houston Catriona, Cameron Iain, Homann Christian, Black Dominic J, Pal Robert,
- Communications Chemistry Vol 8 (2025)
Teaching
Dr MacKenzie currently teaches CH213 'Handling Chemical Data and Mathematics' as part of the level 2 undergraduate Chemistry curriculum.
Research Interests
The MacKenzie NanoBioPhotonics group currently focus on these interdisciplinary research themes:
- Upconversion nanoparticles: synthesis, design, and functionalization.
- Nanobiosensing: oxygen measurement in blood, cells, and tissue.
- Applied optics: imaging and spectroscopy
- Chiral nanomaterials and chiral spectroscopy, particularly circularly polarised luminescence.
- Quantitative science communication: science podcast and chemistry YouTube channels
For a detailed breakdown, please visit:
Professional Activities
- Peer reviewer
- 2026
- Recipient
- 17/12/2025
- Recipient
- 18/9/2025
- Recipient
- 18/9/2025
- Recipient
- 18/9/2025
- Recipient
- 18/9/2025
Projects
- MacKenzie, Lewis (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2033
- MacKenzie, Lewis (Principal Investigator) Chow, Shiao (Co-investigator) Gomez-Roman, Natividad (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2027
- Chow, Shiao (Principal Investigator) Edkins, Robert (Principal Investigator) MacKenzie, Lewis (Principal Investigator)
- 拢12,576
- 13-Jan-2024 - 12-Jan-2025
- MacKenzie, Lewis (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2026
- MacKenzie, Lewis (Principal Investigator) Childs, Peter (Principal Investigator) Witte, Kimia (Principal Investigator) Jimenez, Melanie (Principal Investigator) Chow, Shiao (Principal Investigator) Fu, Ying (Principal Investigator) Gomez-Roman, Natividad (Principal Investigator) Fazio, Mariana (Principal Investigator) Reid, Andrew Baxter (Principal Investigator)
- Centre for Doctoral Training in Bridging Research and Advancements in Neurological Sciences (BRAINS). First cohort of PhD students starting autumn 2023.
- 01-Jan-2023
- MacKenzie, Lewis (Principal Investigator)
- a modern high speed refrigerated centrifuge with interchangeable carbon fibre rotors (up to 15 year lifespan) to provide for a wide variety of users applications, including 50 mL conical tubes, 15 mL conical tubes, 1.5 -2 mL Eppendorf tubes, and multi-well microplates. Max relative centrifugal force (RCF) up to 25,830 times gravity (Xg). Includes touch screen controls, quick rotor change features, self-diagnostic features, energy saving design, and advanced ergonomic features to meet the needs of multiple users.
- 01-Jan-2022 - 01-Jan-2023
Contact
Doctor
Lewis
MacKenzie
Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow
Pure and Applied Chemistry
Email: l.mackenzie@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 444 7068