Dr. Leslie Yeo

            Dr. Leslie Yeo is both a professor of chemical engineering and the director of the Micro/Nanomedical Research Centre at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia. In 1998, Dr. Leslie Yeo graduated with a master of chemical engineering from the Imperial College of London and received a PhD in chemical engineering in 2002 from the same institution. Today, Dr. Leslie focuses his research upon microfluidics driven by acoustics and electrokinetics with special attention to the engineering and biomedical fields. 

Dr. Yeo is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Biomicrofluidics journal from the American Institute of Physics and is an Editorial Board Member for the Scientific Reports and Interfacial Phenomena & Heat Transfer journals. His recent research on high frequency sound waves has shown for the first time new possibilities for the application of sound waves in medicine and manufacturing of smart materials. These applications include drug and vaccination delivery through the lungs rather than the current use of injections, nano-coatings that could protect drugs, sustainable smart materials, and nanosheets. 

This current research being led by Dr. Yeo shows the little we currently know about high frequency sound waves and opens a variety of useful applications as the study continues. The team has patented new methods of drug delivery that could eliminate the need for needle vaccinations. Further, they have discovered a use of these sound waves which produces metal-organic frameworks much more sustainably than in the current moment. This research is incredibly important and may alter the practice of medicine and development of smart materials in a world that is increasingly reliant upon sustainable practices. Dr. Yeo’s research shows opposition to classic theories of physics and demonstrates the opportunity for their development as knowledge advances.

Sources:

https://www.rmit.edu.au/contact/staff-contacts/academic-staff/y/yeo-distinguished-professor-leslie

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201124101029.htm