R. Liju, an alumnus of Madras Christian College, has been awarded the Marie Sklodowsa-Curie Action (MSCA-2024) postdoctoral fellowship. The European Commission research grant, worth €20 million, is for his project ‘Chitocat’.

The fellowship will support two years of advanced research at the faculty of chemistry and chemical technology in the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Under the fellowship he will develop recyclable biopolymeric support for catalysts used in the synthesis of deuterium (D)-labelled compounds via a continuous flow chemistry process. He will conduct the research under the mentorship of Ross Jansen van Vuuren. Maksim Ošeka at Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, will co-host Mr. Liju who will undertake an industrial placement at Sanofi under the mentorship of Volker Derdau, the head of Isotope chemistry.

Mr. Liju did BSc and Ph D in chemistry from MCC. He pursued PG in chemistry from Loyola College. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow with Mr. Ross in Košmrlj Group at FKKT, University of Ljubljana. He will commence his MSCA postdoctoral fellowship in June.