Safwan is working as an Associate Professor for Biomanufacturing at the School of Health and Life Sciences at Teesside University. Safwan obtained his PhD in Analytical
Biotechnology from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, the University of Cambridge, where he also did his post-doc developing low-cost diagnostics. Before that, he completed his M.Phil
in Bioscience Enterprise under the auspices of the Cambridge/MIT Partnership. His work has been published in reputed journals like Nature Biotechnology, Lab on a Chip, Analytica Chimica Acta and Annual Reviews of Analytical Chemistry. He has been awarded Medimmune Award and CambridgeSens Innovative Idea award for research excellence. The students voted for Safwan to win the university-wide Star award for most outstanding teaching. He is an elected member of the Teesside University’s Board of Governors and holds a scientific advisory board position at GlycoSelect Ltd and Neurogenic Ltd.