Dr Archana Bhaw-Luximon is a Professor at the University of Mauritius with a Personal Chair in Biomaterials Engineering and Nanomedicine. She is the Head of the Center for Biomedical and Biomaterials Research (CBBR), University of Mauritius. CBBR is now equipped with the most advanced experimental platforms ranging from 3D-bioprinters to Raman Confocal/AFM to Biosafety Level 2 labs. The center operates both in nanotechnology and biotechnology.
Prof Bhaw-Luximon has a PhD in Polymer Chemistry and built upon this area of expertise to transition to bio/materials engineering, nanoparticles, scaffold fabrication, hydrogels, nanomedicine, agri-nanodelivery and tissue engineering. In 2017, she received the UNESCO Merck Best African Woman Scientist award for her work on nanotherapeutics.
Prof Bhaw-Luximon has transformed her vision of science and engineering for the African continent by creating an incubator platform for the development of start-ups and entrepreneurship initiatives at the CBBR. This platform benefits from the support of Industry and Academic institutions. In 2024, with the support of Prof Ram Sasisekharan and Prof Robert Langer at MIT, she has received a funding support of 2 M USD from the Mauritius government to consolidate the CBBR research capabilities. Apart from her international collaborations, she has consolidated collaborations with labs in the Indian Ocean regions namely La Reunion, Australia, Malaysia and South Africa to build indigenous knowledge in nanobiotechnology.
Prof Bhaw-Luximon has served on a number of national, regional and international committees.
Her teaching activities are in the areas of chemistry and polymer chemistry both for pure science and engineering students. As Head of the Department of Chemistry in 2013-2016, she led the accreditation by the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK of the BSc (Hons) Chemistry programme at the University of Mauritius which was a first on the African continent.