Aline is Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, Chief Scientific Officer of Unit M and Associate Dean for Business Engagement and Innovation within the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Manchester. She is Director of the NW Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Catalyst – a £5m flagship programme supercharging the growth of careers, business and our regional economy, while delivering sustainable products and processes. 

Aline studied Chemistry at Strathclyde University and carried out her PhD research at Durham University, followed by postdoctoral work in the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University where she held a Junior Research Fellowship with Murray Edwards College. In 2002, she joined Manchester and was promoted to Chair in 2014. In her role she has led academic and commercial R&D teams working at the life-science interface where her research interests converge on understanding the self-assembly of peptides, proteins and polymers across the length scales for material design and application. This work has led to several academic awards, including recognition from the Royal Academy of Engineering, Women in Engineering, The Leverhulme Trust and Great British Entrepreneur Awards. She has a strong track record of raising funds and translating academic research into the commercial and clinical setting through industrial collaboration with a range of industrial partners from SMEs to corporates, and through establishing a spin out company, Manchester BIOGEL. Under her leadership the company raised £4M+ in investment from Innovate UK, Venture Capital, Private and Catapult Venture Funds, grew to a team of 10 and became revenue generating. This led to Manchester BIOGEL being listed as one of the Top 10 BioTech Start-Ups in Europe by Start-Up City in 2021, winning Best New Life Science Product 2021 and navigating a successful exit, with the company technology being sold onto Cell Guidance Systems in 2023.

Aline is also Elected Trustee of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Trustee of The Humane Research Trust, Member of the Industrial Committee for the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) and Director of the Bio-Based and Biodegradable Industries Association (BBIA).