Viktoriya Pyeshkova
PhD
Description of the field of scientific research:
Viktoriya’s research interests encompass chemosensors and biosensors, bioelectrochemistry, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, flow injection analysis, milli- and microfluidic systems, automated continuous biosensing systems, electronic noses, and gas sensors. She specialises in the development and optimisation of electrochemical sensors — including amperometric, potentiometric/ISFET, impedimetric/EIS, and conductometric systems — as well as optical SPR chemo- and biosensors for clinical diagnostics, food and water quality control, agriculture, and environmental monitoring. Her research also includes the application of nanomaterials, polymers, and 2D materials in sensor development.
List of duties:
Viktoriya is an Assistant Professor (Research-Focused) at the School of Engineering, University of Warwick. Her current work focuses on developing gas sensor systems for detecting volatile organic compounds and other chemicals emitted by infected crops, including onions and potatoes. She develops, tests, validates, and optimises sensors under laboratory and crop-storage conditions and collaborates closely with industrial partners within the FUSED and TuberSense projects. Her broader experience includes research leadership, grant proposal development, project planning and delivery, technical and financial reporting, knowledge transfer, team management, and supervision of students and early-career researchers.
Professional experience:
2006–2010 — PhD Student, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv.
October 2007 – November 2010 — Junior Researcher, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
November 2010 – September 2015 — Research Fellow, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Since September 2015 — Senior Researcher, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Full-time until February 2022; has maintained an active research affiliation and remote collaboration since the full-scale invasion.
2020–2024 — Co-Project Director on behalf of IMBG for the Horizon 2020 Waste2Fresh project, focused on wastewater recycling and closed-loop systems in textile manufacturing.
June 2022 – October 2024 — Research Fellow, School of Engineering and Innovation, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK. Principal Investigator of CARA- and Leverhulme-funded projects developing an automated milli-fluidic electrochemical enzyme biosensor array for monitoring heavy metal ions in water.
Since November 2024 — Assistant Professor (Research-Focused), School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
2025 — Guest Editor of the Micromachines Special Issue Recent Progress in Biosensors for Clinical Diagnostics, Food Quality Control, and Environmental Monitoring.
Reviewer for Applied Nanoscience, Talanta, Materials Science and Engineering C, and Micromachines.
Expert of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine.
FEBS member through the Ukrainian Biochemical Society.