In October, we started to welcome our new cohort of MPhil and PhD students! It is always an exciting time for the Department when new students arrive, and this year it is no different - with over 25 new students joining us from a variety of backgrounds.
To get an overview of our new students, we have selected a few students to write a brief biography for us!
Contents
Onyeka Awunor
van Veen Group
What is your project title?
Mechanisms of inhibition of bacterial ABC transporters
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
Biochemical assays, protein synthesis, cryo-em
Are you part of a club?
African Society (ASCU), Wolfson college '24 May Ball committee, Building Bridges in Medical Sciences (BBMS))
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
I think Gerard Butler is the greatest actor of all time and I've watched NCIS up to season 17 in less than three months (during term time)
Chloe Burgess
Itzhaki Group
What is your background?
I previously studied Natural Sciences here at Cambridge, and was a Part II Pharmacology student last year.
What is your project title?
Novel methods for the rational development of molecular glues
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
I'll hopefully be using lots of biophysics techniques, but for now I'm spending a lot of time on molecular biology.
Are you part of a club?
I'm a member of Inter Alios, the Churchill and Murray Edwards Colleges' choir, and I'm still involved with the Bell Burnell Society at Murray Edwards which I helped to relaunch during my undergraduate studies. I've also joined the Postgrad and Postdoc Committee at the Department, and I'm excited to help organise some great events!
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
I used to teach the ukulele (and run a "Ukulele Orchestra")!
Nora Haanaes
Kumita and Itzhaki Group
What is your background?
I am Norwegian and Belgian. I moved from Norway to Switzerland when I was 10. After completing my French baccalaureate in Switzerland, I studied Medical Biosciences at Imperial College in London, where I carried out different research projects within cancer biology such as using CRISPR to identify genes of interest in the migration of Glioblastoma cells or working on the detection of Circulating Tumour Cells using microfluidics, spectroscopy and machine learning. I then joined the University of Cambridge for an MPhil in Therapeutic Sciences, where I learned about healthcare challenges, biotechnology and innovation, business and policy in therapeutic development.
What is your project title?
Designing self-assembling multi-functional biomolecular condensates to sense disease causing proteins in the cell and target them for degradation.
I am starting in January but the research will include molecular modelling and bioinformatics.
Dawid Maciorowski
Howarth Group
What is your background?
Virology, vaccine design, protein biology
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
Immunological characterizations of vaccine responses, computational design of proteins, protein characterization
Emily Nassen
Howarth Group
What is your background?
I completed my Pharmacist degree at Ghent University in Belgium. During my master's, I focused on Drug Development, which included thesis research on polymeric nanotechnology in Tel Aviv.
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
Bacterial and mammalian protein expression, Size Exclusion Chromatography, SDS PAGE, Western blot, DLS.
Are you part of a club?
Not yet! But I am looking into cricket, dancing clubs and even rowing
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
Studying and living in Cambridge has always been my biggest childhood dream. Look where we are!
Huey Ying Kok
Itzhaki Group
What is your background?
I completed my undergraduate studies in Molecular Biology at The University of Edinburgh. Then, I stayed in Edinburgh to work as a Research Assistant, studying a kinesin that enables chromosome segregation during cell division.
What is your project title?
(Tentative title) Designer proteins to interrogate and inhibit oncogenic tankyrase in colorectal cancer
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
Protein expression and purification, Fluorescence polarisation assays, Circular dichroism, Fluorescence microscopy, Wnt reporter assays, Tissue culture
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
I've never chewed gum because when I was a kid, my mom told me that I'd need surgery to remove any accidentally swallowed gum
Yijian Luo
Marti-Solano Group
What is your background?
MPhil Student in Biological Sciences (Biomolecular Science Pathway)
What is your project title?
Exploring G protein-coupled receptor variants for deorphanisation and personalised medicine
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
API query, MD simulation, molecular docking, structural analysis
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
Still exploring.
Janice Wenzheng Neng
Wilson Group
What is your background?
Born in the middle of China, I moved to Toronto and obtained a Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Toronto with double majors in pharmacology and statistics, as well as a math minor (just for fun). After finishing the MPhil programme co-supervised by Dr Wilson, Dr Taufiq, and Dr Zinzalla here, I started my PhD study this year co-funded by CSC and Cambridge Trust to identify novel MYC binders from in silico screening following validation for the design of PROTACs.
Do you have a project title?
Identification and Validation of New In-silico Designed MYC binders for the design of PROTACs
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), HiBiT assay, NanoLuc luciferase assay, Dual luciferase assay, CESTA, etc
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
Snow-mountain enthusiast
Katie Williams
Bulmer Group
What is your background?
BSc biomedicine student
Do you have a project title?
Nociceptor sensitisation in chronic pain- investigating the rules of matrix metalloproteinase-8, and protease-activated receptor-1
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
Calcium imaging, immunohistochemistry, PCR
Are you part of a club?
CULTC
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
I went travelling around Southeast Asia and Australia in my gap year!
Leila Uddin
Mela and Harper Group
What is your background?
I have just completed my undergrad degree in Natural Sciences here in Cambridge, where I started in physics and natural science but ended up specialising in Pathology. Throughout my undergrad, I completed a few placements, at an engineering firm, a consultancy, and the Francis Crick Institute.
What is the title of your project?
Tunneling nanotubes in platelets.
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
Confocal microscopy, Atomic force microscopy, Flow cytometry
Are you part of a club?
Magdalene Boat Club, KWMG choir, Magdalene MCR committee
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
In my free time, I can normally be found on the river, running (extremely slowly), cooking, or looking at art!
Marilia Pai
Kumita Group
What is your background?
Having spent several years delving into the inner workings of Biochemistry at the University of Leeds, I have developed an interest in understanding the intricate interactions between the human body and pharmacological interventions. The capacity to face the challenges of traditional therapeutics and treat human diseases with a high unmet medical need (like Parkinson's Disease) is a mission I am dedicated to pursuing. This is why I am currently an MPhil Pharmacology student at the University of Cambridge, with a research focus on developing innovative tools for treating Parkinson’s disease and other related conditions. For my final year BSc project, I joined Dr. Tuplin's research group and investigated the potential of Chikungunya virus secondary RNA structures as novel antiviral targets. As a BSc student, I was also a course representative, a peer mentor, and a member of the Global Community Committee. I have attended laboratory-based internships at the University of Cyprus, the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, and Stephanos Pavlides Laboratories. Moreover, I have completed an internship in 'Pharmacological Research training' and professional certificates in 'Clinical Trial and Drug Development', and laboratory Skills in Bioscience' through the Cambridge Center of Innovation and Development.
What is your project title?
‘Consensus Tetraticopeptide Repeat Protein Scaffolds as Molecular Tools for α-Synuclein Proteasomal Degradation in Parkinson's Disease’
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
Transmission Electron Microscopy, Immunoprecipitation, Flow cytometry, Cell Culturing, Cloning.
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
I have a parrot with whom I even have conversations!
Milena Malcharek
Cell Signalling Group
What is your background?
"I come from Cracow, Poland, where I graduated from the August Witkowski 5th High School.
I read for an undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge (St John's College), and I chose Pharmacology as my Part II subject.
Between the 2nd and the 3rd year of my undergraduate degree, I also spent a year studying (and working as a part-time research assistant) at the Heidelberg University - thanks to the bilateral exchange programme offered by St John's College."
What is your project title?
Deciphering the molecular basis of amylin receptor–mediated satiation as an obesity treatment.
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
Mammalian cell culture; molecular cloning; BRET-based ligand-binding assays; G protein selectivity assays (TRUPATH); cAMP assays; free energy perturbation (FEP) calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations
Are you part of a club?
Trinity Singers (choir) & Cambridge Tolkien Society
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
I greatly enjoy learning Irish & I volunteer at the Polar Museum because I am fascinated with the history of polar exploration (especially Franklin's lost expedition)
Nicole Rudi
Bulmer Group
What is your background?
I obtained a BSc in biochemistry with a year in industry from University College London. During my placement year in the Immunology Research Unit at GSK, I studied neuro-immune interactions in chronic pain which sparked my interest in neurogenic inflammation and pain.
What is your project title?
The role of CART peptide in inflammatory pain
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
I will be employing calcium imaging to study intracellular changes in calcium flux in DRG neurons as a marker of nociceptor activation. Ex vivo afferent recordings will enable me to study the response of colonic neurons to CART.
Are you part of a club?
I am a member of the Lucy Cavendish Boat Club
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
In my free time, I row for my college as per Cambridge tradition. You will also find me at Salsa classes around Cambridge, as I love to dance.
Yu Zhu
Rahman Group
What is your background?
BSc in Bioinformatics and MSc in Drug Design
What is your project title?
In silico investigation of IP3 receptors
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Molecular Modelling, Virtual Screening, Machine Learning
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
Dream to be a pilot
Yujia Cui
Howarth Group
What is your background?
I am originally from China and finished my Honours Bachelor degree in Pharmacology at McGill University in Canada.
What is your project title?
Prime-Push Vaccination Targeting Helicobacter pylori with Enhanced Mucosal Immunity at Gastrointestinal Tract
Give a few examples of techniques you may use
Protein expression and purification, size-exclusion chromatography, tissue cultures, biophysics, bioconjugation and protein assembly, etc.
Are you part of a club?
Cambridge Kendo Society, CU-KPOP society
Do you have any fun facts about yourself?
Fell into the River Cam during my first time self-punting