Our Team
We are always seeking talented, enthusiastic, and curious minds to join our group. Post-doctoral candidates are encouraged to get in touch, sending your CV, to enquire about opportunities to join our lab.
Current Members
Finn Snow
Finn joined the lab in October 2024 to begin his MRC-ITTP-funded PhD studentship in collaboration with AstraZeneca in targeted protein degradation and ubiquitination. He graduated from the University of Bath with a first class BSc. degree in Biochemistry, spending a placement year at GSK working on protein target generation. Since developing a passion for pharmaceutical research, he completed a MSc. Drug Design degree (distinction) from University College London, where his project focused on developing a small molecule diagnostic for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. His PhD research will mainly focus on understanding the unique off-target mechanisms of Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs).
Sara al Rawi
Born in Paris, Sara joined the lab in 2018 to start a Parkinson's UK-funded research project investigating the neuroprotective roles of Fbxo7 with a focus on an early stages of Parkinson's disease. Previously, Sara obtained a Master degree in cellular and molecular biology with a specialization in proteomics from the Pierre and Marie Curie University, in Paris. After being awarded her degree, Sara began working as a research assistant to investigate how sperm derived mitochondria are degraded in the early embryo using C. elegans as a model. This work led to the discovery of the autophagy pathway in this specific degradation event. Sara was awarded an AXA-Academie des Sciences award from the French Science academy for her work. Her PhD research was under the supervision of Dr Vincent Galy at the Pierre and Marie Curie University and focussed on discovering how sperm-derived mitochondria are specifically recognized and targeted by the autophagy machinery.
Sophie Willis
Sophie joined the lab in October 2020 to start a PhD investigating the role of ubiquitination in different subtypes of Cyclin E high cancers. She graduated from the University of Leeds in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Genetics (Industrial), spending her placement year at MedImmune investigating immune cell populations in pancreatic cancer using immunohistochemistry and NanoString gene expression assays. Since graduating, she has worked at AstraZeneca, developing immunohistochemistry and RNA in situ hybridisation assays to support pharmacodynamic assessments and patient selection strategies on a range of clinical projects.
Hanna Bjone
Hanna joined the lab in October 2021 to start her PhD funded by Aker Scholarship (Norway) to investigate the neuroprotective effects of Fbxo7 in Parkinson's disease focusing on its effects on Cdk6 activity and intracellular trafficking. Born in Oslo, Hanna moved to the UK for her undergraduate studies and graduated from Durham University with a first class integrated Master’s degree in biological sciences. Her final year project focused on the production and optimization of recombinant insecticidal fusion proteins. Prior to coming to Cambridge, she spent a year at the University of Oslo completing a course in computer science in bioinformatics.
Guðrún Diljá Agnarsdóttir
Guðrún started in the lab in October 2022 for her MPhil and is continuing now to study for her PhD. She is investigating the ubiquinome of the pathogenic missense mutation L250P in Fbxo7, which is associated with atypical parkinsonism. She graduated in 2022 from the University of Iceland with a first class BSc degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. During the final year of her degree, she worked as a research associate in the Biological Materials Facility at deCODE Genetics in Iceland. Guðrún also completed her undergraduate dissertation project at deCODE, using their vast amount of omics data to examine the phenotypic impact of rare genetic variants in the human CYP2R1 gene.
Libby Wiseman
Libby joined the lab in October 2023 to begin her PhD, investigating the utility of nanobodies and targeted protein degradation in novel biological therapies for Myc driven cancers, such as neuroblastoma. She graduated in 2018 from Oxford Brookes University with a first class Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Biomedical Science, where her final year project focused on cellular senescence following radiotherapy. In 2021, Libby became a Scientist at AstraZeneca, where she works on validation of new cancer biomarkers using translational techniques such as immunohistochemistry, with the aim to achieve better understanding of patient response to treatment and mechanisms of resistance.
Min Zhang
Min joined the lab in February 2024 to start a postdoc research on how do Fbxo7 and PI31 control sperm morphogenesis and male fertility. Previously, Min obtained a Master degree in Clinical Veterinary Medicine focusing on nutritional and metabolic diseases in perinatal dairy cows at Jilin University, China. Min moved to The Netherlands in October 2016 and started her PhD in Biochemistry and Reproductive Biology at Utrecht University. Her PhD research characterized the involvement of CRISP2 in the organization of dense protein structures in porcine sperm.
Past Lab Members
Dr Rebecca Harris is a Senior Scientist at Amphista Therapeutics.
Dr Lorna Simpson has joined Muscular Dystrophy UK.
Dr Andrei Smid is a Senior Scientist at Revvity.
Dr Paulina Rowicka is a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School.
Dr Bethany (nee Mason) South is a Senior Scientist at Artios Pharma Ltd.
Dr Lisa Kent is an Independent Consultant at StaKe Consulting Ltd
Dr Suzanne Randle is a Associate Director in Oncology Safety Science at AstraZeneca in Cambridge
Dr Shachi Patel is Associate Principal at ClearView Healthcare Partners
Dr Felipe Teixeira is Principal Investigator in Cellular Biochemistry at the Department of Genetics and Evolution at the Federal University of Sao Carlos in Brazil.
Dr David Nelson is an Associate Professor at Middle Tennesee State University in the USA.
Dr El Kahina Meziane is Head of Biology at the International School in London, UK.
Dr Mikhail Lomonsov is Head of Research at Ivix Ltd.