Meet The Team

Tom joined the lab in February 2026 as a PDRA and is developing novel biomolecule labelling strategies. He completed his undergraduate and PhD studies at the University of Cambridge, under the supervision of Prof. David Spring, working on diversity-oriented synthesis and developing novel linkers for antibody-drug conjugates. He has since held PDRA roles with Prof. Sabine Flitsch, University of Manchester, working on biocatalytic peptide and protein modification, and Dr. Louise Walport, Imperial College London, working to expand the chemical diversity of mRNA-displayed peptide libraries. Outside of the lab, Tom enjoys cycling, football and watersports.

Hikaru joined the lab in February 2026 as a PDRA investigating strategies for late-stage oxygen editing. Hikaru was born in Japan and grew up in Japan, USA, and South Korea. He completed his PhD at Imperial College London with Prof. James A. Bull working on the synthesis of four-membered rings through carbocation and radical intermediates. Previously, he obtained a BSc from the Maastricht Science programme in the Netherlands and an MRes from Imperial College London. Outside of the lab, Hikaru enjoys eating and spending time with his partner and dog.

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Andre joined the lab in April 2023 as a PhD student investigating late-stage skeletal editing of complex molecules via methylene extrusion. Andre is Swiss, French, and Portuguese but was born and raised in Lausanne, Switzerland. He studied chemistry during his bachelor’s and master’s degree at EPFL, Switzerland. He completed his master's thesis and a graduate internship in the laboratory of Prof. Jerome Waser at EPFL, where he worked on photocatalyzed [3+2] cycloadditions of acceptor-only cyclopropanes. Outside of the lab, Andre enjoys cooking, football, or just discovering new bars and restaurants.

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Ruth joined the lab in September 2023 as a PhD student and is investigating red-light photoredox reactions. Ruth was born and raised in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. She completed her MChem degree at the University of Leeds, where she did an industrial placement in synthetic chemistry at GSK in her 3rd year. She completed her final year project under the supervision of Prof. Adam Nelson, where she worked on securing covalent probes using Rhodium-catalysed annulation. Outside of the lab, Ruth enjoys climbing, crocheting, and exploring new places. 

Ben joined the lab in January 2023 as an iCAT rotation student and has stayed in the group to complete his PhD. He is investigating photocatalytic alcohol transpositions. Ben was born in Lancashire and proceeded to complete his MChem degree at the University of Manchester with an industrial placement at AstraZeneca. He completed his final year project under Prof. Michael Greaney developing metal free aryl amine synthesis. Outside of the lab Ben enjoys going to gigs, running, and hiking.

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Molly joined the lab in October 2025, as a joint PhD student with Dr Christine Schmidt and Prof. Richard Edmondson. Her project utilises photoproximity labeling to investigate protein interactions in pre-cancerous lesions, towards ovarian cancer early detection. Molly was raised in the south of Scotland, and gained her Bsc (Hons) in Immunology and Pharmacology from the University of Strathclyde. She undertook her final-year project under Dr Natividad Gomez-Roman, assessing the effects of cholesterol-depleting drugs on astrocytes towards glioblastoma treatment. Outside of the lab, Molly enjoys going to gigs, cooking, and running.

Lily joined the lab in March 2026 as an MSc student researching red-light driven photoredox and biocatalysis. Lily was born in Cheshire East where she attended school. She completed BSc in Chemistry at Lancaster University where she was academic representative. In her final year, she completed a research project under Dr. Vilius Franckevicius researching the synthesis of palladium-catalysed enantioenriched azetidine spirocycles. Outside the lab, Lily loves to go on hikes and enjoys embroidery and reading, although admittedly not at the same time.