People
Prof. Helen Hailes
Group Leader
Helen received her PhD in 1991 at Cambridge under the supervision of Professor Jim Staunton. She pursued postdoctoral work at Cambridge, and then at Imperial College London with Professor Steve Ley and subsequently with Dr David Widdowson. In 1994, she joined the Department of Chemistry, University College London as a Lecturer, becoming a Senior Lecturer in 2002, a Reader in 2005, and Professor of Chemical Biology in 2010.
Dr. Luba Prout
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Luba is a postdoc on the UKRI Comfort Loop multidisciplinary project at the UCL Plastic Waste Innovation Hub and the UCL Departments of Chemistry and Biochemical Engineering, working on enzymatic and microbial-based polymer degradation. Previously, she conducted research on biodegradable and pro-oxidant additive-containing (PAC) plastics, exploring their effect on the soil microbiome. During her PhD at UCL, Luba focused on characterising natural enzyme fusions and engineering synthetic equivalents for the biosynthesis of complex amine compounds.
Dr. Silvia Anselmi
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Silvia is a postdoc in the Hailes group at UCL, focusing on identifying enzymes for the biodegradation of textiles, particularly elastane, the stretchy fabric commonly found in jeans. Before joining this project, she was a PhD student in Castagnolo’s group at UCL, where she worked on developing green biocatalytic methodologies for the synthesis of sulfoxide compounds. During her PhD, she focused on using both oxidative and reductive enzymes, such as CALB, BVMOs, and MrsAs. Going back further, in 2018, she graduated in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Queen Mary University of London. During her time at QMUL, she completed her MSci project on designing small molecule inhibitors of the protein Mcl-1 under the supervision of Dr Howell. She also worked in the Arseniyadis’ group on developing a Michael addition/retro-Dieckmann sequence as a summer project.
Dr. Bethan Winterson
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
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Dr. Yu Wang
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
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Matt Salinger
PhD Student
Matt is an iCASE PhD student researching the use and engineering of methyltransferase enzymes to catalyse the selective alkylation of a range of pharmaceutically relevant compounds, in partnership with the Almac Group. He completed his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at the University of Oxford. Prior to his PhD, Matt’s research included the synthesis of modified β-lactam antibiotics to inhibit β-lactamases – a class of enzymes that mediate antimicrobial resistance, as well as refining and depositing the high-resolution crystal structures of several neuraminidase enzymes derived from the Avian Influenza and Salmonella typhimurium pathogens.
Daniel Castellano
PhD Student
Daniel is a passionate student with keen interests in Bioengineering and Synthetic Biology. He completed his BSc in Biochemistry at UCL and his MRes in Systems and Synthetic Biology at Imperial College London. Daniel is part of the CDT in BioDesign Engineering at Imperial, funded by the EPSRC. During his PhD, he is based within the Hailes group at UCL, focusing on enzymatic cascades and aiming to optimise these at scale for the production of alkaloids with therapeutic potential. His interest in Synthetic Biology was sparked by participating in the iGEM competition as a member of Team UCL, where they addressed global issues of plastic pollution and water scarcity by designing a bacterial co-culture capable of degrading plastic and desalinating water in a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC). A fun fact about him is that he is secretly a crazy cat lady.
Shuyi Zhang
PhD Student
Shuyi obtained her Master’s degree in Drug Design from the Division of Medicine at UCL and then began her PhD project in September 2021. She is interested in enzyme catalysis and plastic biodegradation. Her current project involves developing a one-pot synthesis that combines the Baylis-Hillman (B-H) reaction and Ene-Reductase (ER), as well as screening enzymes for the degradation of polyurethane and polyamide. Aside from her academic pursuits, Shuyi also enjoys anime, sleeping and eating.
Yeke Ni
PhD Student
Yeke’s research topics include chemo-enzymatic strategies for peptide ligation and labelling based on the Pictet-Spengler reaction, and biomimetic synthesis of natural and unnatural tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ) alkaloids using phenethylamines, exploring the effect of substituents. His academic background includes a Master’s degree from University College London, UK, and a Bachelor’s degree from China Pharmaceutical University, China.
Amy Locks
PhD Student
Amy’s PhD project focuses on 3D Printing for Enzyme-Controlled Drug Release. This project is a collaboration between Professor Helen Hailes’ group at the UCL Department of Chemistry, Dr. Stephen Hilton’s group at the UCL School of Pharmacy, the University of Nottingham, and AstraZeneca, funded by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies. In 2021, Amy graduated from the University of Birmingham with an integrated MSci in Chemistry with Industrial Experience, which included a year of pharmaceutical research at Pfizer in predictive degradation modelling.
Henry Tait
PhD Student
Henry completed his integrated Master’s in Chemistry in 2022, awarded by the University of Strathclyde. His research there focused on the synthesis of novel DNA minor groove binders. These are small molecules designed to disrupt protein interactions with the major groove while causing minimal damage to the DNA structure. Later in the same year, Henry began his PhD in the Hailes group. The overall goal of this project is to optimise nucleic acid delivery via liposome-mediated gene transfer. His aim is to synthesise lipids and peptides for the development of novel nanoparticle formulations that can be applied to this technique.
Hanxiao Pu
PhD Student
Hanxiao is a PhD student focusing on enhancing the enzymatic degradation of plastics with bio-compatible ionic liquids. Her main research interests include plastic degradation and recycling, as well as sustainable chemistry. Before joining the Hailes Group, she completed her undergraduate and Master’s in Chemistry at Imperial College London. Her previous research experience encompasses an MSci project on the sterecontrolled synthesis of PLA catalysed by metal complexes, and undergraduate research projects investigating ionic liquids and their applications in lignin precipitation. Outside of her academic pursuits, she is a passionate scuba diver who always enjoys being underwater.
Aaron Jones
PhD Student
Aaron is a PhD Researcher, working in a cross disciplinary research function at UCL’s Plastic Waste Innovation Hub. He is currently exploring novel polymers, which respond to environmental stimuli present in a forest environment, biodegrading more effectively and reducing plastic pollution. His broader research interests are in intelligent sustainable materials and animate materials. Prior to the commencement of his PhD, Aaron received a First Class MSci (Hons) in Chemistry at UCL in 2017, before working in industry for several years researching new products and materials. His experience has ranged from developing gin for the drinks industry, biomaterials for the built environment and leather alternatives for fashion and apparel.
Lulu Kwan
Master's student
Lulu is currently pursuing her integrated Master’s in Chemistry at UCL. Her Master’s project in the Hailes group is centred on synthesising carbazoles that have the potential to reverse antimicrobial drug resistance in tuberculosis. She is synthesising carprofen analogues to investigate their anti-mycobacterial activities. Previously, she spent a year studying abroad at Caltech, working in the Stoltz lab on the total synthesis of a potent anti-cancer compound. Prior to her academic career, she was a professional opera singer!
Recent Past Members
- Esther Ambrose-Dempster, Postdoctoral Researcher
- Gorjan Stojanovski, Postdoctoral Researcher
- Eve Carter, PhD Student
- Benjamin Thair, PhD student
- Helena Philpott, PhD student
- Alex King, PhD student
- Fabiana Subrizi, Postdoctoral Researcher
- Liam Martin, PhD student
- Rebecca Roddan, PhD student
- Jianxiong Zhao, PhD student
- Daniel Méndez-Sánchez, Postdoctoral Researcher
- Leona Leipold, Postdoctoral Researcher
- Laure Benhamou, Postdoctoral Researcher