Welcome to our group!

Tackling mechanisms of complex biological machines requires a multidisciplinary approach, and we are a highly multidisciplinary and very collaborative team consisting of chemists, biochemists and physicists. Although we work hard, we also love to socialise outside of the lab, building a strong support network within the group: people always make time to help each other out! Please scroll down to find out more about what our group members do.

Dr. Maxie M Roessler

Principal Investigator

I completed my PhD in Oxford in 2012, where I primarily worked on hydrogenases but first became interested in complex I and iron-sulfur cluster electron relays. I moved to my first independent positon at Queen Mary University of London in 2013 and in April 2019 my group relocated to Imperial College London.  

Besides science and everything to do with unpaired electrons, I have an affinity for different cultures and languages and am lucky to have grown up with French and Italian (besides German) and I later took the opportunity to spend 1.5 years in Beijing on a DAAD scholarship before starting my PhD. I am also an avid yogi and enjoy spending time with my family.

View Dr Roessler's website  

View Dr Roessler's CV (PDF)

Dr. Blaise Geoghegan

Post Doctoral Researcher

Born and raised in sunny West Sussex, I obtained my PhD in 2019 from the University of Brighton where my work focused on the synthesis and characterisation of Fe(II) spin-crossover complexes. in 2020 I moved to Germany to begin a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, where I investigated the electronic structure of copper systems via advanced X-ray and pulsed EPR spectroscopies supported by computational methods. Currently, my project is focused on the development of EPR spectroscopic methodologies using state-of-the-art custom-built EPR resonators in order to push the limits of sensitivity.

When not in the lab or at the synchrotron, I can usually be found playing football or exploring European cities.

Dr. Ciarán Rogers

Post Doctoral Researcher

I was born in Dublin, Ireland, and completed my undergraduate degree at Trinity College, Dublin in 2018. After a year learning Spanish in South America, I found myself in sunny Manchester, where I completed my PhD from 2019-2023 with Dr Alice Bowen, Dr Louise Natrajan and Prof. David Collison. I spent my time at The University of Manchester applying, and developing, pulsed EPR in areas ranging from quantum information processing to structural biology, with a particular emphasis on arbitrary waveform generated microwave pulses, at the EPSRC National EPR Facility. During my PhD I spent a research placement working with Prof. Daniella Goldfarb at the Weizmann Institute of Science, developing in-cell and high-field (W-band) EPR techniques. After four years oop north, I am now a converted Londoner, and using advanced pulsed EPR techniques at the PEPR facility to explore the structure and dynamics of ionic liquids.

For fun I like taking any opportunity to go travelling, convincing non-EPR people that EPR is actually good craic, dancing away at gigs, scuba diving, and giving out about the Guinness in the UK.

Adam Sills

4th year Ph.D. student, EPSRC

I’m now a fourth year PhD student originally from Norfolk and did my MChem degree at Oxford. There I worked on enzyme cascades nanoconfined in porous electrodes for my fourth-year project in the Fraser Armstrong group. For my current project I am attempting to carry out protein film electrochemistry on whole respiratory complex I. This will allow the properties of the Ubiquinone reduction to be studied electrochemically and is an important first step towards investigating complex I with the novel PFE-EPR technique developed by the group. In my spare time I like to play the piano and cook, and also like to sit in the corner seat of the MSRH cafe.

Fang Fang

4th year Ph.D. Student, Imperial CSC scholarship

I'm Fang Fang, from China, I graduated from Tsinghua University, majored in medicinal chemistry. While working towards master degree, my work was focused on the total synthesis of teixobactin and its analogue. In my PhD project, I will apply my knowledge in chemical synthesis and couple it to biochemistry, electroschemistry and EPR spectroscopy to gain insight into the mechanism of respiratory Complex I. In my spare time, I like running, yoga, and cooking.

Yunfei Dang

3rd Year Ph.D. student,  President’s scholarship

I am from Shanxi, China. I completed my undergraduate at China university of Geosciences and then MRes in Nanomaterials at Imperial under supervision of Dr Maxie Roessler and Prof. Milo Shaffer. For my PhD project, I will work on combining film electrochemistry and EPR spectroscopy. This project will harness the full potential of film-electrochemical EPR by investigating novel electrode materials, with the aim of gaining a detailed understanding of the mechanisms of redox reactions via radical intermediates, as well as leading to a better design of catalysts.

Molly Parry

3rd year Ph.D. student (joint with Prof. George Britovsek)

I grew up in Somerset and completed my MChem at the University of Edinburgh. I spent my final year abroad at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore where I worked on photocatalytic C-C cleavage in epoxides. My current project involves studying oxidative photocatalytic degradation of polymers and using EPR to identify the radicals present in this process. In my free time I love reading, baking bread and sewing.

Davide Facchetti

3rd year Ph.D. Student, PEPR-Bruker studentship

I am originally from Italy and I obtained an MSc in "Food Science and Technology" from the University of Milan, with a specialisation in Industrial Biotechnology. I did my thesis project in Kiel, Germany, working on the characterisation of beta-lactoglobulin fibrils in oil-water emulsions using EPR spectroscopy. Prior to joining the group, I also worked as a postgraduate researcher in the Department of Engineering at Lancaster University, UK. There, I focused my research on the development of a coating made of fibrils suitable for biomedical applications. The aim of my PhD project is to elucidate the mechanism of the enzymatic complex MsrQ/P present in many pathogenic bacteria as a defence system. During the project I will use different EPR techniques such as CW and pulsed together with electrochemical methods in order to elucidate the redox mechanism of the enzymes.

John Britton

Over the course of my Ph.D., I will be investigating the effect of membrane asymmetry on electron transfer on complex membrane proteins such as Respiratory Complex I and Photosystem II.

In my spare time, I enjoy walking, swimming and reading.

Sarah Chapman

2nd year Ph.D. student (joint with Dr Laura Barter), ICB CDT programme, co-funded by Syngenta

I’m Sarah, also from the flatlands of Norfolk, and I completed my chemistry undergraduate at the University of Manchester. In my final year I simulated DEER spectra of multi-spin [3]- and [4]- rotaxanes to predict their structures in frozen solution (supervised by Prof. E. McInnes and Dr A. Bowen). Over the course of my Ph.D., I will be investigating the photodegradation of agrochemicals on plant leaf surfaces using EPR spectroscopy, with the aim of using this information to improve sustainability of agrochemicals. In my spare time, I like to play trumpet and piano, and read novels (when time permits)!

Eleanor Clifford

2nd Year Ph.D. student, PEPR-Bruker studentship

I completed my undergraduate and master's degree in Natural Sciences at University of Cambridge, specialising in chemistry. I undertook my masters research project in Dr Jenny Zhang’s group studying cyanobacterial exoelectrogenesis for the development of biophotovoltaic devices. During my PhD, I will use a combination of electrochemical techniques and EPR to study the activity and mechanism of photosynthetic complex I, a key component of the cyclic electron transfer pathway in photosynthesis. In my free time, I like reading, climbing and gymnastics.

Angeliki Chatziathanasiou 

1st year Ph.D. student (joint with Prof. Peter Nixon), ICB-CDT programme, co-funded by Syngenta

I was raised in Greece, and I completed my undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Chemistry at the University of Crete. As part of my Master’s in Biochemistry, I spent 3 months in Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri in Florence, Italy, as an Erasmus+ fellow. In my master’s thesis, I studied the production of hydrogen, polyhydroxybutyrate, and exopolysaccharides in photosynthetic bacteria.

I will be investigating binding mode of quinone-site inhibitors in photosynthetic enzymes using EPR, ultimately with the aim to identify new inhibitors and improve agricultural sustainability.

In my spare time, I like hiking, reading, and travelling.

Katherine Ailles

1st year Ph.D. student (joint with Prof. George Britovsek and Dr F. Mark Chadwick), CDT REACT programme

I grew up in St Albans, Hertfordshire and I completed my integrated master’s degree at the University of York. For my master’s project I worked on the polymerisation of amine boranes with ruthenium catalysts in Professor Andrew Weller’s group. During my PhD I will be designing new catalysts with a focus on titanium and chromium catalysts for the oligomerisation of olefins and will be using EPR for characterisation of these catalyst complexes.

In my spare time I play netball competitively and enjoy cooking and baking.

Manveer Dhanjal

MRes student

I was born and raised in Redbridge, London but moved away for 3 years to study for my BSc in Chemistry at the University of Warwick, completing this in June 2023. Whilst at Warwick, I worked under Dr Matthew Jenner in the summer of 2022 for 6 weeks on a project titled ‘Molecular cloning and in vitro reconstitution of fungal megasynthase’.

Rohil Anandkar

MSci student

I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and am originally from India. Having attended school in Surrey, I started my journey at Imperial in 2020 and am in the final year of the MSci Chemistry course. During my degree, I worked under the supervision of Dr Becky Greenaway in 2022 on designing and constructing a prototype for a liquid transporting system capable of handling volatile chemicals, as well as under the supervision of Dr Jakub Radzikowski in summer 2023 on building a prototype viscosity sensor, with the intention to introduce a new project to the Emerging Technologies module within the undergraduate chemistry course. I am currently carrying out my Masters project within the Roessler group and working closely with Dr Blaise Geoghegan to successfully functionalise gold surfaces with target species of interest in biocatalysis, and characterise them using EPR spectroscopy and other characterisation techniques.

In my spare time I enjoy playing cricket, as well as playing music including violin, viola and piano.

Edward Jijie

MSci student

I was born in Bucharest, Romania, and moved to London to study for an MSci Chemistry degree at Imperial in 2020. Before joining the group, I completed a summer project under the supervision of Professor Philip Parsons on investigating ring expansions of thietane-3-one derivatives seeking building blocks of β-ketosulfones for natural products and drugs. I am now doing my fourth year project and will be working closely with Davide Facchetti on elucidating the mechanism of the MsrQ pathogenic enzyme with electrochemical techniques and EPR measurements. In my spare time I like to play table tennis, cook and watch sports. 

Raphael Samson

MSci student

I’m a final year Chemistry with Molecular Physics MSci student from London. Prior to joining the group, I undertook a short summer placement in Prof. Daniella Goldfarb’s lab at The Weizmmann Institute in Israel, using pulsed and continuous-wave EPR methods to investigate peptide-RNA coacervates. For my project, I’ll be working with John to make various asymmetrical liposomes and analyze the effect of this asymmetry on enzyme function. In my spare time, I enjoy walking and running with my dog, exploring new parts of London, making fast recipes and playing tennis. 

Zhuoliang Ying

MSci student

I am from Shenzhen, China, and have spent the past four years pursuing an MSci program at Imperial College London. My current research project is looking at the mechanism of nitroxide-catalyzed alcohol oxidation using film-electrochemical EPR spectroscopy. Outside of my academic pursuits, I enjoy going to the gym and cooking.

Alumni - where are they now ?

Independent Fellow

• Dr. Enrico Salvadori (2015-18) - Enrico joined us first on a joint position with UCL and then as the EPR Facility Research Fellow. He now holds a lectureship at the University of Turin (Italy).

PostDocs

• Dr. Jana Eisermann (2020-2023) has a tenure-track academic position at the University of Stuttgart (Germany)
• Dr. Maryam Seif-Eddine (2019-23) - Maryam is now in the Biophysique des métalloprotéines group at the CNRS
• Dr. John Wright (2018-19) - John is now a PostDoc at Judy Hirst Group in Cambridge.
• Dr. Nolwenn le Breton (2015-17) - Nolwenn now has a permanent CNRS research position (ingénieur de recherche) at the Chemistry Institute at the University of Strasbourg, which is part of the national French EPR platform.
• Dr. Ana Maria Esteves (2016-17) - Ana is now at the Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB-UNL), Av. República, EAN, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal.

PhD students

• Gemma McGuire (2019-23) - Dr. Gemma is now a Senior Research Scientist at Syngenta
• Spiros Koutsoukos (2018-23) - Dr. Spiros is now a Post Doctoral Researcher with Tom Welton at Imperial College London
• Katherine Richardson (2018-22) - Dr. Katherine is now a PDRA in the Photosynthesis group under the supervision of Professor Matt Johnson at the University of Sheffield.
• Kaltum Abdiaziz (2016-20) - Dr. Kaltum is now a PostDoc in the EPR research group under Dr Alexander Schnegg at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion.
• Martina Cirulli (2015-19) - Dr. Martina is now Implementation Team Leader at YOOBIC
• John Wright (2014-18) - Dr. John is now a PostDoc at Judy Hirst Group in Cambridge.

Master students

• Christina Siakalli (2022-2023) - Completing a PhD with Prof. Nicholas Long at Imperial College London
• Luke Hutchings (2021-22)
• Chengyi Liu (2021-22)
• Charlie Parfitt (2021-22) - Completing a PhD in with Prof. George Britovsek at Imperial College London
• Peter Gonda (2021-22)
• Flynn Rohr (2021-22)
• Helin Wang (2021-22) - Working for AstraZeneca, China
• Oliver Newman (2019-20)
• Natalie (Hoi Chi) Hau (2019-20)
• Yara Van Ingen - Project in collaboration with Andy Ashley Group (2019-2020) - PhD student at Cardiff University.
• Chrisline Thomas (2017-18), Inorganic Chemistry project prize 2018 - Chemistry teacher
• Adam Suhaj (2016-17) - PhD student at King's College London
• Chagish Gnanaranjan (2016-17)
• Nilab Rashidi (2016-17)
• Michelle Liu (2015-16)
• Anokhi Shah (2014-15) - Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Manchester
• Hong Nhi Truong (2014-15)
• Nicholas Pillay (2013-14)

BSc project students

• Dilan Al (2017-18) - MRes Imperial College London

Summer students

• Katrin Geng, Ulm University, Germany, DAAD RISE funded (2019)
• Gemma McGuire, Imperial College London (2017) - returned as PhD student!
• Chris Gusenda, University of Frankfurt, Germany, DAAD RISE funded (2017)
• Camille Galateau, ESCOM (Ecole Normale de Chimie Organique et Minerale), Compiegne, France (2016)
• Svenja Hehn, University of Konstanz, Germany, DAAD RISE funded (2016)
• Sumeyye Altun, Bogazici University, Turkey, Erasmus + funded (2016)
• Catalina-Andreea Romila, QMUL, RSC summer bursary (2014) - now a PhD student at UCL