Summary
LAB MEMBERS AND OPEN POSITIONS
CURRENT LAB MEMBERS
Jessica Butcher 
: Jessica is currently doing an Undergraduate Medical Biosciences degree at Imperial College London. Due to an interest in immune responses to infection and viral mechanisms, she joined the Martin-Sancho lab in 2023 as part of her third-year project. Jessica is currently investigating host factors that restrict the replication of Zika virus using systems biology approaches, including functional genetic screening. During her spare time, she has fun bouldering and playing pool with friends.
Dr. Rakhtasha Munir: Rakhtasha did an BSc in Biochemistry from the University of the Punjab (Pakistan) in 2013 and then obtained a MSc in Biotechnology in 2015. She received her Ph.D. in Molecular Virology from the Centre for Applied Molecular Biology (CAMB, Pakistan) in 2023. During her Ph.D. she joined the laboratory of Dr. Yizhi Jane Tao at the Houston Rice University (USA) as a visiting research scholar. As part of her PhD work, she developed diagnostics for dengue virus that can accurately capture circulating local isolates. She was awarded a STEM fellowship from the British Council in 2023 to join the Martin-Sancho lab and test host-directed antivirals against dengue virus. In her free time, Rakhtasha loves to meet friends, explore new places, and enjoy good meals with friends.
JOIN THE MARTIN-SANCHO LAB!
We are always looking for highly motivated students, postdocs and visitors to join the Martin-Sancho lab. In return we offer close mentorship, a supportive and dynamic environment and lots and lots of cool science and lab outings. If you are interested, please send me an email including your CV and scientific motivations to: laura.martinsancho@imperial.ac.uk
VACANCIES
PhD studentship: The Martin-Sancho lab has a PhD studentship available to excellent candidates to study determinants of dengue virus disease outcome starting in October 2025. Please contact laura.martin-sancho@imperial.ac.uk if you are interested, including your CV and motivation to join the lab.
ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES
Prospective students and postdocs are always welcome to arrange their own funding to join the lab. Please email me in advance to discuss suitable projects and the application process. Always happy to help drafting projects and bouncing ideas! Some suggested funding sources are listed below:
PhD studentship: The competitive Imperial College President's Scholarships usually opens for applications every November, January and March. You can also use Imperial's search tool to help you find a scholarship.
Postdoc and Research Fellowships: As a former Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, I cannot recommend enough getting one of this fellowships, and so I strongly suggest applying for the Postdoctoral Fellowships. Wellcome Trust offers Early Career Fellowships and EMBO also has a Postdoc program. All great and competitive! Other opportunities can be found at Imperial's search tool here