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People

Members of the Vilar Research Group

Academic Staff
Photo	Member
	Prof. Ramon Vilar Contact Ramon is Professor of Medicinal Inorganic Chemistry. He is the group leader; further information about him can be found in his personal webpage

Postdoctoral Research Associates
	Dr Tim Kench I joined the group as a PhD student in October 2017 and I am currently a postdoctoral research associate. My project aims at developing molecules that target different DNA and RNA topologies. As part of my project, I am developing novel platforms for the high-throughput synthesis and screening of the new compounds.
	Dr. Rebecca Thrush I joined the group in April 2024 as a postdoctoral research associate. My project is aimed at screening molecular rotors as tools for the study of liquid-liquid phase separation during the aberrant protein aggregation linked to neurodegeneration. I am co-supervised by Dr. Aprile (Chemistry) and Dr. Kuimova (Chemistry).
	Dr. Jamie Gravell I joined the group in September 2024 as a postdoctoral research associate in Optical Imaging, after a PhD using confocal microscopy to detect magnetic field effects on the photochemical reactions of biological and solid-state systems under the supervision of Prof. Christiane Timmel and Prof. Peter Hore. My project will focus on studying the aggregation and liquid-liquid phase separation of α-synuclein using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, under the co-supervision of Prof. Marina Kuimova and Dr. Francesco Aprile.
	Dr. Shujuan Xu I joined the group in January 2025 as a postdoctoral research fellow. My project is aimed at targeting photoactive compounds for G-quadruplex imaging and therapy.
	Dr. Molly Bartlett I joined the group as a PhD student in 2020 working on the development of photoactive platinum(II) salphen anti-cancer agents. I have since become a postdoctoral research associate in the department of mathematics with Prof. Barahona, co-supervised by Prof. Ramon Vilar. My postdoc is focused on the development of machine learning models to aid the discovery of new antibiotics as part of the Fleming Initiative.

Students
Photo	Member
	Thomas Maher I joined the group in October 2021 as part of the MRes/PhD program from the Institute of Chemical Biology. My project aims at developing novel proximity-labeling methods for mapping the protein interactome of G4 DNA using photochemical processes. My project is co-supervised by Dr Di Antonio (Chemistry) and Prof Ed Tate (Chemistry).
	Liberty Rockey I joined the group in October 2021 as part of an MRes/PhD program from the Centre for Doctoral Training in Next Generation Synthesis and Reaction Technology. My project aims to develop novel receptors and functionalised materials for the removal of PFAS from the environment. My project is co-supervised by Prof. Dominik Weiss (Earth Sciences and Engineering) and Puraffinity (who also co-sponsor the project).
	Wilson Wu I joined the group in October 2021 as part of a MRes/PhD program from the Centre for Doctoral Training in Next Generation Synthesis and Reaction Technology. My project aims at synthesising novel chemical receptors for anionic species (e.g. oxoanions) with the aid of machine learning. My project is co-supervised by Dr. Phil Miller (Chemistry) and Prof. Sophia Yaliraki (Chemistry).
	Erin Lin I joined the group in January 2022 to carry out my MRes project which has now continued into a PhD. My research aims to use a novel immuno-PCR platform to study the aggregation of amyloid-beta peptides. I am co-supervised by Dr. Francesco Aprile.
	Nicole Christou I joined in October 2022 as a PhD student as part of the Institute of Chemical Biology PhD program. My project focuses on the role of pathological post-translational modifications on the function and druggability of amyloid-beta oligomers in Alzheimer's disease at both structural and single-molecule levels. I am co-supervised by Dr. Francesco Aprile (Chemistry) and Dr. Liming Ying (Medicine).
	Nicole Fitikides I joined the group in October 2021 to carry out my MRes project and started my PhD in 2023. My research is focused on developing a new imaging tool for studying the liquid-liquid phase separation of α-synuclein and its role in Parkinson's disease. My project is co-supervised by Dr. Francesco Aprile and Prof. Marina Kuimova.
	Bronwyn Griffiths I joined the group in 2023 as a MRes/PhD student on the Institute of Chemical Biology Centre for Doctoral Training program. My project aims to synthesise optical probes to be used with encoded aptamers for imaging RNA in live cells. My project is co-supervised by Prof. Marina Kuimova (Chemistry) and Prof. David Rueda (Medicine).
	Xiaojian Qu Before joining Imperial, I obtained my MRes at UCL, where I synthesised radiochemical precursors and reference compounds for tritium labelling and evaluated post-mortem brain cryosections to support the development of PET radiotracers for neuroimaging. I began my PhD in October 2023 in Prof. Eric Aboagye's group (Surgery and Cancer) and joined the Vilar Research Group in September 2024 as part of a collaboration. My project focuses on the design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel multispecific PET radiotracers to address cancer heterogeneity.
	Sewon Lim I joined the group in September 2025 as part of a PhD program from the Centre for Doctoral Training in Chemical Biology. My project focuses on developing novel phototoxic metal complexes as anticancer drugs.
	Roddy J Macaulay I joined the group in October 2025 as part of the EPSRC CDT in Chemical Biology. My project looks at developing automated workflows for direct-to-biology discovery of kinase-targeting PROTACs. I am also supervised by Prof. James Bull (chemistry) and Prof. David Mann (life sciences).
	Chenyang Wang I joined the group in September 2025 as part of a PhD program from the Centre for Doctoral Training in Chemical Biology. My project is dedicated to designing novel metal complexes with the dual objective of targeting G-quadruplex (G4) DNA for detection and cleavage, and serving as a platform for radio conjugation.
	Khushleen Kaur I joined the group in October 2025 for my final-year MSci project at Imperial College London. My project focuses on developing platinum(II)-based metal complexes to target and image G-quadruplex DNA and RNA structures in live cells, combining synthetic chemistry, spectroscopic characterisation and biophysical techniques to study their interactions. As part of my degree, I also completed a year-long industrial placement at GSK in analytical chemistry, gaining experience with advanced spectroscopic methods to support drug discovery and development.
	Zixin Zhang I joined the group in 2025 as part of my MSci in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry at Imperial College London. My project focuses on discovering phototoxic transition-metal complexes as potential anticancer agents.
	Shengle Fu I joined the group in October 2025 for my final-year of MSci in Chemistry program at Imperial College London. My project is dedicated to the development of combinatorial automated methods for the generation libraries of Ni(II) and Zn(II) metal-salphen complexes for targeting oncogene-associated G-quadruplex DNA.

Contact:

Professor Ramon Vilar

Department of Chemistry

Imperial College London

Molecular Sciences Research Hub

White City Campus

82 Wood Lane

London W12 0BZ

Email: r.vilar@imperial.ac.uk

Tel: +44(0)20 7594 1967

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Vilar group