BSc Biochemistry (Manchester)
PhD IMSB (UCL and Birkbeck College London)
Originally from Hong Kong with roots from Pakistan, I undertook my BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Manchester. During this time, I undertook an industrial placement at Cellzome - a biotech branch of GSK in Cambridge where I got a taste for all things structural.
I then came down to London to pursue my PhD at the ISMB (London) to study how nascent chains fold on the ribosome during translation using cryoEM, under the supervision of Prof John Christodoulou (UCL) and Prof Elena V Orlova. During this period, I got hooked into CryoEM (which was around the beginning of Resolution-Revolution phase). I continued solving structures with Prof. Elena Orlova (Birkbeck College) as a Postdoc, looking at viral DNA helicase, bacteriophage portal machineries and DNA origami objects. I am continuing this steep learning curve by coming up to Leeds and working with Prof Neil Ranson to look at all things viruses.
Outside the lab, I am mostly found in clay, making abstract ceramic sculptures and vessels, inspired by biology. I also go out to nature hikes and very much look forward to continuing this hobby up north with its lush landscape routes.