Yuval Elani - Group Leader 

Yuval Elani is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Professor in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London. He previously held EPSRC and Imperial Research Fellowships in Chemistry at Imperial and studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge.

Yuval is a leading expert in synthetic cells, microfluidics + automation, BioHybrids, synthetic biology, lipid nanoparticle design, and membrane engineering. Since earning his PhD in 2015, Yuval has secured numerous large-scale grants to conduct both frontier and applied research in these areas and has developed a broad portfolio of collaborations with clinicians and industry (Syngenta, GSK, P&G,AstraZeneca, Neobe). He has won multiple prizes and medals for his research breakthroughs, including the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee Roscoe Medal, Rita & John Cornforth Medal, Felix Franks Medal for Biotechnology, IChemE Nicklin Medal, and the RSC Harrison-Meldola Memorial Prize. His work has been recognised by the World Economic Forum, which selected him to be part of their Young Scientist Community (50 under 40 worldwide) and by the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, where he is a Fellow. Yuval is co-director of the Membrane Biophysics Platform and co-founder and member of the executive of fabriCELL. He sits on various executive boards, including the Institute of Chemical Biology and its CDT, the Imperial Centre for Engineering Biology, and the Leverhulme Centre for Cellular Bionics. Yuval’s full CV can be found here.

Marcus Fletcher - Indedpendent Visiting Fellow

Marcus focuses on the study of bottom-up synthetic cell systems with a particular emphasis on understanding cell membrane phenomena like membrane transport regulation and sub-cellular membrane architecture. He completed a BA and MSci in Natural Sciences (Physics) at the University of Cambridge, followed by a PhD in the group of Prof Ulrich Keyser at the same university. In his PhD, he worked on studying the ion transport properties of cellular membrane models by combining DNA nanotechnology, optofluidics and mathematical modelling. Now, he is developing new microfluidic methods to controllably design and study artificial cell architectures with precisely defined compositions.

Imre Banlaki - Postdoc

Imre is a Postdoctoral Fellow working on lifetime extensions of artificial cells. He obtained his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology under the mentorship of Prof. Henrike Niederholtmeyer. He is most interested in the combination of synthetic and biological materials to investigate the logic underlying the processes of life. In his previous work, he developed a microfluidic chip to observe two-dimensional reaction diffusion in artificial cell populations under steady state conditions. He now applies his experience in cell free protein synthesis and artificial cell design at the single cell level. Focusing on the membrane interface, demarking cells, he aims to reinforce the interface stability while engineering cell homeostasis through controlled transmembrane nutrient exchange.

Yuchen Si - Postdoc

Yuchen completed her PhD in soft matter physics at the University of Edinburgh under the supervision of Paul Clegg, focusing on the morphology and flow properties of complex colloidal materials. She then joined Stoyan Smoukov’s group at Queen Mary University of London, working on phase transitions in emulsion droplets. Her current research focuses on the development of nanoscale liposomes, membrane fusion and its applications, and phase transitions in phospholipid-containing systems. Outside the lab, she enjoys cooking and playing tennis.

Jyoti Prakash Gurung - Postdoc

Jyoti obtained his Ph.D. from the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of New South Wales, Australia, in 2024 under the supervision of Dr. Matthew Baker. His doctoral research encompassed genetic engineering, microfluidics techniques, and optogenetic control of motile bacteria. At the Elani Lab, Jyoti continues his post doctoral research work on engineering liposome-attached motile bacteria for targeted delivery applications. Beyond his scientific pursuits, he enjoys outdoor activities such as gardening, hiking and playing sports, particularly football.

Alexander Wolf - Postdoc - MSCA Fellow

Alexander ("Alex") obtained his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Strasbourg, France, in 2024, following doctoral research at the Institute for Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences (INCI) under the supervision of Dr. Nicolas Vitale, where he subsequently remained as a postdoctoral researcher. There, he developed molecular tools and interdisciplinary approaches to investigate how signalling lipids regulate neuronal function and membrane trafficking through collaborations spanning neuroscience, chemical biology, and biophysics. Driven by a broad interest in understanding fundamental principles of information processing in life, and how it is integrated across multiple scales, he is convinced that tackling such complex questions requires working at the interface of multiple disciplines. He recently joined the Elani Lab as a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellow, where he is developing modular synthetic cell networks with programmable temporal behaviour to enable precise control of gene expression. Outside the lab, Alex enjoys science fiction in all its forms, particularly stories grounded in real scientific ideas.

Paul Wrede - Postdoc - Schmidt Science Fellow

Paul is a Schmidt Science Fellow working on acoustically controlled artificial cells, with the long-term goal of developing tiny, programmable systems that can sense, move, and treat pathological states inside the body. He studied Biomedical Engineering at the Technical University of Chemnitz, where he also worked at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research in Dresden on biohybrid microrobots for targeted drug delivery and developed a new physical model to better understand the motion of catalytic microswimmers. Paul completed his Master’s degree in Biomedical Technologies at the University of Tübingen, specialising in micro- and nanotechnologies and biomedical imaging. Alongside his studies, he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart and at ETH Zurich, where he investigated acoustically steered microrobots and imaging approaches to track them inside the body. For his PhD, Paul joined the Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems, where his research focused on developing new materials for acoustic microrobotics and combining imaging and ultrasound control into a single system for image-guided microrobotic drug delivery. Outside the lab, Paul enjoys running, bikepacking, and a good round of Dungeons & Dragons.

Elliya Park - Postdoc - MSCA Fellow

Elliya is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow working on advanced drug delivery using synthetic cells. After earning her BPharm and working as a pharmacist in Canada and S. Korea, she completed an MSc in Experimental Medicine at the University of British Columbia, where she studied erythropoietin to promote functional recovery in a kidney stone disease model. She then completed an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)-funded PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Toronto, where she developed brain-penetrating polymer–lipid nanoparticles for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Outside the lab, Elliya enjoys hiking and meditation.

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Shameem Golestaneh - PhD student

I started my microfluidics and biophysics journey during my Masters in Physics degree at the University of Warwick, looking at Chlamydomonas responses under external stimuli before moving on to utilising microfluidics to differentiate malarial cells from background healthy cells in my final year. I will now be developing a lab-on-chip to profile metabolic degradation as part of the 1+3 Mres + PhD ICB CDT program at Imperial College London, which is co-funded by EPSRC and Syngenta.

Yu Cheng - PhD Student

Yu Cheng is a CDT student sponsored by Syngenta. Under the co-supervision of Dr. Yuval Elani, Dr. Oscar Ces and Dr. James Hindley, his PhD project aims to build membrane/cell/tissue models for targeted discovery in the agri sector, involving applications of 3D bioprinting, microfluidics and membrane engineering. Yu Cheng studied chemistry at Fudan University (China) between 2014 and 2018 and graduated with an honours award in the National Top Talent Undergraduate Training program. During his MRes in chemical biology at Imperial College London (UK) in 2020, Yu Cheng mainly worked on microfluidic vesicle formation and membrane reconstitution. Yu Cheng is a fan of football and dota2 in his free time

Nina O’Toole - PhD student

Nina is a PhD student working between the Yuval Elani and Phil Jones’ lab in UCL. She works on exploiting optical trapping technologies for synthetic cell design and construction.

Lucy Sifeng Chen - PhD Student

I am an EPSRC funded PhD student co-supervised by Francesca Ceroni, and am working on artificial cells to synthesise and deliver anti-cancer peptides at tumour sites. I previously completed my Bachelors in Biochemistry and Masters in Systems and Synthetic Biology, both at Imperial College. In the summer following my Bachelors degree, I led the wet lab division of the Imperial team competing in the first annual iDEC (International Directed Evolution Competition) with our project on dual transcriptional regulators for quorum sensing, supervised by Prof. Mark Isalan. Outside of my studies, I like to write, play piano, and bake!

Zihan Zhang - PhD Student

I completed my MRes degree in chemical biology at Imperial College London in 2020. Now I am doing my PhD under the co-supervision of Prof. Oscar Ces and Dr. Yuval Elani. My MRes project was to fabricate vesicles with microfluidic methods, which aroused my interest in the design and application of artificial cells. My PhD project aims to develop a new microfluidic platform to create stimuli-responsive liposome formulation libraries and enable high-throughput production. I enjoy hiking and video games, and I am also an amateur singer.

Joshua Christopher - PhD Student

Josh is an EPSRC funded PhD student working on bacterial biohybrids. His project is focused on combining advances in liposome nanotechnology and synthetic biology to engineer a bacterial biohybrid system for targeted delivery of cancer therapeutics. He began his studies at the University of Oxford, completing an undergraduate master’s degree in biochemistry during which he wrote a research dissertation on generating SimCells, genome-free bacterial cells designed to be used as a novel platform for synthetic biology. Following this, he joined Oxford SimCell, a biotech start-up, where he worked on optimising the SimCell platform further. He went on to complete an MRes in Systems and Synthetic Biology at Imperial College London, designing novel immune receptors using denoising diffusion probabilistic models, before joining the Elani group to start his PhD. Outside of the lab, he hosts comedy nights and performs as a musical comedian.

Bradley Diggines - PhD student

Bradley is a first year PhD student on the ICB CDT 1+3 program. His research aims to develop automated systems to synthesise, functionalise and characterise lipid-based nanoparticles in high throughput. In collaboration with AstraZeneca, Bradley will also screen novel particle formulations for the delivery of cargo to key cells in their drug development pipeline. During his MRes in the Elani Group, he was awarded the ICB prize for establishing a robotic-microfluidic system for the automated synthesis and expulsion of large nanoparticle libraries. Previously, Bradley completed a MEng in Materials Science at the University of Sheffield, for which he was awarded the Mappin Medal. During this period, he worked on the automated analysis of kinetoplast DNA using AFM (Pyne Lab) and undertook an internship at McGill University, engineering shape-morphing structures using 3D printed polymers.

Xuemin Chen - PhD Student

Xuemin is a PhD student funded by a Departmental Scholarship under the supervision of Yuval. Her project focuses on synthetic cell engineering. She completed her undergraduate and master’s studies at China Agricultural University, where her research primarily revolved around protein assembly, constructing functional protein hydrogels and lattices for applications in drug delivery and catalysis. She is interested in developing intricate nano- and micro-architectures, aiming to design macromolecular assemblies with unique properties and functions. In her spare time, she enjoys playing badminton and hiking.

Rohan Sekhri - PhD student

I am an EPSRC student funded by the Centre for Doctoral Training in Chemical Biology working on synthetic tissues. My project is focused on 3D printing synthetic tissues for patterned interactions with cellular populations. I completed my undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Durham University before undertaking an MRes in Biological and Physical Chemistry at Imperial. My MRes research focussed on protein aggregation in Parkinson’s disease, leveraging molecular dynamics simulations and microbiology techniques to gain insight into phase-separated aggregation pathways. Outside of my studies, I enjoy cooking, reading and playing sports.

Julia Breed - PhD student

Julia is an MCSA-funded PhD student working on exosome-based intercellular communication in synthetic cells. She began her studies at Northeastern University in Boston, earning a B.S. in Cell & Molecular Biology and an M.S. in Biotechnology. During integrated research placements at MIT and Bluebird Bio, she focused on next-generation sequencing and lentiviral vector optimization. She then went on to join Beam Therapeutics, where she helped to develop novel viral vectors for in vivo delivery of base editors and other nucleic acid cargos. Outside of the lab, she enjoys skiing, hiking, and scuba diving. 

Ayelet Kalfus - PhD Student

A Marshall Scholar, Ayelet is exploring AI-driven computational protein design for synthetic cells. Drawn to interdisciplinary study, Ayelet majored in physics at Yale, pursuing research experiences across physics, biology, and computer science. With the Isaacs Lab, a synthetic biology lab at Yale, she investigated AI for the design of synthetic genomes. Ayelet has a deep appreciation for the arts—especially literature and visual arts—and believes in the interconnectedness of art and science.

Neha Karim - PhD Student

I am a first-year PhD student and research assistant in the Bidmos Group at the Department of Infectious Disease. Previously, I completed an MRes in Biomedical Research, specialising in bacterial pathogenesis and infection. During that time, I explored how a transcriptional factor activates the Type VI secretion system in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and contributed to the development of monoclonal antibody therapies targeting Neisseria infections. I have a strong interest in translational vaccinology, which has led me to pursue a PhD focused on engineering a synthetic platform for glycoconjugate vaccine production, expression, and delivery under the joined supervision of Dr Fadil Bidmos, Dr Yuval Elani, Dr Vanessa Terra, and Professor Paul Langford. When I am not in the lab, I enjoy reading, painting, and spending time with friends.

Josh Sandy - PhD Student

Josh is a Biochemistry (MSci) graduate from the University of Birmingham; his final year project focused on developing and optimising a targeted protein degradation system as a tool to study and elucidate the function of uncharacterised proteins. During his tenure in industry as a research associate, Josh acquired an extensive background in genetic engineering across wide array of microorganisms, covering both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Primarily, this work focused on engineering strains for bioprocess applications to produce commercially valuable proteins and chemicals. Currently, Josh is a PhD student funded by a departmental scholarship under the supervision of Yuval. His project aims to enhance the genetic complexity of synthetic cells through the development of input, process, and response modules – ultimately enabling synthetic cells to respond to an array of both biological and bio-orthogonal stimuli in a controlled and reliable manner. Outside of the lab, Josh enjoys kayaking, dodgeball, BJJ, and is a massive F1 fan

Amy Higgins - PhD Student

I am currently in the first year of the ICB CDT 1+3 MRes + PhD programme at Imperial College London. My project focuses on developing a microfluidic “Micro-Foundry” to engineer multi-compartment lipid nanoparticles as next-generation carriers for biomolecular therapies, with the aim of overcoming long-standing challenges in targeted delivery, endosomal escape, and multi-stage drug release. I have graduated in Pharmaceutical and Industrial Chemistry from the University of Limerick, Ireland, where I completed an eight-month placement at Eli Lilly Kinsale. There, I worked on palladium scavenging strategies for breast cancer drug synthesis, reprocessing out-of-specification batches through crystallisation, and troubleshooting process chemistry challenges, earning a site recognition award for my contributions. My final year thesis focused on designing electro-responsive polymer systems for controlled drug release, further strengthening my interest in smart materials for healthcare applications. Outside of research, I enjoy cooking for friends, yoga and Pilates.

Wenqing (Lucy) Ma - PhD Student

Lucy completed her MEng degree in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London. She is now pursuing a PhD funded by EPSRC under a co-supervision scheme with Prof. Rongjun Chen and Dr. Yuval Elani. Her research focuses on the design of stimuli-responsive synthetic vesicles for targeted cell delivery and controlled release, with the goal of advancing tumour-targeted drug delivery strategies. Outside the lab, Lucy is passionate about travelling, dancing, and exploring food from around the world.

Amelia Long - PhD Student

Amelia is a PhD student investigating the use of extracellular vesicles as biomarkers for disease and engineering synthetic cells that can detect and respond to these biomarkers. Her disease model is HCMV, a virus she knows well after researching it during her MSc in the Holder Lab at Imperial College London. During her time in the Holder lab, she explored how the virus interacts with immune cells in the placenta via glycan interactions. Prior to this, she completed her BSc in Biomedical Science at the University of Warwick. Outside the lab, Amelia enjoys musical theatre, knitting, and a long walk.

Manuel Bibrowski - PhD student

My research focuses on engineering novel lipid nanoparticles using a combination of in-cell and cell-free protein expression, chemical synthesis, and microfluidic techniques. Before joining the Elani Lab, I gained research experience at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, the Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Protein Research in Copenhagen, and Institut Curie in Paris. Along the way, I’ve worked on projects spanning protein engineering, medicinal chemistry, synthetic biology and RNA nanotechnology. Outside the lab, I enjoy playing the piano, latin and ballroom dancing and swimming.

MRes, MEng, and MSc students

• Eylul Akgok

PhD and Postdoc Alumni

• Divesh Baxani. Destination: (Microfluidics Innovation Hub)

• Claudia Contini (BBSRC Fellow and Lecturer, Life Sciences, Imperial College)

• Greta Zubaite (Lightcast Discovery)

• Federica Raguseo (PDRA - The Crick)

• Hannah Sleath (Aspect Capital)

• Carolina Monck (VC Investor, Episode 1)

• Ion Ioannou (PDRA - Imperial Chemistry)

• Ignacio Gispert Contamina (Group Manager - Imperial Chemistry)

• Zalike Keskin Erdogan (Lecturer - Ege University, Turkey)

• Colin Pilkington (PDRA - Kings College London)

• Roberto Di Blasi (Founder, Stealth Biotech)

• Karen Zhu (Lifescience Dynamics)

• Hannah Cooke (Portal Biotech)

• Matt Allen (PDRA - University of Munster)

• Aileen Cooney (PDRA - Imperial Chemistry)

• Juan Ivars Miñana (Life Sciences Consultant, Eradigm)

• Andrew Stannard

• Marcus Fletcher (Imperial Research Fellow)

• Oliver Gonzales-Carvajal (Postdoc - Imperial Medicine)