EAMONN READING - GROUP LEADER
Eamonn obtained his MSci in Chemistry from the University of Bristol, where he performed research with Dr Wuge Briscoe and Dr Gareth Owen. He then went on to obtain a DPhil at the University of Oxford within the laboratory of Professor Dame Carol Robinson in 2015. Eamonn joined King's College London as a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Paula Booth’s group in 2015 and was awarded a BBSRC Future Leader (now called Discovery) Fellow between 2016-19. In 2019, Eamonn became a Lecturer in Chemical Biology, starting his independent research group, and Senior Lecturer in 2022. Eamonn is now a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Associate Professor in Molecular Biosciences at the University of Southampton.
DIETMAR HAMMERSCHMID - RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Dietmar pursued his undergraduate studies in nutritional science and chemistry at the University of Vienna. After that, he continued with a master degree in biochemistry, for which he joined the mass spectrometry group of Prof. Andreas Rizzi as a thesis student in 2014. In 2015, he moved to the University of Antwerp where he became a PhD student in the lab's of Prof. Frank Sobott and Prof. Sylvia Dewilde. His PhD focus was mainly on the characterization of membrane proteins by native mass spectrometry. Besides that, he investigated the role of cold atmospheric plasma as a novel structural mass spectrometry tool for hydroxyl radical footprinting of proteins. He finished his PhD at the University of Antwerp in October 2019. Dietmar joined the Reading lab in 2019 as a UKRI-funded postdoctoral researcher.
JAKUB SYS - RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Jakub achieved an undergraduate degree in Forensic Analysis from the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague in 2016. In next two years, he continued with a master degree in Clinical Bioanalytics joining the mass spectrometry group of Prof. Radovan Hynek. In 2018, Jakub started his PhD, under Prof. Tomáš Ruml, focused on structural investigation of proteins of Retroviruses by mass spectrometric methods. In years 2020-2023, Jakub worked also as a research assistant at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague in a group of Associate Prof. Josef Cvačka. There he focused on an implementation of MS-based structural methods, such as protein covalent crosslinking and deuterium exchange, which were then subsequently applied in various type of projects and collaborations. Jakub joined the Reading lab in 2023 as an Eli Lilly Research Award Program postdoctoral researcher.
MAHJOOBEH EHSANI - RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Mahjoobeh achieved an undergraduate degree in Pure Chemistry 2005 from University of Mazandaran, Iran continued with a master’s degree over the next three years, joining the chromatography and separation science group of Prof. Mohammad R. Hadjmohammadi. In 2011, they started their PhD, under Prof. Mohammad J. Chaichi, focused on chemiluminescence assays and immobilization of biorecognition elements on nanocomposites for biosensors. In years 2015-2021, Mahjoobeh worked as a QC and R&D researcher for recombinant protein and antibody purification and characterisation in the pharmaceutical industry. Followed by years 2021-2023 within Prof. Alireza Ghassempour lab at Shahid Beheshti University for protein characterisation using mass spectrometry methods. In 2023, Mahjoobeh moved to the KU Leuven University (Rega Institute) where they worked as a postdoc researcher in Prof. Tassos Economou’s lab to study proteins structural dynamics using HDX-MS method. Mahjoobeh joined the Reading lab in 2025 as a UKRI-funded postdoctoral researcher.
RYAN LAWRENCE - PHD GRADUATE STUDENT
Ryan achieved an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from UCL in 2021. His final year research project, under Prof Ivan Gout, focused on the antioxidant function of Coenzyme A in regulating the metastasis suppressor protein NME1. Ryan's main research interests lie within Biochemistry, its many applications, and implication in translational and interdisciplinary research. Ryan joined the Reading group in 2021 as a BBSRC LIDo iCASE student with UCB BioPharma. His project will explore the dynamics of membrane protein multidrug resistance pumps using hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry and Cryo-EM.
POLINA HEATLEY - PHD GRADUATE STUDENT
Polina achieved her MSci in Chemistry with Biomedicine from King’s College London in 2022. She completed her final year research project within the Reading lab, using a phage display platform for the directed evolution of a protein tag. Following her undergraduate degree, Polina worked as a medical and scientific reviewer within the pharmaceutical industry, which sparked her interest in antibiotic resistance. Polina joined the Reading group in 2023 on a University of Southampton studentship. Her project will focus on membrane protein efflux pump dynamics in biofilm formation and multidrug resistance.
HENRY HAYWARD - MASTERS GRADUATE STUDENT
Henry is currently undertaking his Integrated Masters in Biomedical Science at the University of Southampton. For his 3rd year project Henry used single cell RNA sequencing data in Rstudio to compare the gene expression of T lymphocytes in healthy people and people with breast cancer, under the supervision of Dr Owen Rackham. Henry joined the Reading group in 2024 for his masters research project where he will learn research techniques in molecular and chemical biology, and contribute to the development of new bioanalytical workflows for investigating membrane protein dynamics.
PREVIOUS MEMBERS
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Benjamin Russell Lewis - PhD Student, 2019-23. Next steps: Postdoc within Prof Paula Booth's group at King's College London, UK.
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Valeria Calvaresi - Postdoc, 2022-23. Next steps: Postdoc within Dr Weston Struwe's group at the University of Oxford, UK.
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Chloe Bailey - PhD, 2021-23. Next steps: PhD within Dr Antoni Borysik's group at King's College London, UK.
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Laila Shah - MSci Student, 2020-21. Next steps: PhD within Prof Justin Benesch's group at the University of Oxford, UK.
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Tim Gemeinhardt - Erasmus+ Student, 2019-20. Next steps: PhD within Prof Nicole Francis’ group at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute, Canada.
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Tabasom Haghighi - Summer Student, 2018. Next steps: PhD within Prof. Molly Stevens group at Imperial College London, UK.