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.
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 Eshani - 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.
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.
Di Zhu - PhD graduate student
Di Zhu obtained his Bachelor's degree from South China Agricultural University. He then pursued a master's degree at the Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, where he joined the research focused on the synthesis of small-molecule compounds and their target identification. During the master's degree, he developed a particular interest in tracing target proteins. In autumn 2025, Di Zhu was awarded the Chinese Government Scholarship for Doctoral Studies (CSC Scholarship) to join the Reading lab. He will dedicate his doctoral research to investigating multidrug efflux mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance using chemical biology approaches.
Tom Rose - Master of Research student
Tom graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge. For his third year project, Tom compared root colonisation by mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis in different symbiosis mutants of Nicotiana benthamiana and tomato plants to determine whether symbiosis signalling and the genetic components that regulate it are required in solanaceous plants, under the supervision of Professor Giles Oldroyd. He is currently undertaking an MRes in Advanced Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton and has joined the Reading Group in 2025 for his Masters research project where he will will investigate multidrug efflux mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms using chemical biology approaches.
Previous group members
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Ryan Lawrence - PhD, 2021-25. Next steps: Postdoc within Dr Harry Low's group at Imperial College London
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Dietmar Hammerschmid - Postdoc, 2019-25. Next steps: Senior Scientist at the max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt, Germany
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Henry Hayward - MSci Student, 2024-25. Next steps: Further education
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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
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Valeria Calvaresi - Postdoc, 2022-23. Next steps: Wellcome Trust fellow at the University of Oxford
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Chloe Bailey - PhD, 2021-23. Next steps: PhD within Dr Antoni Borysik's group at King's College London
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Laila Shah - MSci Student, 2020-21. Next steps: PhD at Prof Justin Benesch's group at University of Oxford
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Tim Gemeinhardt - Erasmus+ Student, 2019-20. Next steps: PhD within Prof Nicole Francis’ group at the Montreal CRI, Canada
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Tabasom Haghighi - Summer Student, 2018. Next steps: PhD within Prof. Molly Stevens group at Imperial College London