Laura Martin-Sancho
Assistant Professor
Jack Mellors
Postdoctoral Associate
Jack did his undergraduate in Biomedical Science at the University of Surrey, which included a placement year with UKHSA - Porton Down, where his interest in Virology began. H then obtained his PhD with the University of Liverpool, investigating the effects of the complement system on Ebola virus and SARS-CoV-2 infections. Following a 3-year postdoc position in drug repurposing for COVID-19 treatment at the University of Oxford, he joined the laboratory of Dr. Laura Martin-Sancho due to his interests in neglected tropical diseases and virus-host interactions. He is currently investigating the interplay of host restriction factors with Zika and dengue viruses. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, writing, gaming, and keeping fit through gym and dance.
Lukas Bradshaw
PhD student
Lukas completed his undergraduate degree in Medical Microbiology from the University of Leeds with an industrial placement year working at a world-leading infection prevention and control company in Halifax, West Yorkshire. During his final year research project and associated studies, he developed a particular fascination in the subversion of host cellular processes by RNA viruses and the evolutionary battle between humans and their viruses, by which each continually adapts to overcome the other. This interest led to Lukas joining the Martin-Sancho laboratory, where he is currently investigating the involvement of the nuclear subcellular compartment during the Flavivirus replication cycle. When not in the lab, Lukas enjoys going for walks with his dog, watching/playing sport, and eating nice food.
Daphne Armengol
Master student
Daphne recently completed her undergraduate studies in Biochemistry at King’s College London. In final year, her research on invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella and a project exploring emerging malaria diagnostics sparked her interest in neglected tropical diseases, particularly those that are vector-borne. This motivated her to join Dr. Laura Martin-Sancho’s laboratory, where her project focuses on investigating how host restriction factors influence response to Zika virus infection. Daphne is also a member of the Imperial iGEM 2026 Team and enjoys running and playing netball in her spare time.
Rhian O’Connor
Postdoctoral Associate
Rhian did an integrated master's in microbiology at the University of Leeds before completing her PhD in virology at the University of Cambridge. Throughout her studies she loved investigating the interplay between viruses and their hosts and thus she joined the laboratory of Dr Laura Martin-Sancho due to this shared interest. Rhian is currently investigating this in more depth, focussing on elucidating the mechanisms by which hosts restrict infection with Zika and Dengue virus and how these viruses overcome this restriction. During her spare time, she enjoys baking focaccia in all its forms, spending time in nature, and bouldering at the Castle climbing centre with friends
Laura did PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, Germany, and postoc at the Scripps Research Institute at the laboratory of Prof. Sumit Chanda.. Throughout her career, Laura has been interested in understanding the molecular basis of disease outcomes following infection with emergent viruses, including influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and more recently focusing on mosquito-borne flaviviruses. Besides science, Laura loves outdoors, practicing yoga and socializing with friends.
Rootjikarn (Emma) Moonrinta
PhD student
Rootjikarn (Emma) Moonrinta is originally from Thailand. She received her B.A. in Biology from Bowdoin College, where she studied mRNA transport in Candida albicans. She then pursued her master’s degree at the University of Michigan, where she investigated human astrovirus tropism using human intestinal enteroids. Because dengue is endemic in Thailand and remains a significant public health issue, she has developed a strong interest in flavivirus biology and the innate immune responses against these viruses. Therefore, she joined Dr. Laura Martin-Sancho’s lab as a Ph.D. student. Her research focuses on the antiviral mechanisms of a putative interferon-stimulated gene and on investigating the molecular basis of dengue virus fitness and virulence. In her free time, Emma enjoys swimming, browsing through bookshops, and exploring London and the UK.
Zimo He
Master student
Zimo completed her undergraduate in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Surrey. During this time, Zimo worked on tick associated viruses, which lead to a strong interest in neglected tropical diseases. Driven by this, Zimo joined the laboratory of Laura Martin-Sancho, where current research focuses on host virus interactions in Zika virus infection, investigating how viral non-structural proteins modulate host restriction factors and antiviral signalling pathways. In her spare time, Zimo enjoys reading, playing the piano, and staying active through Pilates, tennis and golf.
Alumni
Flora Averill-Spence
Master student
Flora did her undergraduate in Immunology at the University of Manchester. Due to an interest in arboviruses, she joined the laboratory of Dr Laura Martin-Sancho. Flora is currently investigating host restriction of Zika virus infection. During her spare time, she enjoys climbing and reading.
Niels Vreeswijk - 2025-2026 Master student - Postgraduate, University of Utrecht
Ak Pg Umar (Don) - 2026 Master student - Postgraduate, University of Brunei
Sacha Frick - 2025 Master student - PhD student Pasteur Institute
Jess Butcher - 2024 Undergraduate - Researcher at Sigma labs