ML
Current Members of Laabei Group
Dr Serena Bettoni (Marie Curie Fellow)
I obtained a BSc in Biotechnology (2006) and a MSc in Industrial Biotechnology (2009) both from Universita´ degli studi di Milano-Bicocca (Italy). After a professional school in “Specialist in Pharmacological Research” (2009-2012) at IRCCS Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Italy, I completed my PhD in 2017 at the same institute in collaboration with the Open University (UK). My research was about the study of interactions between the coagulation and complement systems, focusing on the kidney diseases and haemolytic uremic syndrome. I then spent a year at Novartis laboratories in Basel (Switzerland), where I tested new potential drugs for the inhibition of complement activation. In March 2018 I joined Prof. A.M. Blom's group in Lund University (Sweden) as a postdoctoral researcher to study host-pathogen interactions with particular focus on innate immunity and bacteria (Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Haemophilus influenzae and group A streptococcus). In April 2023 I joined Dr. Laabei´s lab as Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow to investigate the evasion strategies by the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus.
In my free time I enjoy hiking, cooking and travelling.
Edward Chaloner (PhD student)
I completed my MSc degree at the University of Bath in 2023 and was a awarded a competitive EPSRC DTP PhD studentship where I started in the Laabei lab on October 2023. My project involves understanding how bacteria evade the host innate immune system. Outside the lab, I’m a keen skier and club chess player.
Sri Wijayanti Wulandari (PhD Student)
I completed my undergraduate study in Natural Sciences (Molecular Biology) from Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2015. Then I had my MSc of Molecular Biology from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia in 2017. My master's project was optimizing the proliferation rate of human cardiac stem cells and it was completed at the Department of Research and Development, National Cardiovascular Centre Harapan Kita, Jakarta. Currently, I am doing my PhD at the University of Bath. My project revolves around: identifying genes involved in S. aureus resistance mechanism to polyamines, screening of clinically relevant antibiotics that synergize with polyamines, and investigating how polyamines interact with cell membranes.
In my free time, I'd love to read, culinary travel, listening to podcast, and enjoy movies.
Ebba Qviberg (PhD Student)
​I hold a BSc in Biomedical Laboratory Sciences and an MSc in Infection Biology from Uppsala University, which have enhanced my expertise in infectious diseases. Following my MSc degree, I worked in industry with Sysmex Astrego and Galderma, focusing on developing antimicrobial susceptibility testing assays, where I developed my clinical diagnosis and dermatological research skills. I am interested in research targeting interactions between bacterial virulence factors and host immune mechanisms. In my GW4 MRC DTP PhD project, I will focus on understanding how Staphylococcus aureus evades the complement system, a critical defence against microbial invasion. Given the rising antibiotic resistance in S. aureus isolates, I aim to uncover the mechanisms behind its complement evasion, offering potential insights for novel therapies to fight against S. aureus infections.
Emily Rudolph (PhD student)
I gained a BA in Chemistry (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) with a focus in Marine Sciences from Wittenberg University in Springfield Ohio, USA (2018). After this, I completed my MSc in Molecular Microbiology at the University of Bath, UK in 2019. My PhD at the University of Bath is focused on understanding biofilm formation and fatty acid resistance in both S. aureus and S. epidermidis.
I enjoy knitting, painting, reading, cooking, and traveling in my free time.
PhD Co-supervision and Collaborators
Dr Rachel Heylen (PhD student) Successfully defended her PhD thesis (Urease: New Methods for Sensing and Prevention of Urease-Associated Pathogenicity) in 2023.
Main Supervisor: Prof Toby Jenkins (Department of Chemistry, University of Bath)
​​
Meltem Agar (2020 - Current) PhD student. Thesis: Aptamer-Molecular Imprinted Polymer Hybrid Biosensors for Pathogen Detection in Water.
Main Supervisor: Prof Pedro Estrela (Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath)
​
Joshua Lewis (2020 - Current) PhD student. Thesis: Development of novel therapeutic biologics as antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus.
Main Supervisor: Prof Jean van den Elsen (Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath)
​
Emelie Alsheim (2021 - Current) PhD student (Marie Curie). Thesis: Development of a point of care test for maternal carriage of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) for prevention of neonatal infection.
Main Supervisor: Prof Toby Jenkins (Department of Chemistry, University of Bath)
​
Nathan Palk (2021 - Current) PhD student (SWBio DTP). Thesis: Defining the role of membrane stability in the ability of Staphylococcus aureus to form part of the human microbiome.
Main Supervisor: Prof Ruth Massey (School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol)
​
Simon Booth (2022 - Current) PhD student. Thesis: Burns: infection detection and treatment.
Main Supervisor: Prof Toby Jenkins (Department of Chemistry, University of Bath)​​
​
Piotr Burzyński (2023 - Current) PhD student (SWBio DTP). Thesis: How biofilms protect themselves against bacteriophage infection and how they fail.
Main Supervisor: Dr Wolfram Moebius (Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter)
​
Poppy Miller (2023 - Current) PhD student (GW4 MRC DTP). Thesis: Sticky but not sweet: deciphering how Streptococcus bacteria drive clot formation and heart disease
Main Supervisor: Dr Angela Nobbs (Bristol Dental School, University of Bristol)
​
Adam Harris (2024 - Current) PhD Student (SWBio DTP)
Main Supervisor: Dr Scott Lovell (Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath)
​
Chiara Bonaldo (2024 - Current) PhD student (GW4 MRC DTP)
Main Supervisor: Dr Siang Boon Koh (School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol)​​​
Previous Members of Laabei Group
_edited.jpg)
Dr Toska Wonfor (former PhD student)
My project focused on studying the evasive strategies developed by Staphylococcus aureus to inhibit the complement system. I successfully completed my PhD in June 2023.
I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Birmingham.
Dr Shuxian Li (former PhD student)
I started my PhD in 2020 at the University of Bath. My projects were focused on 1) investigating the contribution of Staphylococcal surface proteins to complement evasion; 2) identifying protease and biofilm regulation gene loci in the pathogen S. aureus; 3) examining complement regulators recruitment via S. aureus surface proteins. I successfully completed my PhD in May 2024.
I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Medicine, Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
​
Dr Edward Douglas (former PDRA)
During my postdoc in the Laabei group (January 2022-October 2023) I worked on developing novel antimicrobials primarily focusing on novel polyamine based compounds and lipoteichoic acid inhibitors.
I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Imperial College London.
​