Group Members

Paul did his undergraduate and PhD studies at the University of York completing his doctorate 2000 under the supervision of Prof. Paul Walton. He then undertook postdoctoral research in the group of Prof. David Leigh first in Warwick and then Edinburgh. In 2003 he took a teaching fellow position at the same university and 2006 he was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2014 and Professor in 2022. He enjoys a round of golf, growing tomatoes and chillies, and occasionally looking after his young children.

Emer joined the Lusby group in April 2022. She completed a BSc(Hons) at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand in 2016 and in 2018 moved to Australia to undertake a PhD at ANU Canberra under the supervision of A/Prof. Nick White. During her PhD she worked on synthesising anion templated supramolecular structures and hydrazone based cages for anion binding. When she is not in the lab, Emer enjoys taking dance classes and exploring Edinburgh and the rest of the UK.

Laura joined the Lusby group in May 2022 to work on the catalytic applications of metal-organic cages. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Nottingham in 2018, and then completed her PhD at the University of Oxford working under the supervision of Professor Matthew Langton and Professor Paul Beer on halogen bonding and stimuli-responsive anion transporters. Most recently, she has been accepted onto the 2022 CAS Future Leaders program. When not in the lab Laura enjoys cooking, swimming, and playing boardgames. 

Jun joined the Lusby group as a PhD student in September 2023 to work on the catalytic application of metal-organic cages having been awarded a prestigious CSC scholarship. She completed her Masters in Chemistry at East China Normal University where she focused on organic small molecules catalysis. In her spare time Jun likes travelling, photography and watching movies. Recently, she is trying to learn how to cook.

Ellie joined the Lusby group as a PhD student in September 2022 to work on asymmetric catalysis with metal-organic cages. She completed her MChem in 2017 at the University of Edinburgh, including a year abroad in her final year at the Université de Montréal. Her masters research focussed on designing and synthesising PROTACs to target NAMPT for the treatment of cancer. When not in the lab Ellie enjoys hill-walking, cooking, running and exploring Scotland.

Ayesha joined the Lusby group as PhD student in September 2021, working on the development of low-symmetry foldamer cages for catalysis. She completed her Masters (MChem) at the University of Edinburgh, including a year in industry working for MSD in London where she focused on synthetic medicinal chemistry. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, travelling and trying out new things.

Hang joined the Lusby group as a PhD student in January 2021. She completed her MChem at Tianjin Normal University in China under the supervision of Prof. Chengpeng Li. For her Master’s research, she studied the adsorption properties of metal-organic frameworks. Her PhD project focuses on catalytic properties of coordination cages. In her spare time she enjoys watching movies and reading novels, especially science fiction.