Lab Members

Kritarth received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in India. His thesis studies focussed on the role of NLRX1, a NLR family protein, in regulation of mitochondrial metabolism and TNF-induced cell death. During his PhD, he worked with Department of Pharmacology in design/synthesis of nano-conjugates and its application to mice model of glioblastoma. He also worked at the Seoul National University, South Korea, exploring the quantitative mitochondrial proteome of breast cancer cells. He has recently joined as postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Michael Duchen (PI) at the University College London and Prof. Heinz Jungbluth and Dr Manolis Fanto (Project collaborators) at the King’s College London. His research focuses on understanding the crosstalk between mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired autophagy pathway in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disorders. Besides reading the scientific literature, KS enjoys playing cricket and ping pong, rock climbing and road running.

Preethi has a post graduate degree in Microbiology from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), and a PhD in Stem Cell Biology from School of Regenerative Medicine (SORM), Manipal University, India, where she studied the effects of mitochondrial Manganese Superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) in Embryonic Stem cells under the guidance of Dr. Anujith Kumar. Post-PhD, she set out to follow her research interests in studying mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases. During her short stint as a post-doctoral researcher from 2017-2019 in Dr. Qian Cai’s lab in Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, she studied Axonal mitophagy in Alzheimer’s disease in primary Cortical Neuron Cultures and Brain slices using J20 and Tauopathy animal models. In the Duchen Lab, Preethi studies the effects of GBA1 mutations on Parkinson’s Disease, using human patient derived iPSCs as a model system. She, along with Alessia Fisher, specifically focus on mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired autophagic pathways. A trained Carnatic musician, when not in lab, you will find Preethi singing, watching movies, following sports, reading, crocheting or doing more than one of these at a time

During her Neuroscience BSc (with IE) at the University of Manchester, Olivia discovered an interest in the cellular basis of human neurological disease, while investigating the role of neuroinflammation in stroke with Professor Stuart Allan. During her undergraduate, Olivia also undertook an industrial internship in Germany at the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. Olivia then moved to UCL for her PhD with Professor Patrizia Ferretti, where she focussed on modelling human neurodevelopmental pathologies in vitro, with a focus on Down Syndrome. For this, Olivia generated human iPSC lines and used 2- and 3-dimensional human neural cultures (iPS-derived & primary) to investigate the role of neural progenitor cells in Down syndrome corticogenesis. In the Duchen lab, Olivia is now investigating Down syndrome-associated Alzheimer’s disease using iPSC-derived neurons and astrocytes. When not in the lab, Olivia is a competitive ballroom dancer and also loves climbing, yoga, exploring the countryside, and going to the gym.

Originally from Cyprus, Ioanna completed her BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Sheffield and then moved to London to study Neuroscience at King’s College London. For her master’s thesis she joined the Thuret Lab to investigate the effect of testosterone on human hippocampal progenitor cells. Having developed a strong interest in stem cells, she then joined Dr Davide Danovi’s group at the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, KCL, to complete a 5-month research internship involving cell culture and high-content imaging. She has now joined the Duchen Lab, as a research technician, to work on mitochondrial dysfunction in Down Syndrome associated Alzheimer’s Disease. When not feeding cells, you can most probably find her at the local movie theatre or attempting to lift weights at the gym.

My name is Alessia, and I am an MSc Neuroscience graduate from King’s College London. For my master’s thesis I joined the Vernon lab to investigate the effect of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome on the uptake of cargo by human iPSC-derived patient microglia cells. I have now joined the Duchen lab, as a lab technician, contributing to the research investigating the impact of GBA1 mutations on mitochondrial and lysosomal function in patient-derived fibroblasts and iPSCs, alongside Preethi Sheshadri and Alicia Costa.

Haoyu started to attend college in London in 2015 and has just graduated from Msci Human Genetics degree from UCL, during his studying he developed an interest in neurodegenerative diseases, aging, and molecular biology. He just started his PhD project “Exploring pathways to metabolic dysfunction in Down syndrome-associated Alzheimer’s disease”, supervised by Prof. Michael Duchen. His activity out of the lab is mainly doing sports, American pool, badminton, basketball, and tennis.

Gabriel earned his Bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy at Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción. He also studied Human Physiology at University of Chile dedicating his time to developing a mouse model of gestational obesity for understanding the effects of a maternal  high fat diet on fetal primary muscle cells. He moved to the UK to start his PhD under Michael Duchen’s supervision. Gabriel is interested in how MELAS disease could affect the function of iPSC-derived myotubes and is searching for a mechanism to restore its alterations. Out of the lab, he loves watching tennis, The Big Bang Theory and Harry Potter.

Anitta received her BSc Hons in Biomedical Science and went on to complete her MRes in Translational Medicine from the University of Liverpool. Her undergraduate project was focussed on investigating the potential cytotoxic effects of electronic cigarettes in A549 lung cells. During her MRes, Anitta worked on generating and characterising a novel luciferase system-based reporter gene vector for stem cell tracking. Her MRes project also involved assessing the efficacy of non-invasive imaging techniques for tracking a potential stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease. Anitta is currently a PhD student in the Duchen lab, collaborating with Nanna Therapeutics to investigate potential treatment strategies for Primary Mitochondrial disease with the utilisation of iPSC-derived models. Outside of the lab, she is a STEM ambassador and enjoys her time reading, exploring and travelling.

Following graduation in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Bologna, Italy, Giacomo moved to the Royal Veterinary College, London, where he obtained a Master degree and completed a clinical residency in veterinary emergency and critical care. After a period working as a clinician at the University of Edinburgh veterinary teaching hospital, Giacomo started a PhD in experimental and personalised medicine with UCL. Giacomo is interested in understanding the mechanisms of organ dysfunction in critical illness, and specifically in sepsis, to identify possible novel therapeutic targets. His current research examines the role of mitochondria in sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction

Rob is working across Professor Duchen’s lab and Professor Singer’s Bloomsbury Institute for Intensive Care Medicine as an MRC clinical research training fellow.  He is normally an intensive care medicine doctor but is taking time out to complete a PhD investigating the role thermogenic mechanisms in sepsis – specifically looking at the generation of fever and how that may improve outcomes in patients.  Outside the lab he is an expert foodie, amateur tennis player, and likes walking around galleries.