Research Team
UCL
Martina Micheletti
Co-Director
Professor Martina Micheletti is Professor of Bioprocess Fluid Dynamics at UCL and her research focuses on the fundamental engineering underpinning the development and scaling challenges of upstream processing for vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and cell and gene therapy products. She has applied her expertise in the use of advanced optical and imaging techniques for the measurement and quantification of flow characteristics and mixing dynamics for bioreactors with different agitation mechanisms (rocked, stirred, shaken). She has pioneered microscale methods for rapid process development, adapting these for quasi-perfusion of monoclonal antibodies, and will apply her expertise to novel vaccine technologies within VaxHub Sustainable.
Duygu Dikicioglu
Co-Investigator
Dr Duygu Dikicioglu is Associate Professor in Digital Bioprocessing and Biochemical Engineering in the UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering. Duygu’s main research interests include the areas of digitalisation and industrial biotechnology. Additionally, Duygu contributes to various undergraduate and postgraduate IChemE accredited degree programmes operated by the department. Duygu also leads the Smart Digitalisation Decisions in Bioprocess Development and Manufacturing MBI and contributes to the Advanced Data Analytics for Biopharmaceutical Optimisation MBI.
Daniel Bracewell
Co-Investigator
Professor Daniel G. Bracewell is Professor of Bioprocess Analysis at the UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering. His notable contributions have significantly advanced our understanding of biological product purification, often through collaborations with industry leaders. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, many of which involve fruitful partnerships with esteemed institutions in Thailand, India, and the USA. Currently, he oversees 15 doctoral and postdoctoral projects. One particularly impactful project led to the creation of Puridify, a nanofiber adsorption technology company now owned by Cytiva. As the academic lead for the UCL-Cytiva Centre of Excellence, Daniel is at the forefront of pioneering efforts in bioprocessing. His current focus involves the development of cell-free / enzymatic manufacturing technologies, aimed at facilitating personalised cell and gene therapies.
Stefanie Frank
Co-Investigator
Dr Stefanie Frank is Associate Professor in Engineering Biology in the UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering. She has pioneered work in bioengineering bacterial protein compartments and Virus-Like Particles (VLPs), leading to the development of novel tools and applications. Steffi’s research focuses on creating new modular protein-based vaccine technologies, combining strategies for antigen display and cargo encapsulation using protein nanoparticles to create a versatile platform for vaccine applications. In addition to her research, Steffi contributes to vaccine manufacturing training as the module leader for the UCL-MIT MBI Vaccine Bioprocess Development and Commercialisation course. She supports knowledge dissemination in her roles as Co- Chair at the ECI Microbial Engineering and ECI Vaccine Technology conference series and as an active member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)’s Analytical Biosciences committee.
Michael Thomas
Co-Investigator
Dr Mike Thomas is a Lecturer in Bionanotechnology and Biochemical Engineering based at UCL’s London Centre for Nanotechnology and the UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering. Mike’s main area of research is in lateral-flow biosensor technology development. Mike brings advanced engineering principles, nanomaterial synthesis and characterisation techniques to develop improved understanding of nanoparticle responses in various biosensing formats. The technologies developed within his research are then directed at both infectious disease detection, and to the development of small-scale/ low-cost platform analytical tools for bionanoparticle characterisation and bioprocess monitoring.
Sudaxshina Murdan
Co-Investigator
Professor Murdan is a Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the UCL School of Pharmacy. She is a pharmacist and pharmaceutical scientist. Her research focuses on the development of drugs and vaccines. Medicines for treating nail diseases, vaccines that generate immunity at mucosal surfaces in humans, fish and animals and methods to increase vaccine acceptance are of particular focus. She teaches on the UCL MPharm, M.Sc., PhD and Qualified Person programmes.
Brenda Parker
Co-Investigator
Dr Brenda Parker is Associate Professor of Sustainable Bioprocess Design at UCL. Her current research seeks to address the need for sustainable and scalable platforms for industrial biotechnology and bio-integrated design. Brenda is an Executive Editor of the Journal Biotechnology Design (Cambridge University Press). She is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Rita Morais
Co-Investigator
Rita Morais joined the VaxHub Sustainable team in April 2024, focusing on researching opportunities for industrial symbiosis and the circular economy within the industry. Rita holds a Master of Architecture in Bio-Integrated Design from UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture, a bachelor’s degree in Business from Nova SBE in Lisbon and completed a certification in business sustainability management from the University of Cambridge. Rita’s interdisciplinary approach integrates nature into the design process, combining scientific exploration, computational design, and environmental simulations to create sustainable solutions.
Mohammed Yousif
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Dr Mohamed Yousif is a research fellow at the UCL School of Pharmacy. He joined UCL in 2019 to work on a collaborative research project about sublingual delivery of vaccines. At the same time, he was a visiting scientist at the MHRA South Mimms Laboratories, training on immunoassays and preclinical studies. Since then, his research at UCL has focused primarily on developing vaccine formulations for humans and animals. In 2024, he was awarded the prestigious UCL Bogue Fellowship to visit Tulane University in the US to conduct further research in the area of cellular immune response.
Yuqian Ou
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Dr Yuqian Ou joined the UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering in January 2025. Her current project focuses on enhancing mRNA stability through innovative encapsulation strategies. Yuqian completed her PhD in Oncology at the University of Oxford in 2024, where she specialised in the development of protein- and mRNA- based bifunctional vaccines targeting HPV infections and associated cancers. Prior to her doctoral studies, she obtained a master’s degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and gained valuable experience as a research assistant at both the University of Hong Kong and the University of Oxford. Her work at these institutions involved cancer therapeutics and vaccine developments.
Braulio Carrillo Sanchez
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Dr Braulio Carrillo Sanchez has a strong interest in the production, separation and analysis of viral vectors and extracellular vesicles. He earned a PhD in Biochemical Engineering from UCL and has extensive experience working on research projects in collaboration with industry partners. In his current role, he is investigating methods for affinity separation of adenovirus-vectored vaccines and exploring the heterogeneity of resulting viral particles.
Ryan Mellor
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Dr Ryan Mellor joined VaxHub Sustainable in October 2024 and is working with Dr Duygu Dikicioglu. Ryan is developing a platform for building and sharing vaccine bioprocess workflows. His work focuses on creating digital tools that streamline laboratory workflows, enhance reproducibility, and accelerate vaccine formulation optimisation. Drawing on his expertise in programming, Ryan designs integrated systems that connect laboratory equipment, data acquisition, and analysis platforms to enable high-throughput experimentation with minimal human intervention.
University of Oxford
Sarah Gilbert
Co-Director
Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert’s chief research interest is the development of viral vectored vaccines that work by inducing strong and protective T and B cell responses.
Professor Gilbert’s work also focuses on the rapid transfer of vaccines into GMP manufacturing and first in human trials. In 2020 Professor Gilbert became the Oxford Project Leader for ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, a vaccine against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
Catherine Green
Co-Investigator
Professor Cath Green is a Professor of Clinical Biomanufacturing in the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford. She is Co-Director of VaxHub Global, and one of the co-investigators of VaxHub Sustainable. Professor Green heads Oxford’s Clinical Biomanufacturing Facility (CBF), and is a Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. Cath is an expert in genetics and cell biology and specialises in manufacturing vaccines
according to the principles of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for use in clinical trials. She played an integral role as GMP-lead in the development of the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine in 2020.
Sandy Douglas
Co-Investigator
Dr Sandy Douglas is an Associate Professor at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford. Sandy’s main research interests are the development of new antibody-inducing vaccines and breaking down the barriers to translation of new biological medicines into clinical trials. Sandy leads the University’s Bioprocess and Analytical Development (BiPAD) team, which is concerned with bringing together clinical and bioprocess understanding to make small-scale GMP manufacturing more cost-effective, lowering the barrier to experimental medicine and early- phase clinical development of novel interventions.
Sumi Biswas
Co-Investigator
Dr Sumi Biswas is an Associate Professor of Vaccinology at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford where she leads the Transmission Blocking Malaria Vaccine Group. She is also a co-founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer of SpyBiotech Limited, a biotech company working on developing effective vaccines. In 2017, she was named as a rising star in BioBeat’s Movers and Shakers list of 50 inspirational women in the BioTech industry.
Catherine Cherry
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Dr Catherine Cherry earned her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Oxford, Catherine pursued a PhD specialising in the mechanism of Herpes Simplex Virus-1 infection within the Virology section of the Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial College London. Following the completion of her doctoral studies, Catherine worked as a scientist with the Standards Lifecycle team at the MHRA, where she contributed to the development of WHO International Standards for viral vaccines. In October 2023 Catherine began a Senior Scientist position with Sandy Douglas at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford.
Jacqueline Vieira
Research Associate
Jacqueline Vieira gained her master’s degree at Pierre et Marie Curie University (Paris). Following that, she embarked on a successful career in the upstream bioprocessing / cell culture sector of the industry. Jacqueline began her career at Oxford Biomedica and played a crucial role in lentivirus production for CAR-T gene therapy, gaining invaluable experience with GMP. In her current role for VaxHub Sustainable, Jacqueline will be contributing to the development of a perfusion system for improved adenovirus production.
Reshma Kailath
Research Assistant
Reshma Kailath completed a BSc in Biochemistry (University of East London) and an MSc in Biomedical Science (Nottingham Trent University). She has been part of Sarah Gilbert’s team as a Research Assistant for six years, where she is heavily involved in the early stages of the design of viral vectored vaccines. Reshma has recently transitioned to work on the development of vaccine platforms to improve the infectivity and immunogenicity aiming for vaccines sustainability in VaxHub Sustainable.
University of Manchester
James Winterburn
Co-Investigator
Dr James Winterburn is a Reader in Chemical Engineering at The University of Manchester, with a research focus on developing scalable, efficient manufacturing methods for biobased chemicals, including biosurfactants and biopolymers, via a bioprocessing and biochemical engineering route. He commercialised patented (WO2017220957A1) biosurfactant production and separation technology via Holiferm, spun out from the Winterburn Research Group in 2018. Additionally, he is Associate Editor of The Biochemical Engineering Journal.
University of Leeds
Nicola Stonehouse
Co-Investigator
Professor Nicola Stonehouse is Professor of Molecular Virology at the University of Leeds. Her research concerns virology and RNA biology, applying novel approaches to the study of virus replication and assembly. The focus of her research within VaxHub Sustainable is the generation and characterisation of virus-like particles.
Emma Wroblewski
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Dr Emma Wroblewski graduated with a PhD in Molecular Biology in 2019 and now works as a PDRA in the Stonehouse group at the University of Leeds. Emma’s work focuses on the development of novel virus-like particle vaccine candidates and generic vaccine scaffold systems. Additional research areas include scalable purification methods for transfer to industrial settings.
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
Brendan Wren
Co-Investigator
Professor Brendan Wren is a co-investigator in both VaxHub Sustainable and VaxHub Global. He is Professor of Microbial Diseases at LSHTM and Co-Director of the LSHTM Vaccine Centre. His current research focuses on glycosylation in bacterial pathogens and developing a “glycotoolbox” for glycoengineering.
Lizzie Atkins
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Dr Lizzie Atkins joined the VaxHub Sustainable team in July 2024. She has previously researched both bacterial and viral vaccines and was formerly funded by the charity Meningitis Now to produce PGCT-derived vaccines to reduce meningitis from pneumococcal infection. She did her PhD on the p7 protein of Hepatitis C at the University of Leeds, then worked on HIV/Hepatitis C coinfection immunology at Imperial College London. In 2018 she joined Brendan Wren’s bacterial glycoengineering group at the LSHTM.
Management and Engagement Team
Stephen Morris
Outreach and Public Engagement Manager
Dr Stephen A Morris has worked in academic institutions in the UK, Germany and USA, and spent a number of years developing VLP based vaccines in the UK Biotech industry. Stephen initially joined the original VaxHub as Research Fellow specialising in the use of high throughput methodologies for vaccine bioprocess development and analytics, with an emphasis on the transfer of these technologies for use in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).
Sean Elias
Public Engagement with Research Lead
Dr Sean Elias is the VaxHub Sustainable Public Engagement with Research Lead based at the University of Oxford. Sean was formally a laboratory-based immunologist and has more than a decade of experience working on vaccines and clinical trials. The Covid-19 pandemic provided Sean with the opportunity to switch careers to another interest, public engagement and outreach. Through collaborations with schools, science festivals and science museums Sean has been working on novel ways to take the science of designing and manufacturing vaccines from the laboratory into public spaces.
Ludovica Vaiarelli
Partners Relations Manager
Ludovica Vaiarelli holds a BSc in Bioprocessing of New Medicines with Business and Management and an MSc in Bioscience Entrepreneurship from UCL. She served as Outreach Coordinator in VaxHub 1, facilitating the public dissemination of research outcomes through webinars, two YouTube series, training in vaccine development and production, and as co-lead of an outreach programme in schools. As Partners Relations Manager, she is responsible for cultivating and strengthening collaborative relationships with key partners, identifying potential strategic alliances, discussing synergies, and ensuring engagement and effective communication between the core research group and its partners.
Anca Tacu
Policy Advisor
Anca Tacu is based in UCL’s Policy Impact Unit. She works with VaxHub Sustainable researchers to facilitate and enhance the policy impact of their work. Anca previously held roles in the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) and the UCL School of Pharmacy. Her background includes a particular emphasis on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She was the founding network manager of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network UK, growing this into a thriving collaborative space for UK HEIs to contribute actionable research to policy making.
Lalintip Hocharoen
Programme Manager
Dr Lalintip Hocharoen is a Programme Manager at the University of Oxford, supporting the work of VaxHub since 2024. She has more than 10 years of experience in biopharmaceutical and vaccine development, along with strong project management skills, to help drive forward VaxHub’s goals.
Michael Sulu
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead
Dr Mike Sulu is a Lecturer in Biochemical Engineering. Alongside this substantive role he is also the UCL Race Equality Envoy, a Mental Health First Aider, UCL Dignity Advisor, UCL Fair recruitment specialist and the PI for two concurrent grants that aim to improve access to doctoral education for underrepresented groups in HE. Outside of this he remains active in the areas of communication, mentoring, access and widening participation, and supports Further Education as a school governor.
Jane Doogan
Project Manager
Jane Doogan is a project manager within VaxHub Sustainable. Jane joined the original VaxHub in 2019 and has more than 20 years’ experience of working in management and public affairs roles within education and healthcare.
Emily Petch
Project Manager
Emily Petch is an experienced project manager within the VaxHub Sustainable team based at UCL. Emily joined the original VaxHub team as a project manager in April 2019. Prior to joining UCL, Emily’s experience includes working in the not-for-profit and healthcare sectors.
International Advisory Board
Barry Buckland
Chair
Barry Buckland is an experienced international expert in the development of biologic products with a special focus on vaccines and therapeutic proteins and for many years was head of the Merck Research Laboratories Bioprocess R&D group. Barry has received numerous awards recognising his leadership in the development and licensure of vaccines to prevent HPV, Rotavirus, Pneumonia, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B. Barry is a member of the prestigious USA National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Ingrid Kromann
Member
Ingrid Kromann is a Senior Advisor in the Vaccine Manufacturing and Supply Chain Division at CEPI. She joined CEPI in 2020 as Head of CMC in CEPI’s Vaccine R&D Department and performed the role of Acting Executive Director of the Vaccine Manufacturing and Supply Chain Division from 2022 to 2024. Ingrid has a background as a chemical engineer and has over 30 years’ of experience in vaccine development, including her previous role as Director of Vaccine Development at Statens Serum Institut (Denmark).
Marianne Ellis
Member
Marianne Ellis, BEng, PhD, CEng, MIChemE, is Professor of BioProcess and Tissue Engineering at the University of Bath, UK. Her research is focused on bioprocess design for tissue engineering applications. Marianne is Director of ‘CARMA’ (Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub), the EPSRC Sustainable Manufacturing Hub. She started her career focused on the scale up of regenerative medicine and cell therapies, moved into non-animal technologies for in vitro models, and is now focused on cellular agriculture and in particular cultured meat. Marianne is also co- founder and CTO of Cellular Agriculture Ltd.
Günter Jagschies
Member
Günter Jagschies has been active in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing market since 1985. Günter has been an ambassador for GE Healthcare Life Sciences (now Cytiva) globally advising biopharma companies on manufacturing strategies and economics and as an active member in the biopharma community and its conferences. His main contribution to the science and education in this field is “Biopharmaceutical Processing” a comprehensive textbook on development, design, and implementation of manufacturing processes, which he published in 2018 with support from 100 industrial and academic co-authors. He is now the Principal Consultant in his own consulting firm Gemini BioProcessing.
David Pollard
Member
David Pollard has 30 years’ experience of diverse industrial bioprocess development for a range of therapeutics including novel mAbs, peptides, anti infectives, biocatalysts and more recently cell therapies. Between 1995 to 2017 David led process development teams for early and late stage CMC pipeline teams and provided contributions to multiple IND’s & BLA’s for Biologics & Vaccines development at Merck & Co. Inc. David has experience of Kite Pharma, Tessera Tx and now heads an arm of Sartorius corporate research for advancements in bioprocessing.
A representative of the funder, the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), also sits as a member.
