My research area is Nucleic Acid Chemistry, which combines Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Biophysical Chemistry to investigate the scope of functional Nucleic Acids with applications in Medicinal Chemistry and DNA nanotechnology. Organic Chemistry is the foundation of my research to allow for a wide variety of Nucleic Acid applications and to fundamentally study Nucleic Acid-based methodologies and mechanisms, whether naturally occurring or artificial. In the group of Prof Sabine Müller (Greifswald, Germany), I successfully carried out numerous multi-step syntheses of modified nucleoside building blocks, followed by the solid phase syntheses of modified and functional RNAs and their molecular characterisation.

After my PhD, I expanded my academic horizons by joining Prof Rachel O’Reilly’s group in Birmingham, UK. My research in Birmingham focussed on DNA-templated synthesis, which requires the synthesis of modified DNAs using post-synthetic approaches. In collaboration with Prof Andrew Turberfield (Oxford, UK), we explored novel DNA architectures and mechanisms to enhance the transfer yields of building blocks with potential applications in material discovery.

Currently, I am a Group Leader for Oligo Chemistry in Prof Matthew Wood’s group (Oxford, UK). Utilising my experience in Nucleic Acid Chemistry and DNA nanotechnology, I am mainly interested in the improvement of Oligonucleotide Therapeutics. Particularly, my work focusses on the challenge of the sufficient delivery of Oligonucleotide Therapeutics to disease-affected tissues and the cell cytosol, ensuring their efficacy. Alongside assessing novel bioconjugates and conjugation strategies, I am pursuing the general expansion of available Oligonucleotide Therapeutic designs and architectures.