Postdoctoral researchers
Dr Yue (Mary) Ma obtained a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol in 2017 and an MRes from the University of St Andrews in 2018. Mary did her PhD in the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology at the University of Leeds, before joining the Pliotas Group at the University of Manchester as a postdoctoral research fellow to study the gating mechanism of human potassium mechanosensitive channels by PELDOR/DEER spectroscopy and single molecule electrophysiology.
Dr Qaiser Waheed has obtained a PhD in biological physics with Olle Edholm at KTH, Stockholm with a focus on MD simulations of membranes. He then joined Nathalie Reuter’s group at CBU, University of Bergen, Norway, where he worked on membrane protein dynamics and later Peter Ruoff’s group at the University of Stavanger to work on enzymatic networks. He joined the Pliotas group to combine advanced computational tools with EPR spectroscopy, and develop an integrative structural biology platform for the investigation of integral membrane proteins.
Dr Josh Wort studied biochemistry at University College London (UCL). Josh joined the Pliotas lab as a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in pulse dipolar EPR Spectroscopy methods, having completed a PhD in the Bode lab at the University of St Andrews, and a previous postdoc in the Schiemann lab at the University of Bonn. His project includes studying protein-protein interactions and complex formation by EPR and HDX-MS, to understand the biosynthesis of a novel class of natural products.
Dr Anokhi Shah obtained her MSc in pharmaceutical chemistry from Queen Mary University, London, where she was introduced to EPR in the Dr Maxie Rößler group, before moving to the University of St Andrews to complete her PhD with Dr Janet Lovett applying EPR distance measurements to proteins including intrinsic metal centres. She went on to undertake a postdoctoral position with Prof. Tony Day at the University of Manchester, using CryoEM to matrix proteins before joining the Pliotas group to study the mechanism of integral membrane Pyrophosphatases (mPPases) using EPR spectroscopy and cryoEM.
PhD students
Xinyu Liu has obtained BSc in Chemical Biology from Nankai University, in China, in 2021 and a MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2023. Xinyu joined the Pliotas Group in September 2024 for his PhD to study integral membrane protein dynamics under tension using EPR (PELDOR/DEER) spectroscopy, Molecular Dynamics and CryoEM.
Ruoning Pei obtained an integrated MChem from the University of Oxford in 2024. Ruoning has spent her master year focusing on applying molecular dynamics simulations to understand regulation of transmembrane proteins. She will join the Pliotas group in 2025 to study mechanosensitive channel dynamics and clustering using PELDOR/DEER, single channel electrophysiology and computational simulations.”
Gaurav Nanakwani received his BSc in Microbiology from Devi Ahilya University in 2021 and an MSc in Biotechnology with specialisation in Disease Biology from Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology in 2023. He joined the Pliotas Group for his PhD in September 2023 to study mechanosensitive ion channel function and localisation by single molecule electrophysiology and microfluidics microscopy.
James Pullen obtained a BSc in Biochemistry and an MRes at Imperial College London, where he studied membrane proteins involved in ER homeostasis by CryoEM. He will join the Pliotas Group in 2025 to undertake an MRC-DTP CASE PhD project in collaboration with Z7 Biotech and the Byron Lab at the University of Manchester. James will study mechanosensitivity of GPCRs using a variety of structural biology techniques including advanced EPR spectroscopy at the new BioEmPiRe Centre.
Themiya Perrera has graduated with an MSc in Neuroscience from the University of Nottingham in 2024. He joined the Pliotas Lab through a BBSRC-DTP CASE studentship in collaboration with Z7-Biotech. Themiya will study G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) dynamics using EPR spectroscopy within the newly launched BioEmPiRe centre.
Filip Posnik obtained his BSc in Biotechnology from Warsaw University of Technology and then pursued his MSc in collaboration with the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics. In 2024, he started a two-year internship at the University of Chicago, where he focused on cryo-EM studies of integrases. In 2026, he joined the Pliotas Group as a PhD student to study adhesin interactions using EPR and cryo-EM via the Stradivarious ITN-EU program.