Zijie Luo (Jeff) – Post Doctoral researcher

Jeff obtained his B.Eng in Materials Science and Engineering (Hons 1) at the University of Shenzhen, China before completing his PhD at University of New South Wales in 2022 under the supervision of Associate Professor Rona Chandrawati. In 2022, he started as a postdoctoral researcher with Dr Amandeep Kaur to study the development of fluorescent tools for super-resolution imaging and sensing. His interests outside the lab include badminton, hiking, cooking and tennis.

Kai Kikuchi – PhD student

Kai obtained his BSc in Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry in 2018 at the University of Sydney. He then completed a GradDip and an MPhil under the supervision of Associate Professor Christopher S. P. McErlean. In 2021 Kai was awarded a scholarship to pursue PhD studies with Dr Amandeep Kaur, where his research is currently focused on the development of fluorescent tools for super-resolution imaging of amyloids. Outside of the lab, Kai can also be found experimenting in the kitchen with chemistry (cooking) or cell culture (fermenting and brewing).

Kaustubh Bhuskute – PhD student

Kaustubh completed bachelor’s program in Pharmacy in 2019 at the University of Mumbai. He then received a rare Danish Government Scholarship to pursue the master’s degree program in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen which he completed in 2021. His master’s thesis focused on the design and synthesis of agonists for the G protein-coupled receptor GPR183 under the supervision of Professor Trond Ulven. In 2022, he received a scholarship to undertake PhD studies with Dr Amandeep Kaur. His research focuses on the development of fluorescent tools for super-resolution imaging of amyloids. In his spare time, Kaustubh enjoys reading science fiction, playing table tennis, and is a cricket enthusiast.

Natalie Trinh – PhD student, Joint with Professor Elizabeth New and Professor Kate Jolliffe

Natalie completed her BSc degree (Hons 1) in chemistry and statistics at the University of Sydney in 2017. In 2018 she received a Research Training Scholarship to undertake her PhD under the supervision of Professor Elizabeth New, Professor Kate Jolliffe and Dr Amandeep Kaur. Her research is focused on developing small fluorescent molecules as tools for studying biological systems, including probes for detecting hypoxia in tumour cells, and fluorescent sensors for arrays to differentiate amyloids. In 2021 she undertook an internship at CordenPharma in Frankfurt, Germany, where she was involved in the process development of peptide- and phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligonucleotide (PMO)-based active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Her non-research interests include bouldering, tennis and baking.