Early Career Committee

Liam Rooney

Early Career Committee Chair & Life Sciences Section Representative, University of Strathclyde

Liam is a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Liam has a background in mammalian cell and molecular biology but developed his skillset as an optical microscopist and microbiologist during his PhD. Since 2016, Liam has focussed his research on the development and application of optical microscopy methods to study how bacteria interact with each other and their environment. His research involves various bacteriological phenomena; from understanding bacterial gliding motility, visualising colonisation behaviours using transparent soil, observing nutrient transport channels in bacterial biofilms, and super-resolution imaging of bacterial and fungal cell-to-cell interactions. Liam’s current research focuses on developing open microscopy solutions for the life sciences. He is the current Chair of the RMS Early Career Section and has sat on the RMS Life Sciences Section Committee since 2018, and is also heavily involved in the Microbiology Society.

Rebecca Saleeb

Early Career Committee Deputy Chair, University of Edinburgh

Rebecca is a postdoc in the Edinburgh Single-Molecule Biophysics group at the University of Edinburgh. She completed an interdisciplinary PhD with Dr Paul Dalgarno and Prof Rory Duncan, developing and using FLIM-FRET and super-resolution technologies to understand late-stage autophagy. She subsequently spent a number of years as a bio-imaging specialist/facility manager for the Edinburgh Super-Resolution Imaging Consortium, Lisbon’s Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown and Queen Mary University of London, where she helped researchers apply optical microscopy to diverse questions of biology, spanning neuroscience, cancer, immunology and cardiovascular biology. She returned to dedicated research in 2021, working in the lab of Mathew Horrocks to explore the structure and pathogenic capacity of α-synuclein aggregates, a hallmark of Parkinson’s Disease. 

Myfanwy Adams

infocus Representative, Cornell University & John Innes Centre

Myfanwy obtained her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Wellesley College (Massachusetts, USA) where she worked with Dr. John Cameron and Dr. Louise Darling to characterize the interactions between cardiac potassium ion channels via electrophysiology and fluorescence microscopy. Currently, Myfanwy is in her final year of her PhD in microbiology at Cornell University (New York, USA) working in the lab of Dr. Joshua Chappie to elucidate the structural features and mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions using X-ray crystallography, biophysical and biochemical techniques. Upon degree completion, she will start as a post-doctoral research scientist at the John Innes Centre with Dr. Dmitry Ghilarov to leverage cryo-electron microscopy in pursuit of better understanding protein molecular machines in bacterial systems.

Laura Clark

EMAG Representative , University of York

Since 2022, Laura is a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of York, where she is developing 4D-STEM imaging of beam-sensitive materials (https://www.york.ac.uk/physics-engineering-technology/people/lauraclark/).

Marie Curie Research Fellow at the University of Leeds working in the LEMAS facility within the School of Chemical and Process Engineering, to develop 4D-STEM imaging of beam-sensitive materials.

She received her BSc and MSc in Physics from the University of York, before completing her PhD in the EMAT lab of the University of Antwerp. During her PhD she developed methods to generate and quantitatively analyse electron vortex beams in transmission electron microscopes. Subsequently she held postdoctoral positions at Monash University and the University of Glasgow, where she developed differential phase contrast STEM imaging methods, before holding an ESTEEM3 postdoctoral position at the University of Oxford, and then a subsequent Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship at the University of Leeds, developing 4D-STEM data analysis methods.
As the representative from the IOP’s electron microscopy and analysis group (EMAG) on the RMS-ECR committee, she aims to improve integration between the two communities.

Shelly Conroy

Imperial College London

Dr. Shelly Conroy is a Royal Society University Research Fellow Principal Investigator, specialising in in-situ TEM, 4D-STEM and electron energy loss spectroscopy. Dr Conroy's is an academic member of the Imperial Centre for Cryo Microscopy of Materials at Imperial College London. She worked at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a permanent staff scientist before joining the University of Limerick Ireland as a Science Foundation Ireland Analog Devices Research Fellow (PI) working on TEM of magnetic domain-wall-based materials and devices. Dr. Conroy holds a Ph.D. Eng Sci in III-N thin film growth and in-situ TEM from Tyndall National Institute and University College Cork Ireland.

Dr. Conroy’s Royal Society grant ‘Improper Ferroelectric Domain Wall Engineering for Dynamic Electronics’ is focused on thin-film growth of the ferroelectric/ferroelastic boracites and in-situ biasing 4D-STEM. The project is in collaboration with the National Center for Electron Microscopy at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and SuperSTEM the EPSRC National Research Facility for Advanced Electron Microscopy.

Dr Conroy is also a committee member of the IOP electron microscopy and analysis group (EMAG) and the Microscopy Society of Ireland. She hopes to improve integration between these societies and microscopy science between the UK and Ireland.

Irene Del Molino Del Barrio

Flow Cytometry Section Representative, GlaxoSmithKline

Irene currently works at GSK developing multi-paramter flow cytometry panels for clinical trial sample analysis, aiming to understand how these biomarkers relate to disease heterogeneity, drug-target interactions and patient responses. This build ups from her prior role in the Cancer ImmunoTherapy Accelerator (CITA), where she developed similar panels to analyse PBMCs of cancer patients across different recruitment sites. Those panels were used and further expanded during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to monitor the immune system in COVID-19 patients, including cancer patients that had contracted the disease. Previously she worked at the University of Oxford as a postdoctoral researcher where she focused on the identification and validation of novel targets and molecules for the treatment of Friedreich's Ataxia. She is particularly interested in educating and promoting flow cytometry to new users.

Yanping Guo

Outreach Representative, University College London

Yanping is the manager of the Flow Cytometry Translational Technology Platform at UCL Cancer Institute. After receiving her DPhil degree from Oxford University, Yanping did her postdoc research at UCL focusing on the hematopoietic stem cells and leukaemia. She enjoys helping users with training, experimental design and data analysis for flow cytometry in different disciplines.

She is also has a keen interest in the teaching and mentoring of younger scientists.

Nischita Kaza

Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

Nischita is a bioengineering Ph.D. candidate at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, where her research focuses on developing label-free microscopy techniques in the Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Lab. Prior to pursuing her graduate studies in the United States, she obtained an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, India in 2018. Her undergraduate research experiences introduced her to the field of biomedical imaging and sparked her interest in optical microscopy. Currently, Nischita's research is centered around deep-ultraviolet (UV) microscopy, a high-resolution, label-free imaging technique used for molecular analysis of cell and tissue samples in clinical and biomedical applications. Within the lab, she is actively involved in various aspects of microscopy, including optical engineering, instrument development, sample preparation, and image analysis. Alongside her research, Nischita is passionate about teaching and community outreach, with aspirations of pursuing a career in academia. Nischita will serve as a liaison between the RMS and other microscopy and optics societies based in the USA and hopes to create more opportunities for collaboration and networking between early career researchers across international borders. 

Stefania Marcotti

Data Analysis in Imaging Section Representative, King's College London

Stefania is a postdoc and bioimage analyst at King's College London. After a BSc and an MSc in biomechanical engineering in Milan, she obtained a PhD at the University of Sheffield focused on the mechanical characterisation of bone cells with atomic force microscopy and finite element modelling. Thanks to the possibility of combining both experimental and computational approaches in all of her projects, she developed an interest in data and image quantitative analysis. In 2018 she joined Brian Stramer's group and her current research interest lies in developing and automating analysis pipelines for biological applications. Since 2023, she also offers image analysis support to the Nikon Imaging Centre and Microscopy Innovation Centre users at KCL.

Emma McDermott

Microscopical Society of Ireland Early Career Representative, University of Galway

Emma is a Senior Technical Officer in electron microscopy in the Centre for Microscopy and Imaging at the University of Galway. She received her BSc in Anatomy and MSc in Regenerative Medicine, both at the University of Galway, and completed her PhD at the University of Aberdeen in 2018. During her PhD, she used electron tomography to visualise the complex 3D ultrastructure of bone-resorbing cells called osteoclasts. As the representative for the Microscopical Society of Ireland on the Early Career Committee, Emma aims to increase engagement and encourage networking between the RMS and Irish Early Career Researchers.

Shurie McMahon

Professional Development and Training FIG Representative , University of Huddersfield 

Shurie McMahon was a former Junior Science apprentice at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), here she gained experience in Electrochemistry and Emissions and Atmospheric Metrology. She is now pursuing further education opportunities by studying Engineering at the University of Huddersfield.

Katherine Paine

University of Edinburgh

Katherine completed her PhD in Chris MacDonald’s lab at the University of York using yeast as a model organism to study membrane trafficking. This project involved using a wide range of microscopical techniques such as SIM and FRET study the regulation of cell surface membrane proteins. She is now a postdoc in Simon Wilkinson’s group at the University of Edinburgh in the field of autophagy where she continues to use a variety of microscopical techniques to answer biological questions. 

Jacob Pattem

AFM & SPM Section Representative , Cardiff University

Dr Jacob Pattem is a multidisciplinary biophysical scientist whose research lies at the interface of physics, micro-to-molecular biology, and nanotechnology. He utilizes advanced multiscale, 5-dimensional correlative AFM-based microscopy approaches (X, Y, Z imaging, force, and time), revealing structure-function relations in human, animal and plant health and disease. His research focuses on unravelling molecular informed mechanisms that underpin biophysical responses to complex biological processes such as dental erosion, single-cell microbial colonization, biofilm control, mucus barrier modulation, gene-structure function in plant health and alternatives to anti-microbial resistance in infection. Throughout this he has always aimed at conducting research with the goal of clinical translation for patient benefit, particularly, those suffering from debilitating health conditions and 3rd world rural communities with poor access and reluctance to treatment.

Alex Payne-Dwyer

University of York

Alex is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of York. He specializes in studying  biomolecular condensates, and their capillary and single-molecule physics, using fluorescence coupled with optical tweezers. These condensates have diverse functions, underpinning antimicrobial resistance, managing biological memory, and even contributing to carbon fixation.

His background is in physical chemistry and optics, but during his PhD at Durham University, he developed into a multidisciplinary light microscopist and image analyst.  He has subsequently designed and delivered projects ranging from a clinical trial on human fertility, to postdoctoral work in cardiac imaging, and a JSPS Fellowship focused on molecular cell signalling in cancer. He constantly seeks new models, organisms, and condensates to investigate and finds ways to measure their behavior on the smallest scales possible with light. 

He is a leader for the representation of ECR scientists at York and informs strategy for improved Research Culture. He also advocates for Open Research standards in light microscopy through the QUAREP-LiMi network.

Besaiz Sanchez Sanchez

King's College London

Besaiz is a postdoc in the Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biophysics at King’s College London. He is a developmental biologist from Granada, one of the most beautiful areas in Andalucia, Spain. He completed his PhD in the Andalusian Center for Developmental Biology (Seville), he studied the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in cell migration exploiting in vivo imaging in the Drosophila embryonic hemocytes. He started his postdoc in Stramer’s group in September 2016 to continue his studies on ECM, and in addition, the role of the actin cortex in regulating hemocyte motility. Since then, he has contributed to numerous projects in the lab, developing novel genetic tools that, together with confocal and super-resolution microscopy for live imaging, have enabled them to make exciting scientific discoveries.

Jennifer Simpson

Electron Microscopy Section Representative, The Pirbright Institute

Jennifer is a Senior Microscopist at The Pirbright Institute.  She studied for a BSc Hons in Biology at the University of Portsmouth and joined The Pirbright Institute Bioimaging group in 2002.  After leaving to work in an NHS histopathology laboratory for two years, she returned to The Pirbright Institute in 2012.  She collaborates on a variety of research projects using confocal microscopy and electron microscopy including STED, CLEM and tomography.  She was recently awarded the RMS Diploma for her project researching Marek’s disease virus in chicken feather follicle epithelium.

Aakash Varambhia

Early Career Committee Industrial Representative , Johnson Matthey

Aakash is a Data Scientist in the Advanced Characterisation team at Johnson Matthey Technology Centre. His work consists of developing specialised tools for data analysis from a wide range of instruments such as X-ray tomography, FIB and TEM. He is also an honorary researcher at Diamond Light Source and collaborates with the data science and microscopy teams at the facility.  Before working for Johnson Matthey, Aakash completed a DPhil project at the University of Oxford in the Nellist research group where he developed quantitative experimental and data processing techniques to study catalyst nanoparticles. By being a part of both industry and academia, Aakash is keen to act as the bridge between the two as the early career committee industrial representative.

Tim Young

Light Microscopy Section Representative , University of Cambridge

I qualified as a Biomedical Scientist in 2012 after completing my bachelor’s degree at The University of Essex but never entered practise. Instead I moved towards research; my first job was a technician with the MRC Epidemiology Unit, here I used a variety of methods to perform batch analysis of large cohorts of samples.
After this I moved towards cancer research and worked as a research assistant for Prof. Bruce Ponder in conjunction with the NHS Papworth Histology team. The research was directed towards the investigation of DNA repair dysfunction which can cause a genetic predisposition to lung cancer, particularly in smokers.
Then, in 2016, I joined the lab of Christian Frezza at Uni. Of Cambridge as part of the mass spectrometry team before becoming the lab manager and microscopist. When the lab moved out of the country I joined Prof. Paul Lehner’s team in CITIID and am continuing my RMS diploma here.