About us

maud.schmitt@physics.ox.ac.uk.ac.uk

Staff scientist

Belén obtained a MSc in Physics by the University of Zaragoza, Spain, a PhD in Microsystems Engineering by the University of Durham, UK, and was a postdoctoral researcher at the French Atomic Commission, France. After holding different positions in both industry and academy, ranging from hands-on research work and lecturing to management, she became research manager of the Nynke Dekker lab in 2015.

Staff scientist

Francisco obtained his B.Sc. in Physics at the University of Córdoba studying the mathematical formalism of spinors. He complements his physics studies with a B.Sc. in Mathematics with a focus on subjects closely related to physics. He later completed an M.Sc. in Research in Artificial Intelligence and collaborated as a research assistant where he focused on stellar dating using Bayesian models. He worked for one year in industry before joining the lab as a scientific programmer.

Staff scientist

Kamila obtained her PhD from the University of Aberdeen, where she explored the genetic mechanisms behind high-pressure- and cold-adapted growth of a deep-sea bacterium. Her subsequent research at the University of York and Columbia University focused on various aspects of replication, transcription, translation and DNA repair in E. coli. Most recently, at MSKCC in New York, she investigated bacterial and human DNA replication using ensemble biochemistry. Kamila joined Nynke's lab in 2024 to study the dynamics of DNA replication.

Scientific Programmer

Joel obtained his PhD in the simulation of biomolecular assemblies from University College London where he applied optimisation algorithms to molecular dynamics simulations of living systems. Prior to this, he was awarded a masters (MRes) in biological complexity from CoMPLEX at UCL, and a integrated masters in physics (MPhys) at the University of Warwick, and has a software background in industry. Most recently, he spent three years as a research engineer at a startup in Tokyo developing AI pipelines for drug discovery.

Postdoc

Saurabh received his PhD from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea, where he used single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy to probe nonequilibrium thermodynamics of proteins. He joined the Nynke Dekker Lab in 2023 as a postdoctoral researcher aiming to uncover the biophysical mechanisms associated with eukaryotic DNA replication.

Postdoc

Yasemin received her PhD from the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, where she developed the biochemistry of the human replisome. She joined the Nynke Dekker Lab in 2024 as a postdoctoral researcher aiming to integrate our understanding of the biochemical and biophysical aspects of eukaryotic DNA replication.

Postdoc

Hoa received her PhD from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea, where she used single-molecule FRET to investigate the mechanisms of proofreading and strand displacement activities of the bacterial phage Phi29 DNA Polymerase. She will join the Nynke Dekker lab as a postdoctoral researcher in January 2025, aiming to study DNA and chromatin replication using single-molecule techniques. Outside of the lab, Hoa enjoys yoga, playing badminton, and making sourdough bread.

Ph.D. candidate (joint with the Srinivasan lab, Department of Biochemistry)

Barbara graduated from MBiochem Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry at the University of Oxford in 2024. Her master's project was completed in Dr Madhu Srinivasan's group investigating the mechanism by which the protein Cohesin is able to entrap DNA inside of its lumen in order to better understand the mechanism of chromosome segregation during mitosis. Outside of academia, Barbara enjoys rowing, cryptic crosswords, and socialising with friends.

Jackson obtained his B.Sc. in Biological Physics and B.A. in History at Brown University. He is transferring from the Cellular Physiology and Molecular Biophysics PhD Program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center where he studied the dynamics of protein-DNA interactions and homologous DNA recombination using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and cryo-electron microscopy. He will be joining the lab in the fall of 2025 as a PhD candidate. 

Ethan is Master's Candidate in physics, with an emphasis on theoretical and biological physics. His research interests include single-molecule techniques, instrumentation development for microscopy, and complex systems theory.

His personal interests include MMA, photography, and playing chess.

Vivian is currently a master's student in Physics, with a background that spans condensed matter physics and biophysics. Her research interest focuses on topics including X-ray spectroscopy techniques and molecular dynamics of complex biological processes at the nanoscale. In her personal time, she enjoys playing music as a keyboard player with her band here in Oxford.