Team
Inês Sequeira
Group Leader / Associate Professor
Inês received her Biology degree from the University of Lisbon and Université Libre de Bruxelles, and specialised in genetics and developmental biology. She completed her PhD under the supervision of Prof Jean-François Nicolas at Institut Pasteur, in Paris, working with a multidisciplinary team to investigate stem cell heterogeneity and behaviour in the hair follicle using lineage tracing, clonal analysis, imaging and mathematical modelling. In 2014, Inês joined the lab of Prof Fiona Watt at King’s College London for her postdoctoral training on epithelial stem cells and cancer biology. Before joining QMUL in 2020, she was the head of a research group at L’Oréal working on skin aging and regeneration. Outside the lab, Inês is a qualified skipper and passionate about sailing the seas.
Diana Pereira
PhD student
Diana graduated in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from the University of Coimbra and Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon. Her research experience ranges from microbiology, genetics, cellular and molecular biology areas. She joined Sequeira’s lab as a Research Assistant with a INOV Contacto 2020 international internship. In 2020 Diana was awarded a prestigious Ph.D. fellowship from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia to persue her training in our lab.
Raju Kumar
Postdoc
Raju did his Ph.D. with Dr Murali Dharan Bashyam at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), India. He is trained in handling and processing of human tumour samples as well as performing molecular analysis on them to identify potential causal genes that could be targeted for therapy. Currently, he is working on analysing the genetic and spatial heterogeneity of human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC). Outside lab he shares his enthusiasm and knowledge of science with people and students.
Mara Gelmetti
PhD student
Mara graduated in Pharmacology from the University of Bath in the UK. As part of her undergraduate degree, she undertook an industrial placement at the Cambridge-based pharmaceutical biotech company Kymab Ltd (now part of Sanofi) focusing on immune-oncology projects. Since graduating, she worked on cell biology and infectious diseases projects as a Research Assistant at King’s College London. In 2020 she was awarded an MRC-funded PhD at Queen Mary’s University London where she joined the Sequeira lab. She is currently researching the role of keratins in the thymus and how they can impact the immune system.
Rana Alaa
PhD student
Rana received her Bachelor’s degree in Dentistry from Mansoura University (Egypt). Since her graduation, she worked as an Assistant Lecturer in Oral Pathology. She was awarded the Newton-Mosharafa PhD Programme as a part of the Egyptian’s Central Department of Missions to Sequeira’s lab. Her experience in studying the pathways involved in the development of human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), immunopathology, and molecular pathology are the ground base for the research project dissecting the genetic and cellular heterogeneity in OSCC. Rana’s publications and research interests aim to impact and advance the current therapeutic modalities.
Mafalda Cautela
Research Assistant
Mafalda graduated in Biochemistry from the University of Minho, in Braga. Working initially in academia, her work focused mostly on the development of nano and macro-formulations for therapeutic purposes. Afterwards, she worked at a biotechnology company, Stemmatters, where she developed expertise in chemical synthesis and medical devices. Mafalda joined Sequeira Lab as part of a six month-internship from INOV Contacto.
Sami Alotaibi
Master student
Sami received his bachelor degree in dental surgery from King Saud University, Riyadh in 2011. He completed his specialty training in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Riyadh (2020) and worked as a teaching assistant in King Saud University. In 2021, he joined Queen Mary University of London as a master student in Experimental Oral Pathology. He joined Sequeira’s lab for his master project. He has interest in research, specially in oral/head and neck cancer and wound healing.
Alumni
Alexandros Mavros
Masters student of Experimental Oral Pathology (Oral Sciences) at Queen Mary University of London. He joined Sequeira’s lab as part of his thesis project (2020-21). His main area of interest includes the oral fibroblasts and the regenerative potential of the oral mucosa.
Inês Tomás
PARSUK Xperience and Erasmus Internship/ Masters Thesis
Marina Torre
Erasmus Internship/ Masters Thesis
Dido Carrero
Masters Internship
Ronan Lyne
King's Undergraduate Research Fellowship