Hasnain Ahmed
PhD student
Hasnain joined the Stewart lab in October 2021 to work on a Tenovus Scotland-funded PhD project focussed on the use of quantitative proteomic approaches to identify prognostic biomarkers that can aid in predicting patient response to oesophageal adenocarcinoma therapy.
Richard Edel
PhD student
Hi, I’m Richard, originally from Leipzig, Germany. I’m a social and active person who enjoys hiking and climbing. I earned my Bachelor’s in Life Science from the Universität Konstanz, followed by a Master’s in Molecular Medicine at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. My master’s thesis focused on the preclinical in vitro analysis of a consensus DNA sequence for SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. I then joined the Pitt Lab for my PhD, where I study advanced fluorescence spectroscopy to investigate the functional oligomerization of a newly discovered Ca²⁺ channel and its role in heart failure.
Xueyu Guo
PhD student
Hi I’m Xueyu. I graduated in bioinformatics from the Agricultural University of Hebei in China. Afterward, I transitioned to the industry, working from 2016 to 2023 at Novogene, GrandOmics, and XtalPi in various roles, ranging from bioinformatics engineer to department manager.
During my time at Novogene and GrandOmics, I was deeply involved in numerous research and clinical projects, honing my expertise in multi-omics data analysis, including transcriptomics, genomics, and epigenomics. At XtalPi, I had the opportunity to learn and apply machine learning to cell omics and cell image data. These experiences sparked my interest in human genomics and genetics and equipped me with a rich skill set that I can harness for my PhD project.
Starting in September 2023, working in the Pitt and Paracchini groups, my PhD project, funded by TENOVUS, focuses on delving into the UK Biobank to identify cardiovascular diseases associated rare variants of TMEM109 gene. I will then perform functional assays to verify the effect of candidate mutations on the function of MG23.
Claudia Harper
PhD Student
Claudia joined the Stewart lab in February 2024 to undertake a BHF-funded project exploring the mechanisms by which zinc impacts upon the fibrin network both through direct co-ordination to the fibrinogen molecule and through modulation of interactions between the fibrin network with activated platelets and other haemostatic molecules.. The project is a collaboration with Prof. Ramzi Ajjan, University of Leeds.
Quenton Hurst
PhD student
Hello, my name is Quenton Hurst, and I am a second year PhD student in the Pitt Lab. My project is entitled ‘A new pathway for cancer-drug related cardiac toxicity’, whereby I am researching the involvement of novel ion channel Ca2+ dyshomeostasis mechanisms in the damaging long-term cardiac side effects of chemotherapeutics. My PhD is funded by the British Heart Foundation
Jothi Letchumy Kumar
PhD student
Hi, I’m Jothi. I joined the Pitt and Annibale (School of Physics) Group in August 2023 as part of a St Leonard’s World-Leading PhD Fellowship. My multidisciplinary project focuses on using novel biophotonic tools to investigate the role of cardiomyocyte cell-to-cell heterogeneity in health and pathophysiology. My research explores the intricacies of calcium ion dynamics and the downstream effects of the beta-adrenergic signalling pathway, aiming to advance our understanding of cardiac physiology.
Beyond my research, I am actively involved in academic and outreach activities. I have co-organized the lab’s summer school and participated in conferences such as the POL conference and the Cardiovascular conference. I also enjoy sharing my passion for science through public engagement, having served as a demonstrator at science exhibitions. My dedication to both research and community engagement reflects a well-rounded approach to scientific discovery and communication.
Boyang Lin
PhD Student
Boyang joined the Stewart lab in October 2023 to undertake a School of Medicine-funded PhD project focused on metal mishandling and its role in cardiovascular disease development. Her project combines both the analysis of data health from patient records with wet lab-based experiments. Lab aspects involve the examination of copper-binding to angiotensinogen and the role of these interactions in blood pressure regulation. She is jointly supervised by Prof. Colin McCowan, Dr Sarah Mills and Dr Remi Fritzen.
Jordan Marsh
Research Fellow
Jordan joined the Stewart and Pitt labs in January 2020 initially to take up a PhD studentship supported by the BHF. In July 2024 he took up a Research Fellow position in the Stewart group supported by Diabetes UK, where he is investigating the link between magnesium deficiency and hypofibrinolysis in type 1 diabetes.
Timothy Redpath
PhD Student
Timothy joined the Stewart lab in September 2024 to undertake a PhD project focused on zinc-insulin interactions and their role in controlling insulin oligomerisation in the pancreas. He is jointly supervised by Prof. Carlos Penedo (Schools of Biology and Physics & Astronomy) and Dr Remi Fritzen.
Previous Group Members:
Stewart Group: Dr Mohammed Arastoo (now TauRx Pharmaceticals Aberdeen, UK), Dr Swati Arya (now working for UK Government), Dr Remi Fritzen (now PDRA in School of Physics & Astronomy). Dr Stephen Hierons (most recently PDRA at Durham University), Dr Omar Kassaar (now at Antibody Analytics), Dr Kondwani Katundu (now Senior Lecturer, Kamuzu Univeristy, Malawi), Dr Siavash Khazaipoul (now Charles River Ireland Ltd), Dr Petra Popovics (now PI at Eastern Virginia Medical School, USA), Spencer Regan-Smith (now studying for a PhD at Cambridge), Dr Amelie Sobczak (now Medical Writer at ClinSearch), Dr Dagmara Wiatrek (now Central European Institute of Technology, Czech Rep.), Dr Dongmei Wu (now Senior Scientist at HitGen, Chengdu City, China), Dr Ruitao Yu (returned to Northwest Plateau Institute of Biology, Xining, China).
Pitt Group: Dr Ben Reilly-O’Donnell (now Imperial College London, UK), Dr Gavin Robertson (now clinical trials manager, Medpace, UK), Dr Amy Dorward (Now laboratory manager , School of Psychology & Neuroscience, St Andrews), Quenton Hurst (now studying for a PhD, School of Medicine, St Andrews), Chloe O’Rourke (now studying for a PhD, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, St Andrews).