
The Stanley Lab - Current Team Members
CLAIRE STANLEY
Principle Investigator
Claire is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London and leads the Microbiome-Microscopy and Microfluidics Lab. Her research focusses on developing new microfluidic technologies to probe the interplay between living organisms found in soil environments at the single cell level. Claire has also established several collaborative projects in Switzerland, Europe and the USA. In her spare time she loves to dance and paint!

AMELIA CLARK
PhD Student
Amelia is a postgraduate research student in the Microbiome-Microscopy and Microfluidics Lab. Her research utilises microfluidic technology to investigate water transport along hyphal networks of different fungal species and how microchannel saturation impacts bacterial dispersion along hyphae. Before joining Imperial, Amelia obtained a BSc in Biological Sciences and a MRes in Biomedicine from the University of Reading. She likes film, music and travelling.

LOUIS COHEN
PhD Student
Louis is a postgraduate research student in the Microbiome-Microscopy and Microfluidics Lab and is funded by the Leverhulme Centre for the Holobiont at Imperial College London. His research uses microfluidic devices to investigate Mucoromycotina fine root endophytic (MFRE) fungi. Before joining Imperial, Louis obtained an BA in Plant Sciences from the University of Cambridge. In his spare time, he loves to hike and cook.

ALIYA PACHMANN
PhD Student
Aliya is a postgraduate researcher in the Microbiome-Microscopy and Microfluidics Lab. She uses microfluidic technology to study microbial dispersal along fungal highways, aiming to elucidate how filamentous fungi interact with unicellular microbes. Before joining the Stanley Lab, Aliyaobtained her BSc in Biological Sciences from Imperial College. Her favorite pastimes are cooking, writing, and listening to music.

SEDA DUMAN
PhD Student
Seda is a PhD student in the Microbiome-Microscopy and Microfluidic Lab.

ELEONORA MORATTO
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Eleonora is a postdoctoral researcher in the Microbiome-Microscopy and Microfluidics lab. Her research aims to develop novel microfluidic devices for the study of microbial interactions of soil organisms. She completed her PhD in root-pathogen interactions at Imperial College London, funded by BBSRC. Eleonora has a BSc in Biology and two MRes degrees, one in plant biology and one in molecular biology from Imperial College London. She is a professionally trained ballet dancer and prolific SciArtist.

KATE COLLINS
PhD Student
Kate is a PhD student funded by the BioDesign Engineering CDT. Her research aims to develop a microfluidic device in which DNA strands are immobilised undergo continuous transcription. She will then use these devices to prototype RNA-based nanotechnologies. Before joining this lab, Kate studied towards a BSc in Biosciences at the University of Durham. Outside of work, she enjoys spending her time climbing, cycling, and learning new things.

MARIA PORTELA
PhD Student
Maria is a postgraduate research student in the Microbiome-Microscopy and Microfluidics Lab, funded by the President’s PhD Scholarship and aligned with the Institute of Chemical Biology CDT. Her research investigates the responsiveness of environmental soil spore communities at the single-cell level. Maria studied Molecular Bioengineering at Imperial, with a year in industry working on single-cell genomics for drug discovery. She enjoys nature, singing and composing choral music!

ZHENGXI TANG
PhD Student
Zhengxi is a postgraduate research student in the Microbiome-Microscopy and Microfluidics Lab and is funded by the Leverhulme Centre for the Holobiont at Imperial College London. Her research uses microfluidic devices to investigate the interactions between chytrid fungi, frog skin, and its microbiota. She holds a master’s degree in molecular plant science from Imperial College London and previously worked as a Research Technician at Imperial. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming and cooking.




Group Photos!
Alumni
Cansu Ayabakan
MEng Student (2024 - 2025) ~ EPSRC/Syngenta-funded MRes+PhD in Stanley Lab (UK)
Emily Masters-Clark
PDRA (2021 - 2024) ~ Biochemistry Integration Scientist, Oxford Nanopore Technologies (UK)
Felix Richter
PhD Student (2020 - 2024) ~ Postdoctoral Researcher (UK)
Léa Bernier
PhD Student (2020 - 2024) ~ Teaching Diploma (CH)
Cameron Murphy
PhD Student, Civil and Bioengineering (2020 - 2023) ~ PDRA, MIT (USA)
Cheuk Leung, Safiyya Musa, Ziqian Chai
MEng Students, Biomedical Engineering (2022 - 2023)
Theo Humbeeck
MEng Student, Biomedical Engineering (2021 - 2022) ~ PhD candidate (Canada)
Rebecca Diss
MRes Student, Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (2021) ~ PhD candidate, John Innes Centre (UK)
Ishana Sood
MRes Student, Bioengineering (2020 - 2021) ~ PhD candidate, University of Edinburgh (UK)
Nicola Maxwell
MEng Student, Biomedical Engineering (2020 - 2021)
Alejandro Gimeno
PhD Student (2017 - 2019)
Simon Binder
Masters Student (Apr 2019 - Sep 2019)
Eric Risse
Research Intern (Apr 2019 - Aug 2019)
Simone de Pasquale
Masters Student (Jan 2019 - Dec 2019)
Ming-Hui Hsung
Masters Student (Sep 2018 - Jan 2019)
Linus Ender
Bachelor Student (Apr 2017 - Sep 2017)
Andreas Buehler
Research Intern (2017 - 2018)


