People
Dr Elspeth (Beth) Payne MBChB PhD
Principal Investigator
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I studied medicine at the University of Glasgow, intercalating at University College London in Psychology. I went on to complete my clinical post-graduate training in internal medicine in Oxford and Glasgow, followed by Specialist Haematology Training in London. I undertook my PhD at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston with Professor Tom Look on a T32 training fellowship from Harvard School of Public Health and the Greg Harper Clinical Research Training Fellowship from the LLR-UK (now Blood Cancer UK), studying ribosomal protein mediated disorders using zebrafish. I returned to UCL with a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Clinical Fellowship and Beit-Prize to continue some of this work and currently hold a CRUK Advanced Clinician Scientist Fellowship. I remain clinically active and am clinical lead at University College London Hospital for patients with Bone Marrow Failure and MDS. I also Chair the National Cancer Research Institute study group for MDS and co-lead a clinical study on quality of life in MDS patients.
Outside of the lab I love to spend time doing power yoga and relaxing with my two young children.
Dr Alexandra Lubin PhD
Post-doc
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I studied Natural Sciences at Jesus College at the University of Cambridge, specialising in Chemistry and graduating with my masters in 2014. From there I moved to Imperial College London where I completed my PhD in Chemical Biology ‘Epigenetic therapeutics in malaria – a chemical biological approach towards the validation of histone lysine methyltransferase inhibition in P. falciparum.’
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I joined the Payne Lab as a post-doc in 2018. My main project is looking at understanding CEBPA-mutated AML, using zebrafish as a model organism.
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Outside the lab I enjoy cooking, wine tasting and going on holiday!
Dr Ellen Nuttall-Musson MBChB
MRC Clinical Research Fellow
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Dr Ellen Nuttall-Musson started researching clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) in the ELSA cohort during her NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship in the laboratory in 2021, and returned to the Payne laboratory as an MRC Clinical Research Training Fellow
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Madison Hill BSc, BBiomedsci (Hons)
Haematology Biobank Manager
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I run the UCL/UCLH Haematology Biobank and assist with Payne lab projects. I studied Biochemistry at the University of Canterbury (NZ) then spent a year completing a post-grad at the University of Otago (NZ) where I obtained a first class honours in Biomedical Sciences, specialising in the Molecular Basis of Health and Disease. My thesis focused on the Interaction of Amyloid-beta and Neutrophils in Alzheimers Disease.
After graduating, I worked as a medical laboratory technician at New Zealand Clinical Research and then New Zealand Blood Service. In 2023 I spent 4 months travelling around Europe before joining the Payne Lab in 2024.
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I am also a keen runner, baker, artist and traveller!​
Katie-Jo Miller BBiomedsci (Hons)
Research Technician
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I studied Biomedical Science at the University of Surrey and graduated with first class honours in 2021. After that I joined the Asim lab (University of Surrey) assisting research in prostate cancer, before joining the Payne lab in October 2022. Here, I am working on making a model of Myelodysplastic Syndrome in Zebrafish.
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In my spare time I enjoy baking, arts and crafts and visiting museums.
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Tanvi Tambaku
Research Technician
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Tanvi is continuing work on our project focused on Diamond Blackfin Anaemia, researching the mechanism of L-leucine in DBA zebrafish models.
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Past lab members
Post-Doc
2020-2024
Helen worked on our Diamond Blackfan Anaemia project using zebrafish models. She played an active role in public outreach, science communication and lab health and safety.
Helen now works at King's College London in the Centre for Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine.
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Yvette Hoade
Research Technician
2018-2023
Yvette previously managed the Haematology Biobank and was involved in several Payne lab research projects. This included optimising a semi-automated DNA extraction method for biobanking purposes.
Yvette and her partner have developed an app called Stash Hub and now run their own business.
Phoebe Dace
Research Technician
2018-2021
Project: Creating a transgenic zebrafish to model clonal heterogeneity and evolution of MDS.
Now studying for a PhD in Genome Function in the Findlay Lab, Francis Crick Institute
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Emma Burman
MPhil Student
2019-2021
Project: Cancer and ageing: studying leukaemia & blood stem cell exhaustion in short-lived African killifish.
Now working as Viral Vector Research Scientist at Astrea Bioseparations Ltd
Past PhD students
Dr Catherine Zhu MBChB
CRUK Clinical Research Fellow
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Dr Catherine Zhu investigated inflammatory changes in the bone marrow niche and clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) to understand how these changes in ageing individuals can drive the evolution of cancer.
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Cat is now completing her clinical training.
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Dr Catherine Hockings
MRC Clinical Research Fellow
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Thesis title: Secondary driver mutations in CEBPA-mutated acute myeloid leukaemia.
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Catherine received her PhD in February 2020.
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Dr Oscar Peña
PhD student
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Thesis title: Modelling haematopoietic malignancies using zebrafish.
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Oscar received his PhD in February 2019.
MSc Students and Destinations
2024
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2020
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2018
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2016
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2015
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2013
MSc Human Genetics (Imperial): Estela Moreno Aparicio
MRes Biomedical Science (Imperial): Vivi Zeng - Distinction
MSci Pharmacology (UCL): Kayleigh Smith - Merit 2:1
MSc Human Genetics (Imperial): Georgios Ntais
MSc Human Genetics (Imperial): Niki Giallouri - Merit
MRes Biosciences Genetics (UCL): Lucy Copper – (PhD Student University of Birmingham)
MSc Human Genetics (Imperial): Yahe Mohamud
MSc Cancer (UCL): Harsha Bhatnagar - Distinction (PhD student, University of Zurich)
MSc Human Genetics (Imperial): Nour Halibi - Merit
MSc Human Genetics (Imperial): Christos Nicolau
MSc Human Genetics (Imperial): Noreen Khokhar - Distinction (BBSRC LIDO PhD Student, London)
MSc Genetics of Human Disease (UCL): Victoria Deaner - Distinction
MSc Human Genetics (Imperial): Hanna Lemmik - Distinction (Wellcome Trust PhD Student, London)
MSc Human Genetics (Imperial): Laura J Bruce - Distinction (Masters in Public Health and Epidemiology, Rutgers, New York)
MSc Human Genetics (Imperial): Katrina Stone - Distinction (Clinical Academic, UCL)
MSc Pharmacogenetics and Stratified Medicine (UCL): Sarah Hoang – Distinction
MSc Cancer (UCL): Chianna Umamahesan - (PhD - Kings College London)
MSc Cancer (UCL): Andrea Michael - Merit (PhD - KIT, Germany )
MSc Drug Development (UCL): Youngrock Jung - Distinction (PhD - Imperial, London)
MSc Human Genetics (Imperial): Ioannis Moustakas - Merit (Medical School, Athens)
Undergraduate Students
2024202320222020
2014
2011
Leya Dayal – iBSc Oncology (UCL)
Roshan Jeyakumar – iBSc Oncology (UCL)
Sam Wain – iBSc Oncology (UCL)
Fiona Chegwidden – iBSc Oncology (UCL)
Tiffany Soon – BSc Biological Sciences (UCL) 2:1
Ann-Marie Tong – BSc Biochemistry (UCL) - 1st class (Medical School-Hong Kong)
Other Alumni
2022
2014-2016
2014
2012-2015
2011-2014
Abel Ruiz – Erasmus Placement (Barcelona)
Jasmine Rowell – Research Technician (BBSRC LIDO PhD Student, London)
Greg Contento – Research Technician (MRC PhD Student, UCL)
Greg Pietka – Post-Doc (Research Scientist, Royal Marsden Hospital)
Maria Virgilio – Research Technician (PhD Student)