Postdoc Advisors

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I am based in the Center for Regenerative Medicine in Little France, where my group aims to understand cell fate patterning during early embryogenesis. I obtained my PhD from the University of Montpellier in France where I studied stem cell biology and regenerative medicine of the infarcted heart. I then moved to the Lowell lab in 2012, here in Edinburgh. Thanks to the excellent scientific environment and support from my colleagues, I managed to obtain a Sir Henry Wellcome postdoctoral fellowship. This allowed me to develop imaging and microfabrication techniques to understand how cells organise in 3D space during development. I obtained a lectureship position in 2019. I work full time and try to achieve a healthy work / family life balance – something I had to learn over the years as a father of two children born at the end of my PhD for the oldest and during the early years of my postdoc for the youngest.

gblin@exseed.ed.ac.uk

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I'm a Lecturer in Genetics Education based in the Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Ashworth Labs. I focus on teaching genetics and evolution, while researching evolutionary genetics, artificial life, and pedagogy.

My academic journey began as a mature student at the University of Calgary, after some wayward explorations in computer science, cinema management, and teaching English in Japan. I completed a Masters in population genetics, blending molecular lab work and genetic analyses. At the University of Zurich, I did a PhD in theoretical quantitative genetics, building computational models to study genetic linkage and pleiotropy. After that I was an ERC postdoctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh, where I used bioinformatics to examine mutation rates and their effects on morphology, fitness, and gene expression in plants and animals.

I find teaching very fulfilling, which is why I looked for teaching opportunities throughout my academic journey, and why I targeted a lecturer position that was mainly teaching. Since becoming a Lecturer I have developed a growing interest in the use of large language models (e.g. ChatGPT, other generative AI) to augment research, learning and teaching. 

I am usually found in and around the Darwin Dance Hall (DDH) of Ashworth labs. Please feel free to introduce yourself, say hi, or ask for a chat!

jobran.chebib@ed.ac.uk

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I am a group leader in the Institute of Molecular Plants Sciences (IMPS) and I work on land plant evolution over geological timescales. I carried out an undergraduate degree in Geology before moving to Plant Sciences for my PhD at the University of Oxford. On completing my PhD I stayed in Oxford first as a postdoc, then as a junior research fellow before moving to IMPS to establish my group in October 2020 supported by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship. My group and I aim to take an interdisciplinary approach to answer major questions in plant evolution.

Sandy.hetherington@ed.ac.uk

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I am a Lecturer in the Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, where my group works on sex differences in innate immunity and ageing. I did my PhD in developmental biology at UCL, switching fields to immunity during my first postdoc in Lisbon, where I received both an EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship and an FCT (Portuguese) Fellowship. I returned to UCL as a senior post-doc, researching ageing as part of large EU consortium. After a short time as a Visiting Scientist in the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, I came to Edinburgh in 2017 to start my position here. I work full-time, but as I have a young son, I try to strike a good work-life balance.

Jenny.Regan@ed.ac.uk

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I am a group leader from IQB3 based in the Michael Swann building. I originally studied Biochemistry at the University of Oxford before moving for my PhD in London. I did a couple of postdocs in Canada and at the Crick Institute in London before setting up my group in Edinburgh in 2018.

My research focuses on understanding how epigenetic marks are deposited, read and removed on chromatin. The lab primarily uses structural biology approaches such as single particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and supplements this with biochemistry and biophysical approaches. I have two wonderful children both born since starting the lab and I am still working on my metaphorical and real juggling skills!

Marcus.Wilson@ed.ac.uk