Iart Luca Shytaj
Group Leader
Luca obtained his PhD in 2014 in Infectious Diseases working at the Italian National Institute of Health in Rome, Italy.
His PhD work led to the development of a macaque model for studying the persistence of simian immunodeficiency virus during
antiretroviral therapy. During his postdoctoral research at Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany, he explored how redox
balance and glycolytic metabolism influence the establishment and maintenance of HIV latency. Several of the therapeutic
strategies he tested advanced to a clinical trial in São Paulo, Brazil, where he later served as a Visiting Professor between
2020–2022. In 2022, he established his independent research group at the University of Bristol, becoming Senior Lecturer in 2024.
Lara Gallucci
Marie Curie Research Fellow
Lara obtained her PhD at the University of Bordeaux (Bordeaux, France), where she studied the nuclear import of the Hepatitis B
virus. She then moved to the Center for Integrative Infectious Disease Research in Heidelberg (Germany) as a postdoctoral researcher,
focusing on the role of the 3D environment during HIV‑1 infection. She is currently a Marie Curie Research Fellow, where her research focuses on metabolic dysregulation induced by retroviruses such as
HIV‑1 and HTLV‑1 in primary and patient‑derived cells.
Vincent Cantaloube‑Ferrieu
Postdoctoral Fellow
Vincent obtained his PhD at the University of Toulouse (France), where he studied HIV‑1 infection of macrophages via cell‑to‑cell fusion
with infected CD4+ T lymphocytes. He joined the lab in August 2024 as a postdoctoral fellow and is currently working on
identifying molecular signatures that distinguish latently infected cells from uninfected or actively infected ones — with a
particular focus on metabolic discrepancies during HIV‑1 latency.
Phoebe Kibble
PhD Student
Phoebe is a PhD student investigating HIV‑1 infection mechanics with a focus on latency and active replication using proteomic
and pharmacological approaches. She earned an Integrated Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences with Honours from Cardiff University
in 2023. Her prior work includes research on Escherichia coli, Neisseria meningitidis, SARS‑CoV‑2, and other pathogens.
Harsha Mambully
Visiting PhD Student
Harsha is a Commonwealth Split-Site visiting PhD student from Prof. Amit Singh’s laboratory at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India.
She earned a BS–MS Dual Degree in Biological Sciences from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal, India.
Harsha studies HIV-1 antioxidant metabolism in the context of HIV latency and has prior experience in HIV-1 latency models, nanozymes, and Drosophila neurogenetics.
Maria Josephine
Research Technician
Josephine holds a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from Newcastle University, where she focused her dissertation on Flt3‑ligand regulation in
paediatric AML. She previously worked at AstraZeneca (Cambridge) on lead optimisation of an alpha‑helical peptide using machine learning
and phage display, and held assistant positions in the Amarnath Immune Regulation Group and the Newcastle Brain Tissue Resource.
Elizabeth Hanna
Master of Research
Elizabeth completed her medical degree at the University of Cambridge in 2023 and then worked as a resident doctor in NHS Grampian for the following two years.
Her area of research is investigating metabolic changes which occur in lymphoid organoids latently infected with HIV.
Trusha Ramteke
Master of Research
Trusha completed her bachelor’s degree in Biology and undertook internships at the National University of Singapore and the University of Cambridge. Her past work spans bacterial biofilms, the murine epididymis, and cellular autophagy.
During her MRes, she will use CRISPR-Cas to investigate the determinants of mitochondrial dysregulation in HTLV-1–infected cells.
Beth Hoare
MSci
Beth is completing her MSci in Virology and Immunology. For her dissertation, she is screening candidate therapeutics aimed at the selective elimination of HTLV-1–infected adult T-cell leukaemia cells.
Rebecca Lin
MSci
Rebecca is completing her MSci in Virology and Immunology. For her dissertation, she is screening candidate therapeutics aimed at the selective elimination of HTLV-1–infected adult T-cell leukaemia cells.
