Team Members

Lysbeth Antonides

BBSRC-funded Postdoctoral Researcher

Lysbeth joined the team in May 2021 after finishing her PhD in Forensic Chemistry at the University of Dundee. Lysbeth has a background in organic and analytical chemistry and is searching for new therapeutic molecules with antiviral activity.

Alp Tegin Şahin

BBSRC-Eastbio funded PhD student

Alp Tegin obtained a Master's degree in Bioinformatics and Genetics from Kadir Haş University in Istanbul and joined the team in September 2021. Alp Tegin studies the function of biomedically important Ca2+ channels using CompEL simulations and experimental electrophysiology. His work is co-supervised by Dr. Samantha Pitt from St. Andrews University.

Tim Spankie

BBSRC-Eastbio funded PhD student

Tim simulates designed nanopores under voltage in a collaboration with Prof. Scott Cockroft at the University of Edinburgh. He holds a Master's degree from the University of Nottingham.

Callum Ives

MRC-funded PhD Student

Callum obtained a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from the University of Surrey. During this time he undertook a professional training year in the lab of Professor Martin Caffrey at Trinity College Dublin, where he conducted structure-function studies of membrane proteins using X-ray crystallography. Callum's PhD utilises atomistic molecular dynamic simulations and structural bioinformatics to probe the mechanistic behaviours of the TRPV family of cation channels. In particular, he is interested in how the molecular structure of the proteins contributes to their function, and the consequence of pathogenic mutations on these mechanisms.


Neil Thomson

BBSRC-Eastbio funded PhD Student

Having obtained a BSc in Physics from University of Aberdeen, and an MSc in Theoretical Physics from University of Glasgow, and multiple academic awards, Neil is now based here in Computational Biology at the University of Dundee. Neil's research focuses on the activation of G-protein coupled receptors, the most important family of cell surface receptors and currently a major drug target. Specifically, he looks at how receptors trigger signal transduction on the intracellular side of cell using a combination of molecular dynamics simulations and information theory to study the role of ion binding in the receptors. In his spare time he enjoys the hills for hiking, biking, climbing and snowboarding; he is also passionate about crossfit, music, poetry and philosophy. Neil shares the role of Dundee student representative for Eastbio.


Dom Gurvič

MRC iCASE PhD student

Dominik started his work as a PhD student in September 2019, having completed his Honours project in physics in the group in April 2019. His work focuses on antibacterial resistance and chemoinformatics. Welcome back Dom!


Ulrich Zachariae

Professor of Molecular Biophysics

Short CV - since 2019 Professor of Molecular Biophysics, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee

since 2015 Deputy Head of Division, Computational Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee

2013-2019 Reader in Physics and Life Sciences, University of Dundee

2011-2013 PI, SUPA Advanced Fellow, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh

2009-2010 Postdoc with Bert de Groot and Helmut Grubmüller, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany.

2007-2009 Computational Chemist, AstraZeneca, UK.

2005-2007 Postdoc with Helmut Grubmüller, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany.

2001-2004 PhD Student supervised by Wolfgang Baumeister, Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Munich, Germany.



Group Alumni

Salomé Llabrés, Postdoc

now PI at the University of Barcelona

Alex Krah, Postdoc

now at A*STAR Singapore

Owen Vickery, PhD Student

now at AstraZeneca

Giulia Tamburrino, PhD Student

now at AstraZeneca

Giovanni Brandani, PhD Student

(together with Davide Marenduzzo at the University of Edinburgh)

now PI at the University of Kyoto