BSI London Immunology Group

The focus of the BSI London Immunology Group (LIG) is to bring the London immunology community together through organising events, seminars and meetings. 

The BSI LIG committee is made up of members from each of the main London universities and aims to bring together expertise from all areas of immunology from neutrophils, to macrophages to B-cells and of course T-cells!

We actively encourage early career immunologists in London (PhD and early career researchers) to organise events, and we would actively support them throughout the process.

Laura Pallett (she/her)

Laura is a Senior Research Fellow in the Division of Infection and Immunity, UCL. She completed her PhD in viral immunology in 2014. Laura’s research interests are liver immunology, tissue residency and immunometabolism of T cells. With the help of the LIG, Laura plans to provide a platform to give Early Career Researchers across London as many opportunities as possible. She is also co-chair of the BSI’s Immunometabolism Affinity Group. She has been involved with the LIG since February 2018, taking up positions as Treasurer and Secretary, and taking over as Chair in April 2023.

Louisa James (she/her)

Louisa is a Lecturer in Immunology at the Blizard Institute, Barts and The London Medical School, Queen Mary University of London. She completed her PhD at the National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College. This was followed by post-doctoral training at King’s College London before setting up her own research group in 2016. Her group aims to understand the role of antibody in B cell development and in particular the regulation and maintenance of B cell memory.

George Finney (he/him)

George is a postdoctoral research associate in the lab of Dr Laura Pallett at UCL. He completed his PhD in viral immunology in 2022, specifically studying T cells and lung stromal cells following influenza A virus infection. Moving from lung to liver immunology, George's research interest continues to focus on the mechanisms of communication between stromal cells and tissue-resident T cells.

Stephanie Kucykowicz (she/her)

Stephanie is a PhD student in the lab of Professor Mala Maini and Dr Laura Pallett at UCL studying liver immunology. She completed her M.Sc. degree in Parasitology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Her research focuses on understanding the role of T cells: their mechanisms of adaptation and communication within the liver stroma, particularly in the context of HCC. 

Katie Flaherty (she/her)

Katie is a PhD student in the Schurich lab at King’s College London (KCL). She completed her Biochemistry MSci degree, also at KCL, where her research looked at the role of iron regulation in the activation and function of CD8+ T cells. Her PhD focuses on the influence of co-stimulatory domains on CAR T-cell metabolism and function.

*Katie is acting Public Engagement Lead while Ryan Thwaites is on sabbatical leave.

Ryan Thwaites (he/him)

Ryan is a postdoctoral research associate at the National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London. He completed his PhD in 2015 on innate immune signalling in autoimmune conditions before transitioning into the field of respiratory infection. His current research interests centre on innate immunity in the respiratory tract, mucosal antibodies and anti-viral inflammation. Ryan is also the Early Career Representative on the BSI’s Inflammation Affinity Group.

*Ryan is currently on sabbatical leave

Kyle Mincham (he/him)

Kyle is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National Heart & Lung Institute (NHLI), Imperial College London. He completed his PhD in 2018 at the Telethon Kids Institute in Western Australia with Associate Professor Deborah Strickland. In 2021, Kyle joined the team of Professor Robert Snelgrove at the NHLI, focussing on the role of innate lymphoid cells in chronic lung diseases.

Will Traves (he/him)

Will is a PhD student working within the lab of Professor Clare Lloyd at the National Heart and Lung Institute (Imperial College London). After completing a BSc in Biology at Swansea University, Will moved to London to undertake an MSc in Immunology at ICL and subsequently, a PhD in Clinical Medicine Research. Will’s work seeks to understand the crosstalk between cells of the neuro-immune-stromal compartments and how these interactions contribute to the pathophysiology of chronic lung diseases.

Ben Wiggins (he/him)

Ben is a postdoctoral research fellow in Andreas Wack's group at the Francis Crick Institute. In his PhD, Ben studied human liver CD4+ T cells at the University of Birmingham under Dr Zania Stamataki, before moving into the field of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor biology in the immune system with Dr Chris Schiering at Imperial College London. Ben is now interested in understanding how dietary-ligand sensing through the Aryl Hydrocarbon receptor impacts on immune cell programs across barrier organs.

James Harker (he/him) 

James is a Senior Lecturer and group leader at Imperial College London’s South Kensington Campus. He completed his PhD at St Mary's Hospital with Peter Openshaw, before moving to the US for 5 years, where he was an Irvington Institute Fellow in Elina Zuniga’s Group in San Diego. He established his own group back in London with the support of a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship, and his current research interests revolve around understanding the regulation of CD4 T cells during infection and inflammation. He has however been known to work on dendritic cells, macrophages, Natural Killer cells, CD8 T cells and stromal immunity. He has been involved with the London Immunology Group since November 2014, first as Chair, then as Secretary from 2017 to 2020, before taking over as Chair again from 2021-23.

Ricardo Sainz (he/him)

Ricardo is a Higher Scientific Officer and PhD student working within the labs of Dr Erik Wennerberg and Prof Alan Melcher at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). He completed an MRes in Cancer Biology (Imperial College London) and an MSc in Radiation Biology (Oxford University). Ricardo’s PhD project focuses on improving the anti-tumour immune response post-radiotherapy in immunotherapy-resistant cancers by modulating immune cells’ metabolism.