Xingyu (Philip) Qiu

Contact information: xingyu.qiu@exeter.ox.ac.uk

DPhil title: Investigating the GPCR activation process through mass spectrometry related methods

Philip is studying the GPCR activation mechanism through mass spectrometry related methods including HDX, native MS and ion mobility. Exploration of GPCR-ligand interaction during the receptor activation will promote the development of drug targeting on GPCRs.

Philip studied Chemistry at University of Oxford and joined the Robinson Group for his DPhil studies in 2018.

Tarick El-Baba

Contact information: tarick.el-baba@chem.ox.ac.uk

Tarick’s research is focused on characterising membrane proteins involved with multidrug resistance using native mass spectrometry, proteomics, and molecular biology. His research aims to identify the mechanisms involved with drug recognition, efflux pump assembly, and substrate translocation. Tarick’s background is primarily in mass spectrometry instrument development.

Tarick obtained his BSc in Chemistry from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and his PhD from Indiana University where he developed new ion mobility-mass spectrometry instruments to study protein folding in the group of Prof. David E. Clemmer. He joined the Robinson Group in 2019 as a Royal Society Newton International Fellow. A complete list of his publications can be found here.

Corinne Lutomski

Contact information: corinne.lutomski@chem.ox.ac.uk

Corinne’s background is in the development of new techniques in mass spectrometry to study large protein complexes. Her research aims to further develop detergent-free methods to study GPCRs in the context of their native environments and investigate the modulating effects of lipids on structure, dynamics, and ligand binding. A full list of Corinne’s publications can be found here. (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ajsWw90AAAAJ&hl=en)

Corinne received a BSc in Chemistry at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She then completed her PhD at Indiana University under the supervision of Prof. Martin Jarrold. Corinne joined the Robinson group as a Marie Curie Fellow in 2019. 

Neha Kalmankar

Contact information: neha.kalmankar@chem.ox.ac.uk

Neha's research focus is on understanding the physiology of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and their modulation in response to extracellular signals using native mass spectrometry (nMS). She is interested in combining nMS with orthogonal techniques like top-down sequencing, proteomics, transcriptomics and structural bioinformatics, to capture the dynamics of GPCR signal transduction in the context of its native lipid environment, with a particular focus on receptors that use endogenous peptides as ligands.

Neha completed her Bachelor in Engineering (in Biotechnology) from Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology and subsequently obtained her PhD from the National Centre for Biological Science, Bangalore, Indian. She joined the Robinson Group in 2022. A complete list of her publications can be found at Neha V Kalmankar - Google Scholar.

Haigang Song

Contact information: haigang.song@chem.ox.ac.uk

Haigang's research is focused on membrane proteins related to multidrug resistance (MDR) of invasive fungi. He aims to reveal the molecular mechanism underlaying the MDR by combining native mass spectrometry (nMS), proteomics, structural biology and other biophysical methods. Haigang has a strong background in structural enzymology and now turns his interest to nMS. His publication list can be found here. 

Haigang obtained his Bachelor's degree majoring in Chemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China and his PhD from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Before joining the Robinson Group in 2022, he worked with Professor Jim Naismith.  

Jingjin Fan

Contact information: jingjin.fan@chem.ox.ac.uk

Jingjin’s research focuses on integrating native mass spectrometry, soft-landing ion manipulation, and cryogenic electron microscopy to investigate the structures and conformational dynamics of biomolecular assemblies, with a particular focus on membrane proteins. Her current research aims to understand how membrane protein structures and interactions are preserved or transformed across different physical environments, and to develop mass spectrometry-guided cryo-EM approaches for uncovering their regulatory mechanisms.

During her PhD at Tsinghua University, under the supervision of Prof. Xiaoyu Zhou and Prof. Zheng Ouyang, Jingjin developed a microdroplet ESI soft-landing platform and applied it to investigate the structural integrity of protein assemblies and amyloid fibrillation. Her publication list can be found here.

Jingjin joined the Robinson and Rauschenbach Groups in 2023 and was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2024. In 2026, she was awarded a Wellcome Trust Early Career Award to develop her independent research programme.

Kiran Bountra

Contact information: kiran.bountra@chem.ox.ac.uk

Kiran’s research is focused on applying native mass spectrometry and biochemical methods to the study of membrane transport proteins involved in multidrug resistance. He previously worked as a Senior Scientist at OMass Therapeutics, specializing in drug discovery projects targeting solute carriers.

Kiran studied Biochemistry at the University of Sheffield. He also holds an MRes and PhD from Imperial College London. During his PhD, Kiran investigated the structure and mechanism of peptide ABC transporters. He joined the Robinson Group in 2024.

Xue (Sophia) Sun

Contact information: xue.sun@chem.ox.ac.uk

Sophia is investigating on understanding how mass spectrometry can be leveraged to reveal the molecular details of membrane protein glycosylation and its role in therapeutic interactions. Her research combines advanced native mass spectrometry and ion mobility technologies to characterise membrane protein-lipid complexes and glycan-mediated modulation of protein structure and function.

Sophia received her BS and MS degrees in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Analysis from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, followed by an MPhil in Biotechnology from Queens University, Belfast. In 2021, she received state funding from the China Scholarship Council and holds an Honorary Fellowship in Professor Lingjun Li's lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. In 2024, she earned her PhD in Biophysics at Peking University under the supervision of Professor Catherine C. L. Wong, developing high-resolution proteomics methods for protein glycosylation and biomarker discovery in immune disorders.  She joined the Robinson Group in March 2025.

Cameron Fairweather

Contact information: cameron.fairweather@chem.ox.ac.uk

Cameron's research focus is developing workflows for the purification of large membrane protein complexes from brain tissue for analysis by mass spectrometry.

Cameron completed his BSc (Hons) at the University of Melbourne in 2016, then worked as a research scientist at CSL. In 2025 he completed his PhD at Monash University, where he characterised the structure and dynamics of class B G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).  He joined the Robinson Group in August 2025.