Our Team

Masha was born in Moscow, Russia. She studied at the Chemistry Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University and received her MSci in 2012, working in the labs of Prof G. Korshunova and Prof Y. Antonenko. She then moved to the UK for PhD studies with Prof Richard Hartley (University of Glasgow) and Prof Mike Murphy (University of Cambridge). There, Masha worked on small molecule tools to study oxidative stress in mitochondria, and received her PhD in 2017. She then changed fields (and cities) and joined the groups of Prof Ed Tate and Prof Aylin Hanyaloglu at Imperial College London to work on GPCRs. Her research focused on the development of novel chemogenetic and proximity proteomics approaches to study GPCR function. Combining her training in several different fields, namely, redox biology, GPCR chemical biology and proteomics, Masha is now leading the GPCR chemical biology and proteomics group at the University of Bath developing new small molecule tools for GPCRs and studying how GPCR signalling is affected by oxidative stress-related conditions in disease.

Outside the lab, Masha is a mom of two little girls. In her spare time (speaking rhetorically), Masha is a fan of painting, reading, and hiking some challenging terrains (the GR20 trail is her favourite so far).

ms4652@bath.ac.uk   Maria Shchepinova   @MShchepinova   Dr Maria Shchepinova

My name is Shun Leung and I come from Hong Kong! I am very happy to join the Shchepinova's group in the University of Bath and conduct my research at the junction between chemistry and biology!

I am trained as organic chemist and I would be working on designing new chemical biology tools to target mitochondrial GPCR with precision and selectivity. Such tool will allow us to investigate mitochondrial function and better understand the role of GPCR in mitochondria!

Prior to joining the group, I worked as a research assistant in Prof. David Selwood's lab in UCL. I focused on using a degrader approach to target TDP-43, an aggregation-prone protein with high relevance in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). I also completed a MRes in Drug Design and a BSc in Chemistry in UCL.

Stepping out of the lab, I enjoy running, especially 10k, for which my PB is 33:52. Hope I can break it soon! I also like playing piano! Busking and improvising are the best way to express myself in my opinion!

Shun Leung