GET IN TOUCH
- Interested in undertaking your PhD at our lab? Email Federica Bernardini
- Are you a journalist looking for expert comment? Email Federica Bernardini
- General enquiries? Email Lucy Collyns
GROUP LEADER
Andrea Crisanti
Principal Investigator
Andrea Crisanti is Professor of Molecular Parasitology at Imperial College London. He has pioneered the Molecular Biology of the human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae and has made numerous important scientific contributions that have advanced the genetic and molecular knowledge of the malaria parasite and its mosquito vector.
He is also a member of the Italian Parliament (Senato), and has been instrumental in the COVID-19 response in Italy, inspiring public health authorities to implement effective control measures.
INTERNAL STAFF
Lucy Collyns
Administrator
Lucy Collyns is the Crisanti Lab’s longest serving member, having joined the lab in 2000. Lucy is the Lab’s administrator, and Prof. Crisanti’s Personal Assistant.
When she’s not taking care of the Lab’s paperwork you can find Lucy hugging trees and forest bathing.
Matt Gribble
Insectary Manager
Matt is the manager of the Crisanti Lab Insectary at South Kensington. He has a degree in Zoology from Stirling University in Scotland, and after graduating spent several years working as a field assistant in Southern Africa and New Zealand.
When not with the mosquitoes, Matt can be found trying to control his Whippet Ernie, watching cricket or playing football.
Clelia Supparo
Senior Project Manager
Clelia Supparo is the Senior Project Manager of Crisanti Lab, with over 15 years’ experience in managing European, National and US-funded awards, both within the private and public sector. Her duties range from identifying funding opportunities to preparing financial reports, dealing with HR, IP and resources allocation.
She has a Master in European Studies, Policy Advisor and Project Consultant, but also an MA in Bilingual translation, and occasionally provides translation and editing services to charities and small private companies.
RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
Federica Bernadini
Research Associate
Federica Bernadini (they/them) is a Research Associate with over 10 years experience at Crisanti Lab. Their role as team leader involves the supervision and management of the Lab’s scientific activities, including basic research and vector control strategies.
Sex determination and meiotic sex chromosome inactivation are constantly on their mind. When not busy with this they enjoy photographing people and treating them with delicious food.
Barbara Fasulo
Research Associate
Barbara is a Senior Research Associate and convenor for the “Advance topics in Parasitology and Vector Biology” course at Imperial College London. Her research involves looking for possible mosquito gene targets to limit female fertility or survival. She was previously employed at the University of California Santa Cruz, where she studied the cell cycle, cytoskeleton and epigenetic mechanisms in D. melanogaster.
Barbara is a self-learner, passionate photographer (@babisfa), piano amateur, bread maker and more.
Akash Sharma
Research Associate
Akash is a postdoctoral research associate developing strategies to improve the performance of gene drives in the main vector of malaria Anopheles gambiae. He received his PhD in evolutionary and developmental genetics from the University of Groningen Netherlands / University of Zurich.
His research interests are engineering gene drive systems and exploring sex-determination pathways in insect disease vectors. His hobbies are reading, hiking and cricket.
Ignacio Tolosana
Research Associate
Ignacio Tolosana is a Research Associate and former PhD student of the Crisanti Lab, exploring population genetic control technologies linked to the Y chromosome. He became interested in vector control during his internship at the Kiggins lab (University of Cambridge) when he worked with Wolbachia in different drosophila species.
You can also find him climbing, playing football or watering and whispering to his plants.
Xenia Karlsson
Research Associate
Matteo Vitale
Research Associate
Matteo is a Research Associate and former PhD student of the Crisanti Lab, exploring the mechanisms of sex-determination embryos and spermatogenesis in Anopheles gambiae. His project led him to learn different tools to study biological processes from Bioinformatics to Cytology.
Out of the lab, Matteo is a good gardener and he likes to play bass and classical guitar. He loves fiction in all it’s possible forms.
Silvia Grilli
Research Associate
Silvia is a Research Associate and former PhD student of the Crisanti Lab, exploring meiosis in Anopheles gambiae to develop vector control strategies against malaria. Silvia was a student in Biological Science at University of Camerino, Italy. Silvia was also a student at the school of Higher Studies Carlo Urbani of the University of Camerino.
When Siliva is not dissecting mosquitoes’ testes, she likes climbing, hiking and traveling.
TECHNICIANS
Research Technician
“Microinjection Goddess” and “Party Planner”. Louise is currently testing new gene drive lines and supporting other projects. Lousie has previous experience in mammalian genetics at the MRC, healthcare experience in the NHS, and pulling pints of wine in ‘spoons.
In 2020, she became the first wingwalker of the decade, but really her greatest sense of achievement is that she’s finally managed to make time to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea for 5 minutes.
Lee Phillimore
Research Technician
Lee Phillimore is a Research Technician at the Crisanti Lab. Before making the jump to malaria research, he attained an MSC in neuroscience and his previous experience involved working with Drosophila in the fields of stem cell biology and nociception.
His ultimate career goal is to work at all of the universities in London. Three down, twenty to go. In his spare time, he enjoys having a nice sit down and a look out of the window.
Charlie Booty
Research Technician
Charlie is a Research Technician responsible for maintaining the wild type Anopheles colonies, as well as working on the generation of gene drive mosquitoes in An. arabiensis. Prior to joining the lab, he held a variety of roles in Medical communications and scientific communications before coming to his senses and attaining an MSc in Parasitology & Pathogen biology.
When not busy sexing in the insectary he can be most often found reading a book somewhere green.
James Philpott
Research Technician
James is a Research Technician supporting work investigating sex-determination genes and pathways relevant to the engineering approaches used by the lab. After spending 4 years studying at Imperial, he spent some time working in a brewery and then worked in a malaria parasite-focused group at LSHTM before returning to South Kensington in 2023.
When not in the insectary or lab he can be found at various gigs, galleries and pockets of nature around London.
Tasmin Nixon
Research Technician
Tasmin is a Research Technician focused on maintaining multiple mosquito lines as well as supporting active ongoing research projects. Tasmin studied biochemistry at UCL and particularly enjoys working on plasmid-based assays and assembly projects, which build on previous experience constructing a reporter system testing guide RNA’s for CRISPR-Cas antimicrobials.
When she’s not talking about music albums or the Breaking Bad universe to someone in the Insectary, Tasmin is crocheting something somewhere for someone.
Lamin Jadama
Research Technician
Nakibul Khan
Research Technician
PhD STUDENTS
Martina Mattioli
PhD Student
Martina is a PhD student working on improving existing and developing new CRISPR-based gene drive and self-limiting strategies to create innovative approaches for mosquito population control. While working on baculoviruses during her MScR in Biochemistry at the University of Bristol, she developed a strong interest in genome engineering and its real-world applications.
When she’s not experimenting in the lab, you can usually find her experimenting in the kitchen, behind a camera or book, or hanging upside down practicing aerial disciplines like pole and hoop.
Pablo Relucio
PhD Student
