The Mansfeld Lab
Current lab members
Get to know us better
Jörg Mansfeld
Principal Investigator
Coordinates all the projects, fights for money, and helps with more precise and careful troubleshooting. In the meantime, he tries to spread his optimism and positive attitude to all in the lab, while still juggling pipettes.
Karla Vuina
PostDoc
Karla joined the lab at the beginning of 2025 as a PostDoc. She completed her PhD at University College London where she investigated the effect of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors on a permanent cell cycle exit and what role cellular growth plays. She is originally from Croatia but has been in London for several years now as prior to the PhD she completed BSc in Biochemistry at Imperial College. She now joined the Mansfeld lab to study how protein oxidation states of cell cycle control machinery affect cell proliferation.
Jacky Leung
PostDoc
Jacky joined the lab in London in 2022 as a member of the RadNet radiotherapy research network. His current research is investigating how protein oxidation induced by radiotherapy can regulate cellular processes and potentially influence cell fate. He received his PhD from the University of British Columbia in Canada, where he studied androgen receptor transactivation in prostate cancer. He is originally from Vancouver and is an avid yogi outside the lab.
Hinyuk Lai
PostDoc
Hinyuk joined the lab to investigate how redox signals are delivered and propagated within cells, particularly interested in the spatial distribution of cysteine oxidation signals. Before joining the Institute of Cancer Research, she completed her PhD at the University of Hong Kong, where she developed ROS detection methods using chemical probes and mass spectrometry. She is originally from Hong Kong and enjoys making scrapbooks during her free time.
David Coupe
PhD student
David joined the lab to investigate the role of cysteine oxidation in the regulation of mitotic progression and genome stability. Before joining the Mansfeld lab, he worked on cell cycle regulation, using a number of imaging approaches, at the Universities of Bath and Plymouth and the ICR. Outside the lab, he enjoys hiking and is a keen baker.
Elizabeth Torley
PhD student
Elizabeth completed a BA in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, specialising in Genetics. She also spent her summers at the university, as a research assistant in Plant Sciences, and continued this role for another year after she had graduated. At the ICR, Elizabeth investigates how changes in the oxidation state of cell cycle proteins affect cell proliferation. She intends to balance her PhD alongside her hobby of Ballroom and Latin dancing!
Ryan Panchal
Clinical PhD student
Ryan is a PhD student, who joined the lab in March 2025. He will be exploring redox-controlled mechanisms of intratumoural hydrogen peroxide in breast cancer, in collaboration with Dr Navita Somaiah at the ICR in Sutton. He is a Clinical Research Fellow and has spent the last 3 years working as a Specialty Registrar in Clinical Oncology at the Royal Marsden Hospital and Imperial NHS Trust, where he completed his undergraduate degree in Medicine in 2018. Ryan enjoys exploring London and spending time with family and friends.
Former lab members
The lab in 2025
Magdalena Gonciarz
PhD/Postdoc
Igor Gak
PhD student
Gábor Bakos
PhD student
Doris Müller
Lab Technician
Anna Dmitrieva
Scientific Assistant
Dörte Schlesinger
PhD student
Nina Mitic
Master Student
Martina Lachnit
Technician
Djordje Vasiljevic
Postdoc
Nadine Weser
Technician
Cindy Horenburg
Student Assistant
Dilyana Kirova
PhD student
Mona El-Laymony
Bachelor Student
Alena Kucerova
PhD student
Janek Haschke
Research assistant
Kristyna Judasova
PhD student
Katrin Daniel
Postdoc
Julia Vorhauser
PhD/Postdoc
Esther O. Ige
Scientific Officer