The Lab

December 2025

Alisher, Caroline, Brandon, Gemma, Maitreyi, Abdelrhman, Grace, Luca, Ayesha

September 2025

Ayesha, Brandon, Gemma Jess, Maitreyi, Caroline, Alisher, Abdelrhman

July 2022

Usamah, Abdelrhman, Ann Gemma, Maitreyi, Rawdha

December 2025

Alisher, Caroline, Brandon, Gemma, Maitreyi, Abdelrhman, Grace, Luca, Ayesha

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Dr Maitreyi Shivkumar

maitreyi.shivkumar@dmu.ac.uk | @Lambananas (Why Lambananas?) | @shivkumarlab.bsky.social

I am Associate Professor of Virology in the Leicester School of Pharmacy. My research interests lie in understanding virus-host interactions and ways to manipulate them to prevent host entry or transmission of viruses. I completed my PhD at the University of Cambridge on host entry and dissemination of herpesviruses in mouse models. Following this, I was a post-doc in the Jolly Lab at University College London studying HIV-1 spread between T cells, before joining De Montfort University in 2019.

Dr Gemma Cooper | @its_me_gemma_c

I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the lab and my research is focused on developing host-targeting antivirals. I recently completed my PhD in the lab, working on broad-spectrum antivirals from natural extracts, specifically against coronaviruses. I completed my MSCi at the University of Nottingham, researching host-pathogen relationships in parasite species. During my time working on early drug development projects and using viral vectors to deliver gene therapies, I became really interested in virus-host interactions. My general interests are molecular biology and virology and how these can lead to therapeutics. Outside of the lab, I love to bake and bring goodies to our lab meetings.

Brandon Moulds

I am a part-time PhD student in the lab, investigating the disinfection of norovirus and the mechanisms of resistance against common disinfectants using murine norovirus as a surrogate. My project will also involve attempting to culture human norovirus in vitro using enteroids as the virus has proven difficult to cultivate using conventional cell culture models. I completed my BSc in Biomedical Science from De Montfort University in 2017, and at the start of 2018 I started working at De Montfort University as a technician, later becoming Senior Technician of the Mass Spectrometry facilities. My personal interests involve badminton, video games, heavy metal and anime!

Ayesha Siddiqa

I am a PhD student, and my research project is aimed at developing broad-spectrum host-targeting antivirals against coronaviruses, with a focus on identifying therapeutic strategies that can remain effective across different viral strains. My project involves the use of cell and molecular biology techniques, and antiviral assays to test potential inhibitors. I completed my MPhil from the School of Biological Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan, where I developed a strong interest in cell biology and protein biology. Outside the lab, I enjoy travelling and baking to stay motivated!

Dolgormaa Janchivlamdan

I am a PhD student within the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, supervised by Dr Harprit Singh and Dr Maitreyi Shivkumar. I graduated from The Health Sciences University of Mongolia in the field of medical science and completed my Master`s degree in the field of molecular biology. My research project is about the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on endothelial and vascular function, exploring the impact on the angiopoietin/Tie pathway.

Alisher Djumaev

Alisher is a a PhD student in the lab, supervised by Dr Maitreyi Shivkumar, Dr Mohamed Elsawy, and Dr Sara Cordeiro. His interdisciplinary project aims to combine novel delivery methods for vaccines, focussing on the development of peptide hydrogel core-shell microneedle platforms for targeted delivery of SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccine formulations.

Grace Lee

I am an MRes student in the lab, working on investigating the antiviral mechanism of natural product compounds against coronaviruses. I previously completed a DMU Frontrunner internship in the lab during my Biomedical Science degree, where I gained hands-on experience working in the lab and explored my interests in virology. Outside of science, I enjoy drawing, videogames and anime!