Meet Wolfson's New Fellows

The 2024 cohort includes researchers looking into subjects as varied as: Rastafari spirituality, tuberculosis-causing bacterium and the causes of failure in solid state lithium-ion batteries.

President of Wolfson College, Professor Jane Clarke, said:

“We welcome early career researchers in all disciplines to join our diverse and inclusive community as JRFs. At Wolfson, you will learn to see the world in a different way.

"Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of all we do, so our community will actively support actions that help deliver sustainable outcomes for all peoples and the planet.”

Genomics expert Professor Nick Thomson was also admitted as a Fellow. His research is opening up new opportunities for intervention, transmission blocking and cholera 'track and trace' tools.

The connection of these research and global challenges at Wolfson is facilitated through the Interdisciplinary Research Hubs. These unite the College community in addressing some of the most urgent world issues.

New JRF Dr Elzė Sigute Mikalonytė, an aesthetician working at the intersection of philosophy and cognitive science, said:
“As a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson, I feel the sense of belonging to a truly egalitarian community. Each day here brings new fascinating interdisciplinary conversations."

Also joining Wolfson as a JRF was materials scientist Larissa Gomes Franca, who said: 
“As a Brazilian, I am looking forward to being part of this community, sharing my research and seeing other people’s research.

New JRF Dr Roger Rubio Sanchez, a chemical engineer, said: 
"I am delighted to join Wolfson College as a Junior Research Fellow. I look forward to being part of its world-class, diverse and lively community, which will surely have a long-lasting and positive impact in my academic career."

Professor Thomson, of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, described becoming a fellow as:
“It was like joining a new academic family, but one with global reach and a treasure chest of skills and experiences, not to mention great food and wine. Thank you all for being so welcoming.” 

The 2024 cohort of JRFs are: 

Dr Jan Böhning
His research aims to provide a better understanding of how the bacterium that causes tuberculosis can persist within the human body, using a mixture of structural biology and infection biology approaches. (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology) 

Miss Larissa Gomes Franca
Larissa's research explores photoresponsive materials for key technology applications, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaic devices (OPV). (Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy)

Dr Kshipra Gurunandan
Kshipra is a cognitive neuroscientist. Her research focuses on the brain bases of learning and memory and how these change over the lifespan, especially in the context of language learning. (MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences)

Dr Luke Harland 
Luke’s research programme investigates the inductive cues and transcriptional pathways that coordinate the formation of specific cellular identities during mammalian embryonic development.  (Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute)

Dr Garima Jaju
Garima works at the intersection of Anthropology and International Development, with a particular interest in ethnographically animating the 'economic'. (Centre of South Asian Studies)

Dr Elzė Sigute Mikalonytė 
As an aesthetician, Elzė is working at the intersection of philosophy and cognitive science. She is interested in psychological foundations of philosophically relevant concepts. (Department of Psychology) 

Dr Joseph Powell
Joseph's research explores Rastafari spirituality and its broader connections with pertinent issues of the present era. Fusing theological and anthropological research methods. (Faculty of Divinity) 

Dr Roger Rubio Sanchez
Roger's work focuses on exploiting the tools of DNA nanotechnology to elucidate new biophysical principles for membrane signalling and bio-engineering cell-like agents for healthcare and biomedicine. (Department of Chemical Engineering)

Dr Francisca Stutzin Donoso
Francisca's research interests are in the lived experience of chronic disease, the negotiation of risk-based decisions for health and wellbeing, and the ethics of public health interventions. (Department of Public Health and Primary Care) 

Dr Sundeep Vema
Sundeep research focuses on understanding why solid-state lithium-ion batteries fail. (Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry) 

The new JRFs will combine their work on innovative research, with mentoring and supporting students to become the next generation of researchers. The fellowships are non-stipendiary positions, renewable for a further two years. The competition for the 2025 JRFs will open in the summer.