Meet the group
Sergio was born and raised in Oviedo (Asturias, Spain). He studied in the University of Oviedo, where he obtained his Bachelor Degree in Chemistry in 2016. During this time, he performed an intenrship in the Selective Organic Synthesis Group (SOS) under the supervision of Dr. Javier Santamaría. One year later, he joined the same group as Master student, working on novel gold-catalyzed processes employing unsaturated organosilylated molecules. He decided to study a PhD at the same University and research group, supervised by Prof. Ballesteros and Dr. Santamaría, defending his thesis in 2022. Outside of lab, he enjoys listening to and playing music (asturian bagpiper!), reading, playing videogames, traveling as much as possible… and sharing beers with friends!
Chan was born and raised in Penang, Malaysia. She pursued her Bachelor’s degree in Pure Chemistry (Honors) at University Science of Malaysia, where she continued her Master’s degree under the supervision of Dr. Abdussalam Salhin Ali. In 2021, Chan completed her PhD at Academia Sinica (Taiwan) under a scholarship offered by the Taiwan International Graduate Programme. She worked under the guidance of Prof. Tiow-Gan Ong on low-valent carbon species, particularly focusing on Carbone chemistry. After graduation, she stayed in Taiwan for a year of postdoc, before leaving to join the Planas lab in December 2023 as a Newton International Fellows. Outside the lab she likes to travel, play badminton, and hanging out with friends.
Selwin was born and raised in Ja-Ela, a small town in Western Sri Lanka. He completed his Integrated Masters degree (MChem) at the University of East Anglia (Norwich, UK), graduating in 2021. During this time, he spent his third year on an industrial placement at GlaxoSmithKline (Stevenage, UK) working on the synthesis of Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs). He returned to Norwich for his final year where he worked on heterobimetallic complexes under the guidance of Dr Luca Rocchigiani. He then joined Apex Molecular Ltd (Alderley Edge, UK) in November, 2021 as a Research Chemist working on custom synthesis projects before joining the Planas Research Lab for his PhD in September, 2022. Outside the lab he enjoys playing/watching cricket and exploring different cuisines from all around the world.
Ruogu was born in Chengdu, a city in the southwestern part of China. He joined the 2+2 programme between Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and University of Liverpool in 2017 and obtained his bachelor’s degree in 2021. Later, he moved to London and enrolled in MRes in Imperial College London. During this period, he studied catalysts based on Fe-N/C species for the development of Bayer-Villiger oxidations using molecular oxygen as oxidant under the supervision of Prof George Britovsek and Prof Anthony Kucernak. After he finished his master’s degree, he decided to study a PhD and joined the Planas lab as a Chinese Scholarship Council PhD fellow. Ruogu enjoys watching and playing football games outside the lab. He also enjoys traveling and hanging out with friends.
Olympia was born in Greece and moved to the UK at an early age. She completed her Master’s degree at the University of Leicester. During her third year if study, under the supervision of Dr Alison Stuart, she investigated the synthesis of hypervalent iodine reagents for the chlorination of anisole. For her Master’s project, she worked under the supervision of Dr Alexander Kilpatrick, with co-supervision by Dr Kogularamanan Suntharalingam, focusing on the synthesis of functionalised titanocenes as potential anticancer agents. After graduating in 2024, Olympia joined the Planas Lab as a PhD student funded by the EPSRC. Outside the lab Olympia is an active person, enjoying activities such ice skating and gym, and she is also creative, expressing this through poetry and art.
Alba was born and raised in Cuenca (Spain). She studied at University of Castilla La-Mancha, where she obtained her Bachelor degree in Chemistry. During the last year, she started as a collaborator in the MSOC NanoChemistry group, where she investigated new biodegradable hydrogels as intelligent systems drug delivery. In 2017, She moved to Tarragona (Spain), where she undertook her Master studies at ICIQ and at University of Rovira i Virgili under the supervision of Dr. Anton Vidal. One year later, she continued her research career as a PhD student also under the supervision of Dr. Anton Vidal at ICIQ and University of Barcelona, where she obtained her doctoral research degree in 2023. As a PhD candidate, she participated in the design, synthesis and catalytic application of supramolecular complexes based on Rh and Ir, as well as the investigation of low-valent Co complexes in asymmetric hydrogenations. In February 2024, Alba joined the Planas lab as a postdoctoral researcher, obtaining later a Marie Słodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, travelling, discovering new cuisines and restaurants, and attending musicals and theatres.
Irene was born in Oviedo (Asturias, Spain). She obtained her bachelor and master in Chemistry from the University of Oviedo. She also performed her PhD studies in the same University (2018) under the supervision of Prof. Pilar Gamasa working in the synthesis of iridium complexes. During this period, she moved for a short stay to the lab of Prof. Martin Albrecht (University of Bern, Switzerland). In 2020, she moved to Gakushuin University (Tokyo, Japan) as a visiting postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. Takahiko Akiyama where she took part of different projects related to enantioselective organocatalysis. Back to Spain, she joined the group of Prof. Martín Fañanás in CiQUS (University of Santiago de Compostela, 2021-2024) where she was involved in projects related with enantioselective organometallic catalysis as well as methane activation. In 2024, she worked in the group of Dr. Manuel Nappi in CiQUS developing chemical reactions promoted by visible light. Finally, she joined the Planas Lab as PDRA in 2025. Outside the lab she likes hiking and doing outdoors sports, singing, travelling and hanging out with friends.
Former group members
- Anna Gkene (Queen Mary University of London)
- Ben Price (Queen Mary University of London)
- Samaneh Aranji (Queen Mary University of London)
- Jesus Damián Burgoa (Visiting PhD Student; Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Spain)
- None