Tom Chua

I graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Warwick in 2021, where I was supervised by Dr Binuraj Menon during a URSS-funded research placement "Developing and Characterising Halogenase-based Biosynthetic Pathways in Microorganisms." Following this, I completed an MRes (Distinction) in Drug Discovery and Development at Imperial College London in 2022. My master’s research, supervised by Dr Yu Ye and Dr Michael Morten at the UK Dementia Research Institute, investigated the immunoproteasome’s role in Alzheimer’s disease using advanced microscopy techniques.

In 2023, I began my PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Portsmouth, supervised by Dr Binuraj Menon, Prof Joy Watts, and Prof Andrew Pickford. My PhD project focuses on designing novel enzymes for the biodegradation of challenging plastics, including LEGO polymers.