Meet the Group
Stefan Borsley
Stefan was born in North Wales. He obtained his MChem from the University of Manchester and PhD from the University of St Andrews under the supervision of Dr Euan Kay, working on dynamic molecular control of nanoparticle building block assembly. Stefan moved to the University of Edinburgh as a postdoctoral research associate with Prof. Scott Cockroft, working on single molecule nanopore sensing and noncovalent interactions. He returned to the University of Manchester to undertake postdoctoral and then lecturer positions in the group of Prof. David Leigh FRS, working on autonomous molecular machines. In 2023, Stefan obtained a Royal Society University Research Fellowship to start his research group at Durham University. In his free time he enjoys travelling, photography and good company!
Willow Baxter
Willow comes from Suffolk. She obtained her MChem from the University of St Andrews completing a final year project within the Chemical Education Research Group under the supervision of Dr Neil Keddie. Willow joined the group as a PhD student in October 2024 to work on chemical fuels for transmembrane pumps. In her free time she enjoys hillwalking and always has a craft project on the go. She is the crochet-er in chief of many copies of mini Max!
Zac Orr
Zac obtained his MChem from Herriot-Watt University with a final year project in organic reaction development in the group of Dr Ai-Lan Lee. Zac joined the group as a PhD student in October 2024 to work on harnessing transmembrane gradients as an energy source to drive other processes.
Martha Noakes
Martha completed a summer research internship focusing on NMR processing at AstraZeneca before joining the group for her final year MChem research project. She then returned to the group for her PhD, where here eclectic selection of projects involves the role of death in chemical evolution, and proving that light isn't magic! Aside from chemistry, she enjoys playing clarinet in her college orchestra and learning French. She also runs Max's Instagram!
Former Group Members
Jeanne Karagouch
Jeanne comes from Lyon in France, where she studied at the CPE Lyon Engineering School. During her free time, she enjoys drawing and travelling, which is the reason that made her take part in an exchange program at Durham University for the academic year of 2025–2026. Jeanne joined the group in October 2025 for her final year Masters research project, during which she explore transmembrane active transport of chloride.
Elliott Maitland-Davies
Elliott was born in North Wales. Follow a summer project with Dr Amy Hall, Elliott undertook his MChem in the group of Dr Matt Kitching on a joint project with the Borsley group, and very much became an adopted member of the group. His work focussed on chemically fuelled active transport for supersaturation control over crystal morphology. When not getting excited about crystals, Elliott deploys his musical prowess to conduct orchestras and writes his own arrangements. He has also been teaching the group chemistry vocabulary in Welsh.
Group Photos
Group photo - Oct 2025
Group photo - Oct 2025
