Ravi Singh

Ravi graduated from the University of Leeds in 2015 with a MChem, BSc undergraduate degree in Medicinal Chemistry. Following his undergraduate degree, he remained at Leeds for a cross-disciplinary PhD which built on the skills he had acquired throughout his undergraduate studies. Ravi currently works at Imperial College London.

Undergraduate life at Leeds

Ravi was always fascinated with science from his early teens, but only truly appreciated it towards the end of his GCSEs. The University of Leeds was a natural choice for him as he was born and raised nearby, and loved the vibrancy of Leeds city centre.

The chemistry course at Leeds exposes students to a lot of practical experimental work.

“I really enjoyed my course. The chemistry course at Leeds exposes students to a lot of practical experimental work. For me, this was the most enjoyable and memorable part of my studies. Many people will always attribute their successes in teaching labs to Dr Visuvanathar (Sri) Sridharan who knew how to troubleshoot any experiment!

I also had many opportunities working on projects.  My MChem project involved synthesizing constrained peptides and small molecules. These were made to disrupt protein-protein interactions implicated in cancers and gave me a wealth of experience in organic chemistry, peptide synthesis, and biochemical testing.”

Postgraduate life at Leeds

“Following my undergraduate degree in medicinal chemistry, I remained at Leeds for a cross-disciplinary PhD which built on the skills I had acquired throughout my undergraduate studies. My PhD, “Identification and Optimization of Novel Antithrombotic Agents” was an exciting lab-based project where I synthesized small molecule modulators against a confidential target implicated in thrombosis.

This gave me the opportunity to conduct novel and impactful research within the field, whilst also developing my teaching experiences. Many people made my time at the university incredibly enjoyable, with huge thanks to Jennie Dickinson, Dr Charlotte Revill, David Fogarty, Dr Chris Pask, Dr Nimesh Mistry, and Dr Visuvanathar (Sri) Sridharan.”

Building a successful career

Ravi currently works at Imperial College London and has an exciting role within the research group of Professor Ed Tate as the chemistry lab manager. In addition to this, he is the cohort manager for the MRes in Drug Discovery and Development course. Ravi adds, “I am involved in interviewing applicants, ensuring smooth running of the course, teaching and assessing within the degree programme, and providing lab-based supervision. More recently, I have been involved in undergraduate-focused activities: these include the UCAS interviews, as an organic tutor, and staff demonstrator in the teaching laboratories.”

I have always had a keen interest in teaching and was fortunate enough to gain experience in this during my PhD. Dr Nimesh Mistry was instrumental in this and his support throughout my time at Leeds was incredibly valuable.

“I have always had a keen interest in teaching and was fortunate enough to gain experience in this during my PhD. Dr Nimesh Mistry was instrumental in this and his support throughout my time at Leeds was incredibly valuable. We went on to design online tools and then blend my PhD research with undergraduate teaching. Nimesh and I were invited to present this work at ViCEPhEC 2018- a teaching conference focused on higher education in chemistry and physics. This experience further reaffirmed my enthusiasm for teaching which I am able to actively participate in at my current institution.”

Find out more 

Discover more about our Undergraduate degree courses in the School of Chemistry.