The Kumar Lab

Think to create, search to find.

Team Members

Dr. Roopender Kumar

Group Leader

PhD

Islam Araar (4^th year)
Islam is from Canada (Montréal) and Algeria (Algiers). He received a 1st Class Honours degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Kingston University and was awarded for outstanding performance. In his final year, he conducted research under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Wren, developing synthetic methodologies for accessing bioactive fluorenes. He carried out his MSc by research degree at the University of York and his master thesis with Professor Peter O’Brien, working on the synthesis of heterocycles for fragment elaboration in 3-D to produce medicinally relevant compounds. In September 2023, he began his PhD in the Kumar Lab at UCL, where he is focusing on the discovery and development of new radical reactions using visible-light. Outside of the lab, Islam enjoys doing many sports including weightlifting, long/short distance running, and Judo.

Master student

Becca Miles
Becca is from Weybridge, Surrey. Her interest in synthetic organic chemistry led her to a BSc in Chemistry at the University of Manchester. For her final-year dissertation, she synthesised cholestanol–galactosamine conjugates for integration into liposomes. After graduating, she spent a year in Colorado as a medicinal chemist on the Advanced Molecule Discovery team at Eli Lilly. She is now pursuing an MSc in Chemical Research at UCL, where she is undertaking her master’s project in the Kumar Lab. Outside the lab, Becca enjoys learning Spanish, going to the gym, and spending time with her friends and her German Shepherds.

Jai Bannister
Jai was born and raised in Sheffield, England, where he attended sixth form and studied Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. He graduated with a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge in July 2026, specialising in Organic Chemistry. Jai is now pursuing an MSc in Organic Chemistry with Drug Discovery at UCL, where he is undertaking his research project in the Kumar Lab. In his free time, he enjoys playing football and squash.