Research Team
Professor Veronica Kinsler

Professor Veronica Kinsler

Veronica Kinsler is professor of paediatric dermatology and dermatogenetics at GOSH and leads a research team at the Francis Crick Institute, London, on secondment from UCL. Caring Matters Now has the privilege of being one of the most important funding providers towards their CMN research work.

Mrs Jane White

Mrs Jane White is the Research Coordinator for the Kinsler lab, overseeing all research projects and funding of the lab. Jane was one of the Dermatology Consultant Nurse Specialists on the Dermatology ward at GOSH for many years, so she has a lot of experience of patients with rare skin diseases including CMN. She came back to work on the research side after having her own children, and is essential to the working of the whole team. She is funded by a grant from the Livingstone Skin Research Centre.

Morgan Zolkwer

Morgan Zolkwer

Morgan Zolkwer is a UCL Psychology PhD student in Professor Kinsler’s Lab and is co-supervised by researchers at the Centre for Appearance Research. He graduated from the University of Sussex with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and started his PhD at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health in October 2022. His research is part funded by Caring Matters Now and involves investigating adolescent adjustment to having CMN and parental adjustment to having a child with CMN.

Dale Bryant

Dr Dale Bryant

Dr Dale Bryant is a senior post-doctoral research associate previously funded by Caring Matters Now. Dale completed his PhD in 2014 where he was working on stem cells and molecular biology in the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, King’s College London and Pfizer, Cambridge. He has since completed postdoctoral positions on cell and animal models of genetic diseases involving cerebellar ataxia and hearing loss at Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London. He joined Veronica Kinsler’s laboratory in 2019 to focus on gene therapies for Congenital Melanocytic Naevi at the Francis Crick Institute. He was funded by Caring Matters Now from 2019-2021 and is now funded by the NIHR grant for CMN.

Dr Nicole Knöpfel

Dr Nicole Knöpfel

Dr Nicole Knopfel is a Clinical Research Fellow and PhD student part funded by Caring Matters Now. Nicole graduated in Medicine in Barcelona, Spain and completed her specialist training in Dermatology in 2016. She developed an early interest in Paediatric Dermatology and holds an educational background at Children´s Hospital Wilhelmstift Hamburg, Children’s Hospital Niño Jesús in Madrid by a 1-year Fellowship and Children’s Hospital of Zurich where she worked until 2020. She has since joined Prof. Kinsler’s team to research Congenital Melanocytic Naevi and other mosaic diseases.

Ms Aime Sauvadet

Ms Aime Sauvadet

Aimie is fully funded by Caring Matters Now, and supports the work of all the scientists in the team. With a technical background in molecular biology and tissue culture, Aimie is integral to the efficient day to day running of the lab and management of the Rare Dermatology Diseases Resource (RDDR); she processes all the samples that come in from GOSH, looks after all the cells that we grow, and helps set up experiments with the other scientists.

Mr Mohammad Rabil

Mr Mohammad Rabil

Mo started as a research technician in the lab having acquired a BSc in Neuroscience and a MSc in Respiratory Clinical Science from King’s College London and University College London respectively. He has now started a PhD with funding from Caring Matters Now, working on CMN melanoma.

Dr Satyamaanasa Polubothu

Dr Satyamaanasa Polubothu

Dr Maanasa Polubothu is a consultant paediatric dermatologist at GOSH and leads a team researching mosaic disorders in UCL. She was funded for the first 6 months of her PhD by Caring Matters Now back in 2016. She continues to contribute to research on CMN and management of patients.

With special thanks to the following researchers who no longer work with the Research Team but have enabled the CMN research to progress to where we are today:

Ms Lara Al Olabi

Ms Lara Al-Olabi was a Research Assistant half funded by Caring Matters Now between 2015 and 2018. Lara studied Molecular Genetics as an undergraduate and Masters degree student before completing this three year RA post with Professor Kinsler, and contributing to much of the CMN lab work in that time.

Dr William Baird

Dr William Baird was a PhD student fully funded for 3 years by a Caring Matters Now PhD fellowship from 2015-2018. William’s PhD thesis was entitled ‘Genetic Therapy For Congenital Melanocytic Naevi’ and the lab have been building on his work in subsequent years.

Dr Anna Thomas

Dr Anna Thomas was a Post-doctoral Research Assistant, funded by the Wellcome Trust. Anna studied Molecular Genetics as an undergraduate and later completed a PhD in the genetics of a different rare skin disease. During her time in the Kinsler lab 2015-2019 she worked on the genetics of CMN and melanoma.