The Bode EPR lab

Prof Bela E Bode

Professor - PI

Bela is originally from Frankfurt am Main (Germany) where he studied chemistry as an undergraduate. For his postgraduate studies in Frankfurt he investigated quantitative aspects of pulsed dipolar EPR spectroscopy under the joint supervision of Olav Schiemann and Thomas Prisner. After a short postdoctoral stay with Thomas Prisner he moved to the Matysik group in Leiden (The Netherlands) to study optical methods in solid-state NMR spectroscopy before moving to his current position in St Andrews.

Google Scholar; Orcid; ResearcherID;

Dr Katrin Ackermann

Senior Research Fellow

Katrin studied biochemistry at the University of Bayreuth and at the Goethe University of Frankfurt (Germany), where she prepared her thesis on liquid-state protein NMR. For her postgraduate studies she worked on diurnal rhythms in human post-mortem tissues at the Anatomy in Frankfurt. She continued to work in the field of human chronobiology during two postdoctoral stays at the University of Surrey (UK) and at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam (NL), before joining the University of St Andrews in 2012 and starting to work with EPR. Her projects in the Bode group are centred on EPR applications for structural biology.

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Yannik Limbach

Fourth year PhD student

I am a joint PhD student between the laboratories of Bela Bode at the University of St Andrews and Olav Schiemann at the University of Bonn. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Bonn in 2020, I continued my studies in Bonn which were completed in 2022 graduating with a Master of Science in Chemistry, with a focus on Biochemistry. After that I started my PhD studies in Bonn and moved to St Andrews for the second half of my PhD in 2024. My PhD aims to develop EPR spectroscopy into a technique capable of providing structural insights into biological systems in their native environment, e.g. in cells and at low concentrations. When I am not in the lab or in front of the spectrometer, I enjoy cooking and spending time outdoors (assuming the Scottish weather permits it).

Eleonora Tardo

Third year PhD student

Aisika Chakraborty

Third year PhD student

I am originally from India, where I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at University of Calcutta in 2021. I then pursued my Master of Science in Chemistry at National Institute of Technology Warangal. In 2024, I began my PhD at the University of St Andrews in the research group of Bela Bode. My doctoral research focuses on the methodological development of EPR techniques. In particular, I explore pulse shapes and pulse sequences to improve data quality and reliability, with the aim of making EPR-based structural studies more robust and suitable for routine applications. Outside the spectrometer room, I enjoy reading, cooking, and indulging my fascination with dark and unsettling true crime stories—both in print and on screen.

Yichen Wei

Second year PhD student

I studied Chemical Engineering at Nanjing Tech University in China, where I developed a strong interest in analytical techniques. I then continued with a master's degree in chemistry at the University of Southampton. My master's research focused on NMR spectroscopy. I am currently a PhD student in the laboratory of Bela Bode at the University of St Andrews, where I use EPR spectroscopy to investigate protein structure, dynamics, and intermolecular interactions. My PhD project focuses on unravelling host–pathogen interactions using pulse dipolar electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy under near-native conditions. Outside the lab, I enjoy cooking and strategy games.

Rajni Bala

First year PhD student

Rajni is from India, where she completed both a Bachelor’s (Science) at the University of Kurukshetra, Kurukshetra, India, and a Master’s (Forensic Science and Criminology) at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. During her master’s, she undertook a one-year research project on the fallen hair of various wildlife species to classify their families. With diverse research interests, she started her PhD in September 2025 in Chemistry. Her PhD project focuses on the host interaction of bacterial proteins to provide insights for understanding the underlying mechanism of disease development, using EPR spectroscopy. Outside the lab, she enjoys having good food, visiting beaches, and practising calligraphy.

Omila Perera

First year PhD student

I completed both my BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Science and MSc in Biotechnology at the University of Greenwich, where I developed an interdisciplinary foundation across biochemistry, biotechnology, haematology and microbiology. Prior to starting my PhD, I worked as a Medical Laboratory Technologist in a hospital in Sri Lanka, where I gained hands-on experience with diagnostic testing and human biological samples. I also held an academic position, contributing to lecturing and laboratory-based training. My doctoral research focuses on investigating the application of EPR spectroscopy to human serum samples, specifically exploring its potential for assessing fatty acid loading. By integrating biochemical knowledge with advanced spectroscopic techniques, my work aims to contribute to the development of EPR-based approaches for biologically and clinically relevant systems. Outside the laboratory, I enjoy reading, listening to music, and swimming.

Erika Mitchell

Project student 2025-2026