Luke completed his PhD at the University of Exeter investigating therapeutic roles of mitochondria-targeted Hydrogen Sulfide molecules in Caenorhabditis elegans models of ageing and disease-related mitochondrial dysfunction.

Luke then went on to undertake a postdoctoral position at a Leibniz Institute in Dortmund, Germany, uncovering the roles of cysteine-redox modifications regulating rates of ageing in Caenorhabditis elegans, also studying the molecular, transcriptomic and proteomic basis for individualistic variations in healthspan decline in age-matched isogenic animals.

Luke joined our lab in 2024 with aims to understand how core transcription-regulating genes become dysfunctional with age, exploiting C. elegans as an in vivo model for feed-forward experimentation in mammalian Cell cultures. Through RNA-sequencing, proteomic and molecular techniques, Luke hopes to uncover new insights into age-related alterations in transcriptional complexes regulating RNA polymerase II fidelity and processivity that drive healthspan decline.