Mery Shahin

Technical Assistant

Mery joined Carpmaels & Ransford in 2022 as a Trainee Patent Attorney in the Life Sciences Biotechnology group. She graduated with a first-class degree in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford. She then completed a Master’s degree in Infectious Disease at Imperial College London for which she won the Dean’s prize. Following this, she stayed at Imperial to pursue a PhD, specialising in molecular microbiology.

Mery’s PhD focused on the type IV pili of the opportunistic pathogen Streptococcus sanguinis. Type IV pili are long surface-exposed filaments which play a key role in bacterial pathogenesis. Mery used a range of molecular and structural biology techniques to characterise the interactions between the subunits in the filaments and to describe how these interactions promote the assembly and functionality of the pili. Her research has been published in several high-impact journals, including Cell.

Outside the office, Mery enjoys going to the theatre and the ballet. She can also be found reading, doing hot yoga, or experimenting with plant-based baking.

Qualifications

  • MBiochem Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry (University of Oxford)
  • MRes Molecular and Cellular Basis of Infection (Imperial College London)
  • PhD Clinical Medicine Research in Infectious Disease (Imperial College London)