Members

Fathy Hassan joined OIST in April 2023 as an Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Scholar under the supervision of Prof. Christine Luscombe and Prof. Síle Nic Chormaic. Since April 2026, he has been a Staff Scientist in the π-Conjugated Polymers Unit.
His research focuses on the development of functional materials for photonics, optoelectronics, and soft matter systems.
He received his Doctor of Science degree from Saitama University in March 2018 under the supervision of Prof. Takuji Hirose, Prof. Yoshihiro Ito, and Prof. Masuki Kawamoto.
Prior to joining OIST, he held research positions at the University of Cambridge, Kent State University as a Fulbright Scholar, and the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science. He has also been a faculty member at the Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Egypt, since February 2012.
His research interests include organic synthesis, polymer chemistry, and responsive materials.

2019 Ph.D University of Pau et Pays de l’Adour, France
2012 M.Sc University of Claude Bernard, INSA, Ecole Centrale Lyon, France
2010 B.Sc, University of Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France

Wissem received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2010, his master’s degree in material Science from University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, INSA, Ecole Centrale Lyon in 2012, respectively. Then, he worked as a research engineer at the Laboratory of Photopolymerization and photophysical characterization, Group Skene at University of Montreal, Canada where he was developing a new range of small-conjugated molecules for electrochromic application. Then, he obtained his Ph.D. degree in polymer chemistry from the University of Pau in 2019. After graduation, he worked as an engineer in development and technology transfer at SATT Aquitaine at Pau where he was in charge for the development of new method for monomers and polymers semiconductor synthesis aiming an industrial production. He has joined the group of Prof. Christine Luscombe at OIST as postdoctoral fellow. His current research activities aim to investigate the synthesis and design of stretchable Conjugated polymers for next generation wearable and implantable electronics. He will also be working on the study and the analysis of microplastic marine organisms using spectroscopy technics. He loves Hiking, workout and cooking.

2021 Ph.D. Department of Chemistry, Jadavpur University, India
2014 M.Sc. Department of Chemistry, Jadavpur University, India
2012 B.Sc. Department of Chemistry, Jadavpur University, India

During his Ph.D., Baitan worked on the development of new cyclization strategies to access fused heterocyclic compounds containing nitrogen and oxygen. Most of his works focused on the exploitation of eco-friendly and cheap iron-catalysis. Earlier he had worked briefly on glycosylation reactions as part of his M.Sc. dissertation. He has joined OIST as a postdoctoral researcher in August 2022. His current research interest revolves around cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) reactions for the syntheses of semiconducting pi-conjugated polymers. He is also motivated in achieving the target with successful application of iron-catalysis, avoiding the use of expensive and toxic transition metals. Music, literature and travelling are as integral parts of his life as is his research.

2025 Ph.D. Carnegie Mellon University, United States

2018 B.Sc. Sichuan University, China

Rongguan Yin received his Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University in 2025, where he worked with Prof. Krzysztof Matyjaszewski in close collaboration with Prof. Michael R. Bockstaller. His research focuses on surface-initiated ATRP, organic/inorganic polymer nanohybrids, and structure–property relationships in functional polymer nanomaterials. 

Prior to his Ph.D. training, he received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Sichuan University in 2018, conducting undergraduate research on biomass-based flame-retardant polymeric materials. Following his undergraduate studies, he pursued research training in transition-metal nanocatalysts for electrocatalytic redox reactions at Soochow University (China).

He is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology with Prof. Christine Luscombe, expanding his research toward semiconducting polymers. In his spare time, Rongguan enjoys basketball and gaming.

2026 Ph.D. University of Tsukuba

2023 M.Sc. University of Tsukuba

2015 B.Sc.(Hons) University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad

Jonathan joined OIST as a Postdoctoral Scholar under Prof. Christine K. Luscombe from April 2026 and is originally from the twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in the southern Caribbean. After completing his B.Sc. Jonathan worked as research assistant in forest and freshwater ecology, environmental biology and plant ecophysiology while also being employed as a lab tutor at the University of the West Indies for Undergraduate courses in Biology and Ecology, where his interests in marine Biology and Ecology grew which led to his current research on micropastics in the marine environment. Jonathan currently works on characterization, distribution, fate and transport of microplastics in the marine coastal environments (surface water and sediments) around Japan. His interests include marine microplastic fate and transport, plastisphere, microplastic degradation, and benthic ecology.

Robin currently holds a postdoctoral JSPS fellow position in the Luscombe group since October 2024. His research revolves around the synthesis of emissive pi-conjugated polymers for light-emitting devices applications. 

His academic journey started at Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, France, where he earned his bachelor's degree in Chemistry in 2018. He then pursued a master's program at Université de Nantes and Université d’Angers, specializing in the chemistry of organic electronics and photonics until 2020.

Since then, Robin completed his doctoral studies in 2023 under the guidance Dr. Fabrice Mathevet and Dr. Lydia Sosa Vargas, at the Institut Parisien de Chimie Moléculaire at Sorbonne Université. His thesis was titled “Novel Gain Materials for High-Performance Solid-State Organic Materials.” Then, he worked as a temporary lecturer and researcher position at Sorbonne Université, where he continued his thesis research activities. His teaching encompassed organic chemistry, materials science, and general chemistry at both bachelor's and master's levels.

Outside of chemistry, Robin enjoys playing music, watching football and going to comedy clubs. 

I am a postdoctoral research fellow funded by the Swedish Research Council, with affiliations at Imperial College London, Linköping University and OIST. I hold a PhD from Chalmers University of Technology (2025), an MSci from Tokyo Institute of Technology (2021), and an MChem from the University of Oxford (2019), with work spanning organic synthesis, polymer synthesis, teaching in chemistry, and organic electronics. 

This fellowship focuses on mechanistic understanding and optimization of conjugated polymer synthesis through computation and catalyst design seeing that one catalyst to rule them all remains, alas, elusive. Teaching is especially meaningful to me, so I gladly seize any opportunity to mentor students or contribute to outreach and education.

When my head isn't in the chemistry clouds, I like to play boardgames, oft con over medieval lore, or going for a run, swim, cycle, or boulder. Together with my wife, I love exploring new places, trying out new restaurants, and having multi-hour karaoke sessions.

2003 M. Sc, ENSIL Limoges, France

After completing her master’s degree in material science, Nadège worked as an engineer in the research and development department at HEF Group. Her work ranged from studying/developing vacuum deposited diamond -like coating to installing vacuum deposition equipment for mass production in Japan. She then joined Byon IRU at RIKEN/Wako, as a technical staff in charge of different research projects related to the understanding of electrochemical processes involved in metal-air batteries. Later, she moved to Bio-functional catalyst research team at Riken/Wako working on several collaborative research projects for the development of new bio-inspired manganese-based catalyst for water splitting in PEM (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane) electrolyzers. Then, she joined Prof. Christine Luscombe unit at OIST as a technician. Her research focuses on developing needle-type organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) devices for nanoscale bioelectronic applications.

I have gained a BSC in Chemistry from University of Central Lancashire UK in 2017. A Msc by research in Chemistry from the University of Central Lancashire designing multilayer antimicrobial surface coating in 2019. 

I have previous industrial experience working on packaging manufacturing and design for the beauty industry working with brands and packaging manufacturers to design innovative packaging and overcoming challenges of packaging waste sustainability especially in plastics. 

I have also recently done a recent internship at the University of Sheffield synthesising and analysing MIPs to be used as polymer enzyme inhibitors. 

I also love travelling, cycling, snorkeling and snowboarding in my spare time. 

2019 M.Sc. Stella Maris College, Chennai, India
2017 B.Sc. Women's Christian College, Chennai, India

I received my MSc degree in 2019 from Stella Maris College, Chennai, India. My dissertation work was centred on the preparation of a Ru-based catalyst for the dehydrogenation of formic acid and bimetallic nanocatalysts in different compositions for the biomass conversion of furfural.

I joined OIST in Jan 2022, and my first lab rotation was with Prof. Christine Luscombe. Later, in Jan 2023, I joined the lab as a PhD student, and my thesis work will focus on the synthesis of a voltage-sensitive dye, ANNINE-6. A multi-step synthetic process that it is, C-H Arylation is my initial and immediate challenge, and I am tackling it One Step At A Time!

I read for academia, a little less than I read for pleasure. I am a natural at singing off-key and dancing off-beat. Please talk to me in Bollywood/Kollywood movie references.

Ian received his B.S.  in polymer science and engineering from The University of Southern Mississippi in May 2022. His interests include exploring and learning about geography, history, and culture (especially food). Research interests include pi-conjugated polymer synthesis, optoelectronics, and perovskite quantum dots.

Holly received an integrated master’s in chemistry from Imperial College London in 2024, under the supervision of Professor Matthew Fuchter. Her Master’s work investigated methods for red-shifting the Z-to-E photoisomerization of azoheteroarenes via triplet sensitization. She joined Professor Christine Luscombe’s unit in 2025 and is now working towards the design and synthesis of photochromic conjugated polymers for organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). Having grown up in the Lake District National Park, she thoroughly enjoys long hikes! She also enjoys baking, playing and teaching chess, and talking – perhaps excessively – about her two cats

2025 B.Sc. University of the Ryukyus, Japan

Hina received her B.Sc. from the University of the Ryukyus in 2025. Her undergraduate research in natural product chemistry resulted in the discovery of three novel anti-leishmanial compounds from marine sponges. At OIST, she works on coral-derived mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), investigating their role in stress responses and exploring their potential for polymer synthesis and device fabrication.

Carolyn is in her final year of pursuing a Bachelor's in Chemistry and Japanese at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She joined the Materials Research Laboratory at UCSB in early 2025 as an undergraduate researcher and member of the Bates and Hawker Groups. Her research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of degradable polymers via ring-opening of heterocyclic disulfide monomers. 

She enjoys cooking, kendo, and listening to music in her free time!

Midori was born and raised in Okinawa, studied in Tokyo/Vancouver and joined OIST in 2008. She provides administrative support to the Christine Luscombe Group for the day-to-day running of the laboratory. Outside of work, she enjoys travelling, swimming and cooking.

2021 Ph.D. Department of Chemistry, University of Washington
2017 MSci Department of Chemistry, University of Washington
2014 B.S. University of Florida

Samantha received her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Florida while studying with Prof. Kirk Schanze on water soluble conjugated polymer synthesis and materials characterization. During a brief time for her Master’s she worked with Prof. Joshua Vaughan on developing super absorbent polymer hydrogels for expansion microscopy. In 2017, she joined Prof. Christine Luscombe’s group for her PhD and focused on (1) synthesizing environmentally benign semiconducting polymers with direct arylation and (2) studying microplastics in marine organisms with Raman spectroscopy and computer vision techniques.

2019 Ph.D. Nankai University, China
2016 M.Sc. Nankai University, China

After receiving his master’s degree from Nankai University, China, Yuan-Qiu-Qiang continued to pursue his doctor degree at the same university under the supervision of Prof. Yongsheng Chen. During his Ph.D. studies, his research was mainly focusing on the design and synthesis of non-fullerene acceptors for organic photovoltaics and corresponding device fabrications and morphology characterizations.

In 2020, he joined Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics (SINANO), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) as a postdoctoral researcher in collaborations with Prof. Zheng Cui and Prof. Wenming Su. Facing the various challenges in inkjet-printed LEDs, he switched his research into developing cross-linking method for hole transport materials as well as controllable synthesis inorganic electron transport materials especially for QLEDs.

In May 2023, Yuan-Qiu-Qiang has joined Christine Luscombe’s group at OIST to continue his research in developing novel semiconducting polymers in a sustainable way for stretchable electronics, bioelectronics, and other uses.

Isha has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Banaras Hindu University, India. Her research focuses on synthesis, characterization and application of metal nanoparticles as colorimetric probes for environmentally/biologically relevant analytes such as, sulphide, cysteine, homocysteine and glutathione. She studied the sensing mechanism, phenomenon of self-assembly as well as various factors affecting the optical properties of these materials. At OIST, she started with fabricating/synthesizing materials and later joined as a postdoc to work at the interface of Chemistry and Physics on Magnetic levitation of organic liquids. Following her passion for synthesizing smart materials, she is starting as a postdoc in pi-Conjugated Polymers Unit from February 2022.

2021 Ph.D. CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, India
2015 M.Sc. University of Delhi, India
2013 B.Sc. University of Delhi, India

The field of organic electronics has come a long way in the past two decades with development of OLED, smartphone displays, colored light sources and portable solar cells which have become an integral part of our daily lives. These technological advancements are enabled by innovation in materials design along with device engineering. Since the future of organic electronics relies heavily on novel materials, there is urgent need to develop high performing organic materials by low-cost synthetic approaches. My research work focuses on molecular design and synthesis of conjugated polymers, and study of their structure-property relationships for organic electronic applications.