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Rocio Sancho
Group Leader
Rocio is a Lecturer and Group Leader at the Centre for Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine (CGTRM) at King’s College London. Rocio Sancho obtained her PhD in immunology at the University of Cordoba (Spain). She completed her postdoctoral research in the Mammalian Genetics lab at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute where she specialised in studying intestinal tissue stem cells and their function in homeostasis and cancer.
As a Senior Scientist in the Adult Stem Cell lab at the Francis Crick Institute she turned her interests in mammalian cell differentiation to the study of cell fate decisions in adult pancreatic progenitors and began to explore their potential to treat diabetes.
Nienke Willemsen
Postdoctoral Researcher
Nienke is a post-doc at the lab of Rocio Sancho at the Centre for Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine. She is interested in the underlying mechanisms of pancreatic beta cell development.
Yu Yuan
Postdoctoral Researcher
Cara is a postdoctoral research associate in the Sancho Lab. Her research focuses on pancreatic development, immunology and islet transplantation strategies for the treatment of type 1 diabetes.
Teodora Manea
Postdoctoral Researcher
Thea graduated with a BSc Biochemistry degree from the University of York in 2017 and embarked on a PhD studying the role of deubiquitinase USP7 on NGN3 degradation during pancreatic development in the Sancho Lab. After completing her doctoral studies in 2022, she worked as a postdoc in the Marino Lab at Queen Mary University of London, investigating epigenetic changes in glioblastoma.
She then returned to the Sancho lab in 2025 for her second postdoc, working on improving the robustness of iPSC-derived beta islets, with the aim of bringing them one step closer to being a viable therapy for Type 1 Diabetes. Thea is funded by the Steve Morgan Foundation.
Thea graduated with a BSc Biochemistry degree from the University of York in 2017 and embarked on a PhD studying the role of deubiquitinase USP7 on NGN3 degradation during pancreatic development in the Sancho Lab. After completing her doctoral studies in 2022, she worked as a postdoc in the Marino Lab at Queen Mary University of London, investigating epigenetic changes in glioblastoma.
She then returned to the Sancho lab in 2025 for her second postdoc, working on improving the robustness of iPSC-derived beta islets, with the aim of bringing them one step closer to being a viable therapy for Type 1 Diabetes. Thea is funded by the Steve Morgan Foundation.
Elham Shadman Zanjani
Research Technician
Elly is a Research Technician at Rocio Sancho’s lab, focusing on induced pluripotent stem cell-based approaches for islet replacement therapies in diabetes. She completed her BSc in Neuroscience at King’s College London in 2013. She then obtained a Master of Research in Child Health at UCL in 2023 and developed an interest in stem cell research. Before joining the Sancho Lab, she worked as a Research Technician at UCL, Institute of ophthalmology.
Alexandra Kranck
PhD Student
Ali joined the lab as a research technician in 2024. In 2025, she embarked on a Wellcome Trust-funded PhD in the Sancho lab. She aims to create iPSC-derived islets that are hidden from the immune system by mutating key immune factors on the surface of the islets. She will then test the efficiency of this system in vitro and in vivo. Through this work, she hope to make islet transplantation more efficient.
Jenny Gehlen
Visiting Scientist
PhD student in the Sancho Lab (LIDO PhD Programme, cohort 2022). Later took time to travel and explore the world!
Former members:
Alexandra Gonçalves
Research Assistant
PhD student in the Sancho Lab (TransCampus KCL PhD Programme, cohort 2017). Later moved into a career in scientific and medical writing within industry.
Christopher Lambert
PhD Student
PhD student in the Sancho Lab (MRC Doctoral Training Partnership, cohort 2018). Later undertook a postdoctoral position at the University of Cambridge.
Ana Maria Cujba
PhD Student
PhD student in the Sancho Lab (Wellcome Trust PhD Programme Advanced Therapies, cohort 2017). Later undertook postdoctoral training at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge.
Cristina Garrone
PhD Student
PhD student in the Sancho Lab (Wellcome Trust PhD Programme Advanced Therapies, cohort 2019). Later undertook a postdoctoral position at Imperial College London.
Mario Alvarez-Fallas
PostDoc
Postdoctoral researcher in the Sancho Lab from 2019 to 2022. Later undertook a postdoctoral position at the University of Nottingham.
Sergio Pedraza-Arevalo
PostDoc
Postdoctoral researcher in the Sancho Lab from 2020 to 2022. Later obtained a semi independent research position at IMIBIC, University of Córdoba, Spain.
Theoni Demcollari
PhD Student
PhD student in the Sancho Lab (TransCampus KCL PhD Programme, cohort 2017). Later moved into a career in scientific and medical writing within industry.