After studying physiology and developmental biology at Cambridge, I initially joined C4TS in January 2023 for a 3-month rotation as part of MRes component for the QMUL British Heart Foundation 4-year MRes/PhD Programme. Following the completion of the MRes, I started my PhD supervised by Prof. Karim Brohi and Dr Paul Vulliamy as well as Dr Paul Armstrong from the Centre for Immunobiology in October 2023 and am funded by the School of Medicine and Dentistry. 

My research is focused on the formation and function of procoagulant platelets in trauma patients,  particularly their interactions with leukocytes. As a scientist, I can mainly be found in the lab analysing blood samples from trauma patients and healthy volunteers using techniques such as flow cytometry and confocal microscopy to study platelet (dys)function. I also help out as study support for several of studies run out of C4TS, including ACITII and REWIRE. 

Contact: e.l.ykema@qmul.ac.uk