PEOPLE
David J. Hodson
THE BOSS
David trained as a Veterinary Surgeon at the University of Bristol before commencing PhD studies on the seasonal regulation of fertility with Dr Domingo Tortonese. Following postdoctoral studies on the hypothalamo-pituitary axis with Dr Patrice Mollard at the Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle in Montpellier, France, David moved to Imperial College London where he set up a group devoted to diabetes research. In 2016, David joined the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research at the University of Birmingham where he leads the Islet Biology Group. Most recently, the lab has moved to the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Oxford. The major aims of the group are to develop novel tools and imaging approaches to understand how alpha, beta and delta cells, which reside within the islet, release hormone to maintain normal glucose levels during health and disease.
Katrina Viloria
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER
Katrina is a BTS Army who grew up in the Philippines. Her family later decided to voyage to the last frontier and moved to Alaska when she was 13 years old. In Alaska she explored her love for science and pursued an undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Alaska Anchorage. It was during this time she landed a summer internship with the NIDDK, and learned about diabetes as her first lab experience. Her quest for knowledge and travel brought her to Kingston University London where she acquired a Masters in Biotechnology. Here she met Dr. Natasha Hill with whom she undertook a summer project studying matricellular proteins. After enjoying research work, fish and chips and afternoon tea, she decided to stay in England and continue her work in Kingston to pursue a PhD investigating SPARC matricellular proteins and their role in beta cell function. Katrina’s thirst for adventure lead her to the University of Birmingham where she joined Prof. David Hodson’s #hodsquad as a postdoc to uncover the role of GC-globulin in glucagon-secreting alpha cells. The lab later moved to OCDEM University of Oxford where she continues to study the role of GC-globulin, this time in GLP1-R regulation. Currently, Katrina enjoys her time in England, discovering new places to run and hike. Apart from finding the cure to diabetes, next on her bucket list is to run the 6 Abbott World Major Marathons.
katrina.viloria@ocdem.ox.ac.uk
Ali Shilleh
NOVO NORDISK POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Ali is a proud Serbestinian, born in Serbia and raised in Ramallah, West Bank Palestine. In 2014, Ali recieved his B.S in biochemistry at Umass Boston in Boston, MA and went on to complete an M.S in Nutrition and Biomedicine at the Technical University of Munich in Munich, Germany under the supervision of Dr. Henrietta Uhlenhaut’s lab at the Institute of Diabetes and Obesity at Helmholtz Zentrum. His thesis studied the role of TR2 and TR4, orphan hormone nuclear receptors, in glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism. Ali then worked as a research assistant for 9 months at Dr. Holger Russ’s Lab at the Barbara Davis centre, University of Colorado Anschutz Campus, and joined the same lab as a PhD student in 2017. His work at the Russ Lab focused on determining the fate of primary human beta cells and stem cell derived beta-like cells (sBC) upon transplantation. These studies were geared toward improving sBC survival in vivo and promote cell therapy for T1D treatment. Recently, Ali joined the Hodsquad as a Novo Nordisk postdoctoral fellow to further understand GLP1R signaling in beta cells and explore the potential use of GL1R agonists for gene therapy applications for T2D diabetic patients. In his free time he loves to ski (especially in Oxford), rock climb, hike, run, walk his dog (Crni) and travel with his partner and daughter, Zayta.
Sarah Armour
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER
Sarah grew up in Hertfordshire before moving to Newcastle for her undergraduate degree to study Biochemistry. Loving the friendly people and lively city, she remained there throughout her Masters and PhD, where she was introduced to the world of islet biology, working with Professor James Shaw on beta cell transdifferentiation. In 2019, Sarah moved to Copenhagen to work as a postdoc in the Knudsen lab investigating alpha cell metabolism and glucagon secretion…. and to surround herself with delicious Danish pastries. She remained in Denmark until late 2023 when she returned to the UK and joined the #hodsquad in the summer of 2024. Aside from a love of islet biology, Sarah is a keen baker (and eater) of cakes and pastries, loves music, enjoys a good pub quiz, and will talk to anyone who will listen about Harry Potter.
Christopher Carlein
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER
Born and raised in Germany, Christopher studied Biophysics at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. In his master thesis, he employed transient absorption spectroscopy to study protein-chromophore interactions, which is basically all about shooting laser pulses on unsuspecting proteins. His fascination for microscopy and spectroscopy techniques was born during this time, leading him to pursue research that bridges physics and biology. His scientific journey took a meaningful turn during his PhD at the University Clinics in Homburg, where he dove deep into redox biology and explored the consequences of Barth Syndrome on pancreatic islets. He quickly became fascinated by these complex cellular clusters and their critical role in glucose homeostasis. In 2024, Christopher joined the #hodsquad, where he's now investigating GLP1R and GIPR signaling in pancreatic islets. When not deciphering the mysteries of cellular signaling, he enjoys traveling with his wife, trying out new sports (with varying degrees of success), and those board game evenings that somehow always end with someone questioning the rules.
Charlotte Frazer-Morris
PHD STUDENT
Charlotte is Birmingham born and raised, but moved to Oxford in 2018 to complete an integrated masters degree in Biochemistry. Despite initially adamant that she hated Biochemistry, she fell in love with lipid metabolism and began a research project at OCDEM with a rival Hodson group. This project focused on intrahepatic fatty acid metabolism, providing an in vitro recapitulation of an ongoing human physiological study. Charlotte graduated from the University of Oxford and began as a technician at the University of Westminster, managing their clean room and tissue culture facility. Whilst she missed hands-on research and had heard that an even cooler Hodsquad had moved into OCDEM, it was ultimately the tube at 9AM that drove her to return to Oxford. Aside from following Kat around the lab or having IT crises, her hobbies include pottery, live music and open mic nights at the Harcourt arms.
Owen Bendor-Samuel
PHD STUDENT - MRC CRTF
Owen was born in Cardiff but spent much of his childhood in Tunisia and Malaysia. He returned to Cardiff for medical school, mainly because the student fees were such a good deal! While studying in Wales, he found himself supporting England in rugby — which made for some interesting conversations. He came to Oxford to specialise in paediatric medicine and now focuses on paediatric endocrinology and diabetes. During his training, Owen has completed two fellowships: one with the Oxford vaccine group, where he learned the ins and outs of running clinical trials, and another with Hodsquad, where he developed a real appreciation for the precision of lab work. That experience inspired him to pursue further wet lab research with an MRC-funded clinical research training fellowship. Outside the lab and clinic, Owen enjoys spending time with his wife and two kids, watching rugby, baking bread, and hunting for the perfect home-brewed cup of specialty coffee.
Jason Tong
PHD STUDENT
In 2020, Jason left the coastal cities of Sydney and Hong Kong, where he grew up, to settle in one of the furthest inland cities in Britain (he has since come to value the charm of rivers). At Oxford, he delights in wearing fancy attire for formal hall, punting on the Cherwell, cycling through the “Dreaming Spires,” and photographing all life’s moments. His enthusiasm for these pursuits is only matched by his passion for all-things microscopy. He began his research career at the University of Sydney with Professor Peter Thorn, focusing on live-cell imaging and STED microscopy, before coming to Oxford, where he has joined the HodSquad for his DPhil to add new super-resolution imaging techniques to his belt. His work employs novel molecular probes and advanced imaging to explore islet signalling through incretin receptors GLP1R and GIPR. Between optimising his imaging experiments, he can often be seen lurking around the snacks shelf, contemplating life’s “struggles”
Imogen Rayer
RESEARCH TECHNICIAN
Imogen grew up in Buckinghamshire before moving to Nottingham, where she spent the last four years completing her BSc in Biochemistry and Genetics, followed by an MRes in Human Genetics. During her undergraduate degree, she joined Professor Ian Kerr’s group to investigate drug and inhibitor binding to the multidrug pump ABCG2 using a luminescent proximity-based assay. For her MRes, she worked with Professor J. David Brook, exploring a potential epitranscriptomic modification in the mutant DMPK transcript associated with myotonic dystrophy type 1. In August 2025, the working world was calling, so she moved to Oxfordshire to join the Hodson group as a Research Technician. She is currently contributing to the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge project, where she analyses mouse-derived pancreatic islets, stem cell–derived islet-like structures and human islets using glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) assays and Lumit immunoassays to evaluate glucagon and insulin secretion. Outside the lab, Imogen enjoys spending time with her horse, Diago, volunteering with OTWC, baking cakes, and going on adventures with her boyfriend!
ASSOCIATED RESEARCHERS
Daniela Nasteska
DIABETES UK RD LAWRENCE FELLOW
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR - NASTESKA GROUP
Daniela is a Macedonian enjoying the UK life since 2016. She trained as a doctor of medicine in Macedonia before fully transitioning to scientific research in Japan. While there, she earned her PhD in medicine from the Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Nutrition at Kyoto University, focusing on incretin (GIP) pathophysiology. Her previous research includes investigating premature beta cell death during her time at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in Brussels, Belgium, and doing a deep dive in transcriptional beta cell heterogeneity in the Hodson lab at the University of Birmingham, UK.
These days, Daniela is a principal investigator at OCDEM finding her own niche by starting to look into protein synthesis dynamics in islets and its importance in type 2 diabetes. While now working separately from David’s current team line up, she still keeps the bond strong by supervising PhD students and providing expertise when needed.
daniela.nasteska@ocdem.ox.ac.uk
Nasteska group website: https://www.rdm.ox.ac.uk/about/our-divisions/oxford-centre-for-diabetes-endocrinology-and-metabolism/oxford-centre-for-diabetes-endocrinology-and-metabolism-research/nasteska-group
ALUMNI
Annie de Bray
MRC CLINICAL RESEARCH TRAINING FELLOW- DPHIL STUDENT
2022-2025
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Kaja Rupar
CARLSBERG POSTDOCTORAL VISITING FELLOW
2023-2025
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Nick Fine
PHD STUDENT-RESEARCH TECHNICIAN
2016-2021
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Federica Cuozzo
PHD STUDENT-RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
2017-2022
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Lewis Everett
MRes STUDENT
2017-2019
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Alice O'Donnell
SUMMER STUDENT
2019​
Lottie Clinton
RESEARCH TECHNICIAN
2024-2025
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Annie Hasib
POSTDOC
2017-2022
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Hannah R. Smith
A.T. TRUST STUDENT
2021
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Maria Jimenez Ramos
ERASMUS STUDENT
2019
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Nicholas Folidis
SUMMER STUDENT
2018​
Helen Westra
VISITING MSC BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES STUDENT
2025
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Julia Ast
POSTDOC
2016-2022
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Fiona Ashford
POSTDOC
2017-2020
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Claudio Zoppi
VISITING RESEARCH FELLOW
2019
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Anastasia Arvaniti
RESEARCH TECHNICIAN
2016-2018