Meet the Team
Alumni of the King-Smith Group can be found here.
Principal Investigator
Emma King-Smith
B.S., UC Berkeley, 2015
PhD, Scripps Research, 2021
emma.king-smith[at]ed.ac.uk
Emma obtained her B. S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 2015 under the supervision of Prof. F. Dean Toste. Upon graduation, she joined the Small Molecule Process team at Genentech, South San Francisco for a year before returning to academia for her PhD. Emma received her PhD in 2021 under the tutelage of Prof. Hans Renata where she developed chemoenzymatic routes towards complex non-ribosomal peptide and terpenoid natural products. Inspired by the concurrent revolution in machine learning and AI, Emma began as Newton International Fellow and Junior Research Fellow of Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge with Prof. Matthew Gaunt and Dr Alpha Lee where she investigated practical machine learning model development for chemical applications. In August 2024, she joined the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh as a Chancellor’s Fellow.
When not working, Emma enjoys singing choral music, playing video games with her younger sister, and critiquing architecture with her father. Her life goal is to become a cat mom.
PhD Students
Julia Russ
Julia completed her MChem at the University of York in 2024. She carried out her fourth-year research project at Tohoku University, Japan, where she investigated the organocatalysed stereoselective synthesis of cis-3,4-piperidines, under the supervision of Prof. Hayashi. Julia joined the King-Smith group on a Brian R. Phillips Scholarship in April 2025, working on the development of machine learning models for chemical reaction prediction.
Outside of the lab, Julia enjoys volleyball, ice skating, art, and playing the violin. She also loves exploring other countries and going to the beach, having grown up on the small island of Jersey.
MChem, University of York, 2024
j.s.russ[at]sms.ed.ac.uk
Fletcher Sharp
Fletcher joined the King-Smith group in September 2025 after completing his MChem at the University of Edinburgh. During his final-year research project, he worked at the Australian National University under the supervision of Professor Lara Malins, developing an SPPS-based methodology for the synthesis of alpha-thioether linkages in Enteropeptin A analogues. His current research focuses on machine learning-guided strategies for total synthesis, in collaboration with the Lawrence group.
Outside the lab, Fletcher enjoys playing the drums, windsurfing, running, and travelling to new places.
MChem, University of Edinburgh, 2025
F.M.Sharp[at]sms.ed.ac.uk
Elisa Mathieu
Elisa completed her Bachelor’s degree in Trinity College Dublin. She undertook a final-year research project developing redox-active lanthanide-based metal-organic frameworks for water oxidation catalysis, under the supervision of Professor Wolfgang Schmitt. Elisa joined the King-Smith group in September 2025. Her current work focuses on the data-driven discovery of sustainable iron catalysts for Buchwald-Hartwig reactions, working in collaboration with the Thomas group.
Outside the lab, Elisa enjoys sea swimming, reading, gaelic football, and travelling.
BA, Trinity College Dublin, 2025
F.M.Sharp[at]sms.ed.ac.uk
5P & BSc Students
Bart Kowal
Bart is completing his 5th year of an MChem Chemistry degree at the University of Edinburgh. Previously, Bart has done research considering the applications of fluorescence spectroscopy in the context of drug testing. Bart is doing his 5P project as part of the King-Smith group, focusing on the use of machine learning tools in chemistry, with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of the applications of such tools in research.
Outside the lab, Bart enjoys martial arts, yoga, writing and exploring. He finds that these activities help him express himself and connect to his spirituality and creativity.
MChem, University of Edinburgh, 5th Year
Qingyi is a fourth-year BSc Chemistry student at the University of Edinburgh. She gained research experience in molecular simulation during her summer internship at the Technical University of Darmstadt, where she investigated the behaviour of polymer–additive droplets on rough surfaces under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Florian Müller-Plathe. From September, she will join the King-Smith group for her BSc research project, working on chiral molecular embeddings.
Outside of the lab, Qingyi enjoys hiking and K-pop music. She is also fascinated by collecting magnets while travelling.
Qingyi Zhu
BSc, University of Edinburgh, 4th Year
Visting Students
Jackson Stamper
Australian National University
Jackson is a second-year student at the Australian National University, pursuing a Bachelor of Philosophy in Chemistry. In the past he has undertaken research with the Connal group, investigating the thermo-responsive properties of UHMW HEA-co-NiPAm for potential applications in water-harvesting devices. Currently, during his exchange at the University of Edinburgh, he has joined the King-Smith group to develop machine learning tools for NMR spectra-to-structure elucidation.
Outside of academia Jackson enjoys playing electric guitar, chess, gym and meeting new people. He is also eager to explore and embrace Scottish culture during his time abroad.