New Governing Body and Research Fellows Welcomed to St Cross College
St Cross College is delighted to welcome seven new Fellows to its academic community for the 2026/27 academic year, including two Governing Body Fellows and five Research Fellows.
The new appointments reflect the remarkable breadth of research represented at St Cross, bringing together scholars from across the humanities, social sciences, medicine and physical sciences. Among those joining are two new Governing Body Fellows, Dr Imogen Tedbury and Dr Loretta leng-Tak Lou, the latter returning to St Cross as an alumna.
Welcoming Our New Governing Body Fellows
Dr Imogen Tedbury
Dr Imogen Tedbury joins St Cross as a Governing Body Fellow and is Curator of Southern European Art at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.
An art historian specialising in early Italian painting, Dr Tedbury's research explores the histories of artworks and collections, examining how objects have been created, collected, restored and interpreted over time. At the Ashmolean, she is responsible for collections of Italian, Spanish and earlier French paintings, prints and drawings.
Before joining the Ashmolean, Dr Tedbury worked at the National Gallery in London, where she contributed to the Gallery's bicentenary collections redisplay and co-curated major international exhibitions, including Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300–1350 and Zurbarán. She has also held curatorial roles at the National Maritime Museum.
Her research brings together art history, material culture and the history of collecting, offering valuable perspectives on the ways artworks connect different periods, places and communities.
Dr Loretta leng-Tak Lou
The College is particularly pleased to welcome back alumna Dr Loretta leng-Tak Lou, who joins as a Governing Body Fellow and Associate Professor in Modern Chinese Studies at the University of Oxford.
An anthropologist specialising in contemporary Chinese societies, Dr Lou's research examines the relationship between morality, ethics and social change. Her work explores subjects including environmental sustainability, health, medicine and social movements, with a particular interest in how individuals navigate ethical responsibilities within wider social and institutional structures.
Dr Lou completed her DPhil in Anthropology at the St Cross, University of Oxford and previously taught at Durham University, covering subjects including climate change, planetary health, global health and social movements.
Her current research includes projects examining medical ethics in Chinese societies and questions of responsibility for health, particularly in relation to self-care, preventive medicine and mental health.
Dr Lou's return to St Cross is a particularly welcome example of the lasting connections between the College and its alumni community, bringing her academic expertise and experience back to the place where she previously studied.
Welcoming Our New Research Fellows
Alongside the two Governing Body Fellows, St Cross is pleased to welcome five researchers whose work spans a diverse range of academic disciplines.
Dr Cristian Crisan joins as a Research Fellow and Postdoctoral Research Associate in Antimicrobial Resistance and Tolerance. His research investigates new approaches to tackling bacterial infections that are difficult to treat with conventional antibiotics, particularly the potential of naturally occurring antibacterial peptides to inspire future treatments.
Dr Niklas Grassl joins as an Emanoel Lee Fellow and postdoctoral scientist at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. A qualified neurologist and cancer researcher, his work focuses on understanding diffuse midline glioma, an aggressive brain tumour affecting children and young adults, with the aim of identifying potential new approaches to treatment.
Dr Kim Leontiev joins as a Research Fellow and Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Ethics of Predictive Technologies at Oxford Uehiro Centre. With a background in philosophy and law, his research explores ethical challenges surrounding emerging technologies, justice, fairness and the relationship between legal and moral responsibility.
Dr Sharika Mohanan joins as a Research Fellow and Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford's Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery. Her work focuses on developing advanced optical microscopy techniques to observe biological processes in real time, helping researchers better understand how molecules and living systems behave.
Dr Shilpa Ranchod joins as a Research Fellow and Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Astrophysics. Working with St Cross Vice-Master Professor Matt Jarvis, she uses radio astronomy to investigate the role of gas and magnetic fields in the evolution of galaxies, drawing on observations from the MeerKAT radio telescope.
Together, these new appointments strengthen the College's diverse academic community, creating further opportunities for intellectual exchange and collaboration across disciplines.
St Cross warmly welcomes all seven Fellows and looks forward to the contributions they will make to the academic and social life of the College.
