Alma Karlsson

With a master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences and a passion for physical chemistry, Alma dedicates her research to extending the toolbox of fluorescence methods for nucleic acid drug development. As a doctoral student in the Wilhelmsson group, her research circulates around fluorescent base analogues, which are glowing building blocks of nucleic acids like RNA and DNA. 
Her work involves photophysical characterisation of new fluorescent base analogues and investigating how their photophysical characteristics are affected by their environment. The main methods she employs are spectroscopic; nonetheless, she also uses confocal microscopy to track fluorescent RNA inside cells.
Co-supervised by Associate Professor Maggie Holme from the Department of Life Sciences, Alma also investigates the structural impact on lipid nanoparticles caused by different fluorescent labels of encapsulated RNA, using small angle neutron and X-ray scattering (SANS and SAXS). Altogether, her research contributes to a wider understanding of advantages and disadvantages of different fluorescence labelling methods of nucleic acids.