Our Team

A number of specialized research labs and shops are managed by the Research Laboratories Department’s professional team, whose details are shared below:


Research Laboratories Department Administration
Afra Al Kitbi
Afra Al Kitbi Research Laboratory Senior Support Officer +971 2 312 4328
Ayesha Musabbah
Ayesha Musabbah Department Coordinator +971 2 312 3597
Munira Ghedayer Sultan Almansoori
Munira Ghedayer Sultan Almansoori Graduate Trainee, Department Coordinator +971 2 312 4328
Research Laboratories operations
Dr. Agathe Talarmin
Dr. Agathe Talarmin Research Engineer, Infrastructure Projects
Siji Roshan
Siji Roshan Industrial Hygienist, Research Laboratories operations +971 2 312 5029
Analytical Chemistry and Biochemistry Core Laboratory
Eiman Mohamed Altenaiji
Eiman Mohamed Altenaiji Acting Manager, ACBC Core Labs +971 2 312 4209
Nurlan Akhmetov
Nurlan Akhmetov CORE Lab Specialist +971 2 312 3466
Additive Manufacturing Core Lab
Tareq Farrah
Tareq Farrah CORE Lab Specialist +971 2 312 4496
Electron Microscopy Facility
Dr. Cyril Aubry
Dr. Cyril Aubry Manager, Electron Microscopy Core Labs +971 2 312 4390
Mohamed Helal
Mohamed Helal CORE Lab Specialist +971 2 312 4350
Solar Platform & Field Station Facilities
Dr. Mathieu Martins
Dr. Mathieu Martins CORE Lab Engineer +971 2 312 4319
Hanif Ahmed Shaikh
Hanif Ahmed Shaikh Plant Engineer +971 2 312 4215
Research Fabrication and Prototyping Facility
Nellimala Ibrahim Abdul Shukoor
Nellimala Ibrahim Abdul Shukoor Machine Shop Supervisor +971 2 312 4214
Sai Krishna Nimmagadda
Sai Krishna Nimmagadda CORE Lab Operator +971 2 312 4910
Micro and Nano Fabrication Facility
Dr. Calvyn Travis Howells
Dr. Calvyn Travis Howells CORE Lab Specialist +971 2 312 5722
Dr. Ricardo Janeiro
Dr. Ricardo Janeiro CORE Lab Engineer +971 2 312 5722
Optoelectronic Characterization Core Labs
Teenu Thomas
Teenu Thomas CORE Lab Specialist +971 2 312 4475
Materials and Surface Core Labs
Dr. Thomas Delclos
Dr. Thomas Delclos Manager, Materials and Surface Core Labs +971 2 312 4340
Anjana Tharalekshmy
Anjana Tharalekshmy CORE Lab Specialist +971 2 312 3462
research-laboratories-department-administration
Munira Ghedayer Sultan Almansoori
Munira Ghedayer Sultan Almansoori munira.almansoori@ku.ac.ae Graduate Trainee, Department Coordinator
Ayesha Musabbah
Ayesha Musabbah ayesha.musabbah@ku.ac.ae Department Coordinator
Afra Al Kitbi
Afra Al Kitbi afra.alketbi@ku.ac.ae Research Laboratory Senior Support Officer

Afra Al Kitbi has over 15 years of experience in various fields and sectors. She holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA – General Management) and Bachelors in International Business (Economics).

Her experience includes leadership and delivery of services in multicultural and multinational working environments, combining broad exposure in all aspects of administration, finance, government sector, and customer relationship management.

She has enriched experience in financial reporting, HR and recruitment, payroll management, project reconciliation, contract negotiating, financial management, accounts / audit, conflict resolution, public relations, research and analysis, protocol management, document controls and administration. She also possesses good negotiation skills and interpersonal skills.

research-laboratories-operations
Siji Roshan
Siji Roshan siji.roshan@ku.ac.ae Industrial Hygienist, Research Laboratories operations
Dr. Agathe Talarmin
Dr. Agathe Talarmin agathe.talarmin@ku.ac.ae Research Engineer, Infrastructure Projects
analytical-chemistry-and-biochemistry-core-laboratory
Nurlan Akhmetov
Nurlan Akhmetov nurlan.akhmetov@ku.ac.ae CORE Lab Specialist
Eiman Mohamed Altenaiji
Eiman Mohamed Altenaiji eiman.altenaiji@ku.ac.ae Acting Manager, ACBC Core Labs

Eiman Mohamed Altenaiji specialized in Microbiology and Pharmacology. She Studied at Otago University in New Zealand. She works as lab instructor in the Analytical Chemistry and Biochemistry Laboratory (ACBC) in the Research Laboratories Department at Khalifa University, and played a major role in building the ACBC facility.

As part of her role at Khalifa University, Altenaiji oversees the day-to-day operations of the ACBC lab. She also provides training support to the research community at Khalifa University on a wide range of advanced analytical chemistry and biochemistry instruments. She strives to provide a safe and well-resourced laboratory that is available to meet the needs of the researchers.

Prior to working at the ACBC lab, Altenaiji worked in the Water Laboratory and Molecular Biology Laboraties. She has also been a contributing author on several scientific articles.

additive-manufacturing-core-lab
Tareq Farrah
Tareq Farrah tareq.farrah@ku.ac.ae CORE Lab Specialist
electron-microscopy-facility
Mohamed Helal
Mohamed Helal mohamed.helal@ku.ac.ae CORE Lab Specialist
Dr. Cyril Aubry
Dr. Cyril Aubry cyril.aubry@ku.ac.ae Manager, Electron Microscopy Core Labs

Dr. Cyril Aubry joined Masdar Institute (now Khalifa University) in 2014 as SEM/FIB Instructor and oversees the day-to-day operations of the Electron Microscopy Laboratory, trains and advises researchers on safe and proper usage of the lab equipment and sample preparation. Recently, Dr. Aubry started teaching Raman and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Prior to joining Masdar Institute, Dr. Aubry acquired strong experience in the use of scientific equipment during his time at various different academic institutions. His expertise include SEM/FIB, AFM, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), 3 MeV electron accelerator and 300 keV particles accelerator, among others.

Dr. Aubry received his PhD in Physics at the University of Limoges (France) and his Master’s degree at CEMES (France).

solar-platform-facility
Hanif Ahmed Shaikh
Hanif Ahmed Shaikh hanif.shaikh@ku.ac.ae Plant Engineer
Dr. Mathieu Martins
Dr. Mathieu Martins mathieu.martins@ku.ac.ae CORE Lab Engineer
research-fabrication-and-prototyping-facility
Sai Krishna Nimmagadda
Sai Krishna Nimmagadda sai.nimmagadda@ku.ac.ae CORE Lab Operator
Nellimala Ibrahim Abdul Shukoor
Nellimala Ibrahim Abdul Shukoor nellimala.abdulshukoor@ku.ac.ae Machine Shop Supervisor
micro-and-nano-fabrication-facility
Dr. Ricardo Janeiro
Dr. Ricardo Janeiro ricardo.janeiro@ku.ac.ae CORE Lab Engineer
Dr. Calvyn Travis Howells
Dr. Calvyn Travis Howells calvyn.howells@ku.ac.ae CORE Lab Specialist
optoelectronic-characterization-core-labs
Teenu Thomas
Teenu Thomas teenu.thomas@ku.ac.ae CORE Lab Specialist
materials-and-surface-core-labs
Anjana Tharalekshmy
Anjana Tharalekshmy anjana.amma@ku.ac.ae CORE Lab Specialist
Dr. Thomas Delclos
Dr. Thomas Delclos thomas.delclos@ku.ac.ae Manager, Materials and Surface Core Labs