Raka Mitra, BSc (Hons), MSc

Raka began her PhD at the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute because she shares our goal to help improve patients’ lives and wanted to be part of our work in childhood birthmarks, vascular anomalies, and cancer research.

Raka joined Gillies McIndoe in 2023 as a PhD student on the Max Lovie Scholarship, and has developed the world's first 3D angiogenesis model of Infantile haemangioma (strawberry birthmark). Her research will help us better understand the molecular pathways involved in developing and treating strawberry birthmarks and identify potential drug repurposing options that improve patient outcomes. Raka is fascinated by pre-clinical models to better understand the cellular mechanisms and improve drug screening. She is interested to explore more in the world of vascular biology and skin research with a focus on treatment approaches, using both 2D and 3D model systems. She is continuing as a postdoctoral research fellow in 2026 with a focus on the integration of multi-omics (proteomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics) data to elucidate complex biological systems. This comprehensive approach enables her to uncover novel biomarkers and mechanistic pathways in vascular anomalies including Infantile Haemangioma. 

Raka graduated with an Honours degree in Microbiology and a MSc degree in Cancer Biology from Kingston University, UK. She also completed an Advanced Course in Cancer Biology with the Molecular Paediatric Oncology research group at Lund University, Sweden. At Lund University she worked on drug screening in patient-derived xenograft organoids of high-risk malignant neuroblastoma.

Raka loves to spend time learning and reading both fiction and non-fiction, enjoys nature photography, star gazing and occasionally strumming her ukulele.

Grants and Scholarships:

• Deane Endowment Trust

• H and R Whitehouse Fund

Community Science Communication:

• Tour Guide, Open Day lab tour, Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, 2023 – Present

• Contributor, Social Media Science Communication, Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, 2023 – Present