An interest in interdisciplinary research grew when Joanna worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Professor Benedikt Kessler in the Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford.  As well as working collaboratively towards generation and analysis of chemical probes based around inhibitor and DNA scaffolds she also designed, synthesised and analysed novel probes based around the Ubiquitin protein scaffold. These novel probe types included fluorescent ubiquitin covalent capture probes in addition to full length di‑ubiquitin probes, both of which were the first of their kind to be published. Joanna used these tools alongside proteomics technology to develop inhibitor screening assays, to investigate on- and off-target effects and to study the ubiquinome to assess inhibitor effects. 

She returned to chemistry department at the University of Oxford in 2014 to join the Tom Brown group where her research focused on the study of DNA cross-link repair enzymes, developing assays to study their selectivity and for inhibitor screening.  This work sparked a keen interest in the generation and testing of new types of DNA probes.

In early 2016, Joanna finally tore herself away from Oxford and moved to Trinity College Dublin to take up the Schuler Assistant Professorship in Translational Organic Chemistry.

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