Ria graduated from the University of Leeds in 2025 with a first-class MChem degree. Her bachelor’s project focused on synthesising cobalt complexes based on vitamin B12 and investigating their stability under various conditions such as different temperatures and solvents. 

In the summer of 2024, she completed a short research placement at the Institute of Process Research and Development (iPRD), supervised by Dr Adam Clayton. During this time, she worked on two key steps in the synthesis of the HIV-1 drug Lenacapavir, with the aim of implementing them into continuous flow to allow them to be telescoped. Both reactions were palladium-catalysed cross-couplings: Suzuki–Miyaura and Sonogashira.

Ria continued her research at the iPRD for her MChem project under the supervision of Prof. Thomas Chamberlain. Building on her summer work, she further developed the same two reactions by exploring greener solvents and adapting the processes for continuous flow, aligning them more closely with the principles of green chemistry.

She is now beginning a PhD under supervision of Dr Gilian Thomas and co-supervisor Dr Adam Clayton, focusing on using high-throughput experimentation (HTE) to develop stable nickel catalysts, aiming to create more sustainable alternatives to rare-earth metal catalysts.