I graduated in 2007 with a MBiolSci Biology degree at the University of Sheffield, focusing on insect immunity in my Masters year. After graduation I carried out a 3 month field based project in Madagascar on the role water holes play in disease transmission between various species during the dry season. I obtained my first job later that year at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, as a protein scientist focusing on cancer research. I moved to LSTM in 2010 as a Research Assistant working on identifying new drugs for the filarial diseases lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. In 2013 I initiated a part-time self-funded PhD to develop high throughput screening for these diseases. I graduated in 2019 before obtaining my first post doctoral role within the Centre for Snakebite Research and Intervention (CSRI) in 2020.
Research
My current research, including my Directors Catalyst Fund award, is focused on drug discovery for novel small-molecule based treatments for snakebite. Through the scale up of inhouse assays we are building a diversity drug discovery programme to identify novel compounds with inhibitory activity against common venom toxins.