Dr Rachel Owen

Research interests

Postdoctoral research associate developing diagnostics for high consequence tropical diseases including Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever and Tuberculosis.

My research experience and interests includes zoonotic disease, infectious disease biology, comparative immunology, host-pathogen interactions, ‘Omics and MHC class I mediated antigen presentation.

Biography

Cardiff University (2011 – 2015) – BSc Biochemistry (Biomedical route) with Industrial Placement (GSK, 2013 – 2014)

University of Southampton (2015 – 2019) – Doctor of Philosophy, Molecular and Cellular Biosciences.. Thesis title: Investigating cellular origins to identify peptide vaccine targets in two independent transmissible tumours circulating in the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). 

University of Southampton (2019 – 2021) – Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Cancer Immunology, Biological sciences. Morris Animal Foundation Fellowship: Definition of MHC I peptide binding interactions in Tasmanian devils, and of the cellular origins of their cancers. Additional work developing an in vitro system to assess intercellular competition between cancer cells.

University of Southampton (2021) – Postdoctoral Research Associate in Microbiology, Biological sciences. Assessing the ability of SARS-CoV-2 and other important human pathogens to survive on materials and surfaces containing copper to aid in implementing infection control measures.

University of Edinburgh (2022 – 2024) – Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Quantitative Biology and Immunology, The Roslin Institute. Using novel sequencing techniques to map distal regulatory elements across the bovine genome and identify how functional variation in these regions impacts susceptibility to parasitic disease

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (2024 – Present) – Postdoctoral Research Associate in Tropical Disease Biology and Diagnostics. Using amplicon tiling and nanopore sequencing to validate the performance of rapid diagnostic tests for CCHF in a diagnostic evaluation across Turkey. Additional work using proteomics and miRNA sequencing to identify urinary biomarkers for TB infection in high-risk patient groups.

Teaching

Lecturer on molecular research methods and viral haemorrhagic fevers

Selected research publications

Comparison of the analytical and clinical sensitivities of 34 rapid antigen tests with prevalent SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK – Journal: Microbiology spectrum – Published: 7th October 2025

A comprehensive water buffalo pangenome reveals extensive structural variation linked to population-specific signatures of selection – Journal: GigaScience – Published: 30th August 2025

In vitro competition between two transmissible cancers and potential implications for their host, the Tasmanian devil – Journal: Evolutionary Applications – Published: 1st March 2024

The differentiation state of the Schwann cell progenitor drives phenotypic variation between two contagious cancers – Journal: PLoS Pathogens – Published: 1st November 2021

The immunopeptidomes of two transmissible cancers and their host have a common, dominant peptide motif – Journal: Immunology – Published: 1st June 2021

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