I am a liver immunologist with an interest in persistent infections and chronic inflammation.

I obtained my PhD in Immunology from Imperial College London (Professor Mary Ritter) together with the Institute for Animal Health, Compton (Dr Bryan Charleston). My studies characterised human, bovine and ovine follicular dendritic cells, a stromal cell type with a role in B cell effector functions, viral retention and prion disease. I went on to study the role of signalling molecules in B cell development with Dr Martin Turner at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge.

I came to the University of Birmingham in 2005 to study virus transmission and humoral immunity to infection in Prof. Jane McKeating’s Hepatitis C Research Group. I then moved to the NIHR Biomedical Research Unit for Liver Disease at the Centre for Liver Research with Prof. David Adams, to work on lymphocyte-hepatocyte interactions and liver immunology.

I was successful in securing a Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship funded by the Royal Society to investigate the role of lymphocytes as vehicles for virus transmission. This gives me the opportunity to take my first steps as a principal investigator. My team is interested in defining the complex role of lymphocytes in liver inflammation, both from an immunology and a virology perspective.

I am a mother of two and enjoy the challenges of running a successful lab while raising a young family. I am member of the Women in Academic Medicine and Science (WAMS) committee and the Athena SWAN steering group for the College of Medical and Dental Sciences. I am on the editorial boards of journals for virology and hepatology and a STEM ambassador to promote Science and Technology for young learners.

My fellowship leads to an academic position at the Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham. Please visit the following sites for details of our public engagement events, professional memberships and academic activities.