Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences
BSc in Biological Sciences (Genetics) 1997; MRes in Biological Sciences (Biophysics) 2000; and Doctorate in Biological Sciences (Molecular Cell Biology) 2005, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Oxford, 2005-2009; Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Cambridge, 2010-2012. Lecturer in the School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, 2013.
My lab focuses on the structure and function of cell surface membranes in human pathogens, and how these relate to disease, evolution and development of treatment. In particular, we study the… read more
My lab focuses on the structure and function of cell surface membranes in human pathogens, and how these relate to disease, evolution and development of treatment. In particular, we study the causative agent of human African trypanosomiasis, a disease that threatens 60 million people in sub-Saharan countries. These parasites proliferate in the host bloodstream in an exclusively extracellular form by periodic switching of the parasite surface coat. Cell surface structure and composition is key to the parasite's strategy of immune evasion, survival and disease transmission. However, very little is known about the molecules that reside at this interface, in particular which ones are essential to the parasite's success. This severely hampers the development of drugs or vaccines against human African trypanosomiasis and related parasitic diseases. Work in the lab takes innovative approaches to elucidate cell membrane function, structure, molecular composition and evolution. Our work aims to unravel the mechanics of parasite success and thereby to expose avenues for therapeutic intervention.
University of NottinghamMedical School Queen's Medical CentreNottingham NG7 2UH
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