The focus of my research is the development and evaluation of molecular diagnostic tests, for a range of tropical diseases.
I hold a BSc in Biomedical Science from the University of Sheffield, and an MSc in Industrial biotechnology from Liverpool John Moores University.
My PhD, completed at LJMU in 2014 in collaboration with Public Health England and MAST diagnostics, involved the development of the sample preparation process for a fully integrated molecular diagnostics platform for detection of a range of STIs. Other projects undertaken in parallel to this work included the design of LAMP and qPCR assays for STI detection.
In 2015 I joined the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine as a post-doctoral research associate in the Research Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics. I am currently focused on the development and implementation of highly multiplexed assays for the detection of arboviral infections, such as Zika and dengue fever. We are interested in the use of these assays to guide patient management, and also improve surveillance, in Guatemala and Brazil. I am additionally involved in the development of molecular tests to detect drug resistance in Gram negative bacteria, and also the evaluation of a number of commercial tests, notably for tuberculosis.
I have also worked for the Foundation of Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) as a training consultant, for upcoming molecular diagnostic evaluations.