Lecturer in Microbiology
I am a Lecturer in microbiology and teach medical students on MBChB Medicine. I studied BSc Biomedical Science prior to undergoing a PhD in microbiology with Northumbria University at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. I then completed a post-doc at Northumbria University and taught on the BSc Biomedical Science degree I completed myself.
I have a passion for both teaching and science and can talk about bacteria for hours, to anyone who will listen!
My research interests include non-tuberculous mycobacteria and rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing. I am a qualified science teacher with a PGCE in secondary science.
Teaching and supervision
I am a Lecturer in microbiology and teach on units associated with clinical microbiology, antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance throughout Phase 1 (years 1 and 2) of the undergraduate Medicine MBChB. I facilitate problem-based learning, I'm a personal tutor, and also lead on scaffolding and revision resources for Phase 1 students.
Research interests for potential research students
- Rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing
- Non-tuberculous mycobacteria
- Culture medium development
- Cystic fibrosis microbiology
Research
My PhD consisted of the development of a novel culture medium for non-tuberculous mycobacteria in patients with cystic fibrosis.
Following this, I carried out postdoctoral research at Northumbria University in rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods. Our team was awarded the 2022 Analytical Division Horizon Prize: Robert Boyle Prize for Analytical Science with the Royal Society of Chemistry.
My current research involves ways to rapidly detect NTM in the environment and looking at ways to further improve NTM detection and treatment options.
I am a member of the NTM UK Network, British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC), Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM), Microbiology Society and American Society for Microbiology (ASM). I am also a member of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the culture medium developed during my PhD is recommended in the current guidelines for diagnosing and managing cystic fibrosis.
- A Level Biology
- Clinical Microbiology
- Exam and revision techniques
- Non-tuberculous mycobacteria
- Rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing
I completed a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Science at Northumbria University which concluded with me being awarded the Professor Arthur L James/bioMerieux Prize and the Institute of Biomedical Science Presidents Prize, before embarking on a three-year PhD at the same institution in collaboration with the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
This culminated in a thesis entitled "A study of the diagnosis, treatment and epidemiology of Mycobacterium abscessus in patients with cystic fibrosis". The work I accomplished at the Freeman contributed to an innovation and research award won by the Freeman Hospital Microbiology department in the NHS Celebrating Excellence Awards. I was also named on a patent for the culture medium developed during my PhD, now globally marketed by bioMerieux as NTM Elite.
I have completed my PGCE in secondary science at University of Sunderland and obtained my QTS teaching science at KS3-5.
View my Orcid profile.