Please report any queries concerning the funding data grouped in the sections named "Externally Awarded" or "Internally Disbursed" (shown on the profile page) to
your Research Finance Administrator. Your can find your Research Finance Administrator at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/finance/research/rs-contacts.php by entering your department
Please report any queries concerning the student data shown on the profile page to:
Email: portico-services@ucl.ac.uk
Help Desk: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ras/portico/helpdesk
Email: portico-services@ucl.ac.uk
Help Desk: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ras/portico/helpdesk
Appointment
- Honorary Lecturer
- Experimental & Translational Medicine
- Div of Medicine
- Faculty of Medical Sciences
Biography
My group is interested in how insulin affects the function of the immune system, and how this may impact cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
I was awarded my BSc (Int) Hons: University of Warwick 2002 in Biological Sciences with Molecular Genetics including a year in industry, followed by a PhD in Biochemistry 2006 from the University of Leeds, exploring the signalling and secretory mechanisms of inflammatory cells.
Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the arterial blood vessels and is the leading cause of Cardiovascular Disease.
After my PhD, I joined the Division of Cardiovascular and Diabetes Research at Leeds University led by Prof. Mark Kearney working with novel models of insulin resistance and atherosclerosis .
In 2013 I joined Dr Inés Pineda-Torra’s group in the Division of Medicine at UCL to explore the role of Macrophage Nuclear Receptors in the development of atherosclerosis.
In 2016 I was awarded independent funding to explore how insulin affects the function of macrophages.
Recent awards:
2014 Diabetes UK Nick Hales Young Investigator Finalist - Oral presentation and poster, Liverpool, UK.
2012 British Cardiovascular Society - Young Research Workers' Prize Runner-up 2012, Manchester, UK
2011 Diabetes UK Nick Hales Young Investigator Finalist - Oral presentation and poster, London, UK.
2010 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions - Russell Ross Memorial Session - Oral presentation, Chicago, USA.
2009 British Atherosclerosis Society Young Investigator Finalist - Oral presentation, Oxford, UK.
Positions held:
2017- UCL Metabolism and Society Domain Early careers group coordinator
2017- BHF UCL Division of Medicine fundraising group coordinator
2015- London Vascular Biology Forum Early career committee member
2014-2016 UCL DoM Early careers group coordinator
2011-2013: Leeds University LIGHT Early careers group coordinator.
Research Themes
See More
See LessResearch Summary
My group is interested in how insulin affects the function of macrophages and how this impacts diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Macrophages are immune cells which play important roles in the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Insulin levels in the blood are raised in people with pre-diabetes but lower in people with type 2 diabetes compared to healthy people.
Historically, two aspects of insulin actions have been recognised: (1) it’s a growth factor in development (2) insulin is a metabolic hormone for muscle, liver and fat tissue acting to reduce blood glucose levels. Recently a third aspect of insulin’s action has emerged: the regulation of inflammation. I am investigating how changes in insulin signalling may affect the immune function of macrophages and in turn how these affected macrophages may influence type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
I am gratefully funded by the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK.
Appointments
| 01-FEB-2008 – 30-SEP-2013 | Research Fellow | Division of Cardiovascular & Diabetes Research | University of Leeds, United Kingdom |
Academic Background
| 2006 | Doctor of Philosophy | University of Leeds | |
| 2002 | BSc (Hons) Open | University of Warwick |
