Centre members

The members of the Centre for Inflammation Research and Translational Medicine (CIRTM) comprise Principal Investigators and their groups, Associate Members and Professional Services Staff.

Researchers within the Centre for Inflammation Research and Translational Medicine (CIRTM).

felicity read pharmacology at the university of sunderland, where she also embarked on an industrial placement year at bayer pharmaceuticals in slough. after completing her bsc (hons), she moved to london to study for a ph.d. in pharmacology at queen mary university london, supported by the british heart foundation (bhf). felicity was then awarded a bhf junior research fellowship to undertake further research both in the uk and the usa. in 2007 felicity joined imperial college london to take up a lectureship position in the centre for integrative mammalian physiology and pharmacology (cimpp). this was shortly followed by a senior lectureship and the appointment to deputy head of the centre of neurodegeneration & neuroinflammation. in 2013 she accepted an academic position in the usa at louisiana state university health sciences center-shreveport (lsuhsc-s) and was appointed director of the small animal imaging facility. felicity is a fellow of the british pharmacological society and of the royal society of biology. she joined brunel university london in august 2019 as professor of pharmacology and royal society wolfson fellow, and is the director of the centre for inflammation research and translational medicine (cirtm). throughout her academic career, felicity has worked with and served on numerous national and international research councils, medical charities and learned societies. she has published widely in her field and received a number of awards and honours for her work. she has received funding for her research from a range of funders including: the royal society and the wolfson foundation (rswf), the british heart foundation (bhf), the medical research council (mrc), the biotechnology and biological sciences research council (bbsrc), the american heart association (aha), and the national institutes of health/national heart, lung, and blood institute (nih/nhlbi). felicity continues to be actively involved in public and patient organizations which has been immensely instructive for her research. she is also dedicated to promoting mentoring and collaborative research, along with facilitating mentoring of post-doctoral fellows/early-career investigators. inflammation thrombosis (arterial and venous) resolution of inflammation immune mediated responses in normal and pathological conditions neutrophil-platelet interactions ischaemia reperfusion injury (i/ri) healthy ageing formyl peptide receptors (fprs) annexin a1 biology sickle cell disease inflammation in cancer pre-clinical imaging drug discovery and resolution biologics novel drug delivery systems e.g nanocarriers the principle focus of my research is elucidate and understand the complex roles played by immune cells in vascular inflammation and thrombosis. the aim of my research it to design tailored next generation therapeutics for inflammatory pathologies that temper inflammation and enhance resolution. within the continuum of an inflammatory response, the objective of my research is to study the role of the microvasculature as a dynamic-interface between circulating blood cells and immune cells (such as neutrophils and platelets) and tissue. my lab focuses on how circulating cells communicate, adhere and migrate across the endothelium and the pathways by which these circulating and resident cells can render systemic inflammatory responses and alter local inflammatory and thrombotic states. by targeting the pathophysiology of endogenous pro-resolving pathways such as the annexin a1-formyl peptide receptor (anxa1-fpr) pathway, we hope to identify novel and innovative anti-inflammatory therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerbrovascular diseas the research in my laboratory crosses the boundaries between integrative physiology and pharmacology and uses multidisciplinary approaches to advance understanding of the vascular physiology and pathophysiology of inflammatory and related disorders, at the molecular, cellular, tissue and whole organism levels. to achieve this goal, we use a technological toolbox compromising of various experimental in-silico, in-vitro and in-vivo systems and advanced imaging modalities (including confocal intravital microscopy, magnetic resonance imaging [mri]; positron emission tomography [pet], and in-vivo imaging systems [ivis]), coupled with multi-omics approaches to dissect the contribution of neutrophils and platelets in inflammation, thrombosis and vascular dysfunction. development of research students and post-doctoral fellows/early career researchers. dedicated to promoting mentoring and ensuring equality and diversity. teaching responsibilities: bb3091 final year project (block lead) bb5604 msc dissertation research project bb3802 problem solving and data analysis bb3801 scientific communication bb2802 primary literature interrogation & synthesis bb2803 data evaluation and reporting bb2555 work placement bb1700 tutoring bb2700 tutoring bb3700 tutoring

Professor Felicity Gavins

Professor - Pharmacology

Felicity read Pharmacology at the University of Sunderland, where she also embarked on an industrial placement year at Bayer Pharmaceuticals in Slough. After completing her BSc (Hons), she moved to London to study for a Ph.D. in Pharmacology at Queen Mary University London, supported by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). Felicity was then awarded a BHF Junior Research Fellowship to undertake further research both in the UK and the USA. In 2007 Felicity joined Imperial College London to take up a Lectureship position in the Centre for Integrative Mammalian Physiology and Pharmacology (CIMPP). This was shortly followed by a senior lectureship and the appointment to Deputy Head of The Centre of Neurodegeneration & Neuroinflammation. In 2013 she accepted an academic position in the USA at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport (LSUHSC-S) and was appointed Director of The Small Animal Imaging Facility. Felicity is a Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society and of the Royal Society of Biology. She joined Brunel University London in August 2019 as Professor of Pharmacology and Royal Society Wolfson Fellow, and is the Director of The Centre for Inflammation Research and Translational Medicine (CIRTM). Throughout her academic career, Felicity has worked with and served on numerous national and international research councils, medical charities and learned societies. She has published widely in her field and received a number of awards and honours for her work. She has received funding for her research from a range of funders including: the Royal Society and the Wolfson Foundation (RSWF), the British Heart Foundation (BHF), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH/NHLBI). Felicity continues to be actively involved in public and patient organizations which has been immensely instructive for her research. She is also dedicated to promoting mentoring and collaborative research, along with facilitating mentoring of post-doctoral fellows/early-career investigators. Inflammation Thrombosis (arterial and venous) Resolution of inflammation Immune mediated responses in normal and pathological conditions Neutrophil-Platelet interactions Ischaemia reperfusion injury (I/RI) Healthy ageing Formyl Peptide Receptors (FPRs) Annexin A1 Biology Sickle Cell Disease Inflammation in Cancer Pre-clinical imaging Drug discovery and resolution biologics Novel drug delivery systems e.g Nanocarriers The principle focus of my research is elucidate and understand the complex roles played by immune cells in vascular inflammation and thrombosis. The aim of my research it to design tailored next generation therapeutics for inflammatory pathologies that temper inflammation and enhance resolution. Within the continuum of an inflammatory response, the objective of my research is to study the role of the microvasculature as a dynamic-interface between circulating blood cells and immune cells (such as neutrophils and platelets) and tissue. My lab focuses on how circulating cells communicate, adhere and migrate across the endothelium and the pathways by which these circulating and resident cells can render systemic inflammatory responses and alter local inflammatory and thrombotic states. By targeting the pathophysiology of endogenous pro-resolving pathways such as the Annexin A1-Formyl Peptide Receptor (AnxA1-FPR) pathway, we hope to identify novel and innovative anti-inflammatory therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerbrovascular diseas The research in my laboratory crosses the boundaries between Integrative physiology and pharmacology and uses multidisciplinary approaches to advance understanding of the vascular physiology and pathophysiology of inflammatory and related disorders, at the molecular, cellular, tissue and whole organism levels. To achieve this goal, we use a technological toolbox compromising of various experimental in-silico, in-vitro and in-vivo systems and advanced imaging modalities (including confocal intravital microscopy, magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]; positron emission tomography [PET], and in-vivo imaging systems [IVIS]), coupled with multi-omics approaches to dissect the contribution of neutrophils and platelets in inflammation, thrombosis and vascular dysfunction. Development of research students and post-doctoral fellows/early career researchers. Dedicated to promoting mentoring and ensuring equality and diversity. Teaching Responsibilities: BB3091 Final Year Project (Block lead) BB5604 MSc Dissertation Research Project BB3802 Problem Solving and Data Analysis BB3801 Scientific Communication BB2802 Primary literature interrogation & synthesis BB2803 Data Evaluation and Reporting BB2555 Work Placement BB1700 Tutoring BB2700 Tutoring BB3700 Tutoring

Professor Claire Turner

Pro Vice Chancellor - Education

Claire Turner is an interdisciplinary scientist with a BSc in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Natal and a PhD in Biochemical Engineering from UCL. Her aim is to enable all our students to have an excellent education and student experience irrespective of their background and circumstances. She is very interested in innovations in pedagogy and how we can use these in improving the student experience. She was previously at The Open University where she taught Analytical Science, and interdisciplinary science. Her research is focussed around the analysis of volatile organic compounds, applied to diverse field as non-invasive disease dignosis and environmental monitoring.

Dr Su-ling Li

Honorary Reader

Qualifications: · 1983 MD, Suzhou Medical University, China. · 1994 Ph.D, Department of Immunopathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Academic Appointments · 1995-1996: Post-Doctor, Department of Clinical Virology, Karolinska Institute, · 1996-2000: Assistant Professor, and then Associate Professor since 2000, Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, Lund University, Sweden · 2001-2005: Lecturer, Division of Biosciences, Brunel University London · 2009-2014: Division Director of Biosciences, Brunel University London · 2005-present: Reader in Immunology, Division of Biosciences, Brunel University London, Immunology Antigen presentation and vaccines Autoimmune disease and inflammation Regulation of adaptive immune response Tumor immunology Immunology Teaching interests: Adaptive immunology; Cancer Immunology; Pathology; Vaccine; Biotechnologies, including Microarray, RNA seq, Chip Seq, Transgenic mouse models, technology in drug discovery.

ronan gained his bachelor of science in genetics with first class honours from university college cork, ireland in 2010 and was awarded the title of college scholar. in autumn 2010, ronan was awarded an irish research council phd scholarship to study novel biofilm inhibition strategies against the opportunistic pathogen pseudomonas aeruginosa in the lab of professor fergal o’gara. in 2014, ronan joined the research group of professor alain filloux at the mrc centre for bacteriology and infection at imperial college london. as a postdoctoral research associate, ronan interrogated the second messenger signalling cascades that govern the biofilm mode of growth in pseudomonas aeruginosa and agrobacterium tumefaciens. following on from his time at imperial college ronan joined the microbiology department at the animal and plant health agency where he used host transcriptomics and pathway analysis to profile the host response to infection. he joined the biosciences division in brunel university to continue his analysis of the regulatory networks that govern pathogenicity, antimicrobial resistance and biofilm formation in the gram negative opportunistic pathogens pseudomonas aeruginosa and acinetobacter baumannii. in 2021, ronan was awarded a bbsrc new investigator award to study the regulation of desiccation tolerance and biofilm formation in acinetobacter baumannii and to identify compounds that could disrupt these survival mechanisms. he has also expanded into the field of biofilm engineering, using synthetic biology approaches to give control over bacterial biofilm formation and using these tools to tackle environmental challenges such as plastic waste. as a pi he has secured funding from the bbsrc, nc3rs, academy of medical sciences, horizon 2020, british society for antimicrobial chemotherapy, innovate uk, nerc and the medical research council. my research focuses on profiling key signalling pathways that play a role in chronic bacterial infection and antibiotic resistance. studying interactions that occur at the host-pathogen interface using integrated ‘omics approaches. understanding the protective role of the microbiome in an infection setting. assessing the ability of old drugs to be repurposed to inhibit bacterial infection opportunities for phd study enquires are welcome from those who are keen to pursue phd and msc degrees. joint supervision, industry partnerships and collaborative research opportunities are also very welcome.

Professor Ronan Mccarthy

Honorary Professor

Ronan gained his Bachelor of Science in Genetics with first class honours from University College Cork, Ireland in 2010 and was awarded the title of College Scholar. In autumn 2010, Ronan was awarded an Irish Research Council PhD Scholarship to study novel biofilm inhibition strategies against the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the lab of Professor Fergal O’Gara. In 2014, Ronan joined the research group of Professor Alain Filloux at the MRC Centre for Bacteriology and Infection at Imperial College London. As a Postdoctoral Research Associate, Ronan interrogated the second messenger signalling cascades that govern the biofilm mode of growth in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Following on from his time at Imperial College Ronan joined the Microbiology Department at the Animal and Plant Health Agency where he used host transcriptomics and pathway analysis to profile the host response to infection. He joined the Biosciences Division in Brunel University to continue his analysis of the regulatory networks that govern pathogenicity, antimicrobial resistance and biofilm formation in the Gram negative opportunistic pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii. In 2021, Ronan was awarded a BBSRC New Investigator Award to study the regulation of desiccation tolerance and biofilm formation in Acinetobacter baumannii and to identify compounds that could disrupt these survival mechanisms. He has also expanded into the field of biofilm engineering, using synthetic biology approaches to give control over bacterial biofilm formation and using these tools to tackle environmental challenges such as plastic waste. As a PI he has secured funding from the BBSRC, NC3Rs, Academy of Medical Sciences, Horizon 2020, British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Innovate UK, NERC and the Medical Research Council. My research focuses on Profiling key signalling pathways that play a role in chronic bacterial infection and antibiotic resistance. Studying interactions that occur at the host-pathogen interface using integrated ‘omics approaches. Understanding the protective role of the microbiome in an infection setting. Assessing the ability of old drugs to be repurposed to inhibit bacterial infection Opportunities for PhD Study Enquires are welcome from those who are keen to pursue PhD and MSc degrees. Joint supervision, industry partnerships and collaborative research opportunities are also very welcome.

raha pazok md phd fhea is a medical doctor and an epidemiologist. she studied epidemiology at the netherlands institute for health sciences (nihes) and in the university of amsterdam. she worked with various cohort and case control studies such as the arrhythmia genetics in the netherlands (agnes), the rotterdam study, the airwave health monitoring study and the uk bio bank. in 2016, she joined the department of epidemiology and bio-statistics at imperial college london as a research associate. in 2020, she started a teaching & research academic position at brunel university london. dr pazoki specializes in the field of health data research, with a primary focus on the epidemiology of cardiometabolic diseases. she holds a particular interest in exploring causal inference and precision medicine by leveraging genomics and extensive health data sets with sample sizes exceeding 500,000 individuals. her expertise spans various domains, including precision medicine, global health, interventions, and the application of artificial intelligence for predicting health outcomes. she harbors a keen interest in identification of the relationship between circulating molecules and biomarkers, nutrition, lifestyle choices, genetic factors, and their collective contribution to the modulation of health risk factors and outcomes. she was the first to identify 517 novel genetic loci associated with liver enzymes and the first to show the causal effect of liver dysfunction on cardiovascular diseases. in addition, she is the first to show the effect of the alcohol consumption wdpcp gene in lipid metabolism, and liver cirrhosis. available phd projects: exploring artificial intelligence for precision medicine, focusing on the interplay between gene and environemnt cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke, remain the leading causes of mortality worldwide and their prevalence continues to rise. these conditions are influenced by a combination of modifiable (e.g., diet, physical inactivity, smoking) and non‑modifiable (e.g., age, sex, genetic background) risk factors. genetic variation, in particular, plays an important role in differentiating individuals at high and low risk, enabling more precise and targeted prevention strategies. as precision medicine advances, artificial intelligence (ai) and data‑driven approaches offer powerful tools for integrating genetic, environmental, and lifestyle information to better predict disease risk and improve population health outcomes.this umbrella project brings together a series of phd opportunities focused on applying ai‑enabled precision‑medicine approaches to understand how genetic and environmental factors, such as alcohol consumption, smoking, mental‑health‑related exposures, and other lifestyle variables, contribute to cardiovascular diseases. using data from the uk biobank comprising 500,000 participants, students will employ statistical and machine‑learning methods to conduct advanced analyses at scale. (genetic) epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases big data genome-wide association studies genetic risk scores mendelian randomization machine learning dr. raha pazoki’s research focuses on health data science with a strong emphasis on cardiometabolic and ageing-related diseases. her work integrates genomics, epidemiology, and artificial intelligence to uncover genetic and environmental determinants of conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, liver dysfunction, and cardiovascular disease. she was the first to identify 517 novel genetic loci linked to liver enzymes and demonstrated their causal role in heart disease. using mendelian randomization, she clarifies causal pathways between biomarkers (e.g., liver enzymes, lipid levels) and age-related conditions, improving understanding of how genetic predispositions interact with lifestyle factors like diet, alcohol, and physical activity. her studies also show that lifestyle interventions, such as exercise, can mitigate genetic risk, offering actionable insights for prevention and healthy ageing. the impact of her work spans clinical and societal domains. clinically, she advances precision medicine by integrating genetic risk scores with lifestyle and clinical data to enable personalized treatment strategies, particularly for ageing populations with complex health profiles. her research supports early detection of stroke, liver cirrhosis, and metabolic syndrome, and informs screening guidelines for at-risk individuals. societally, her findings guide public health campaigns promoting healthy behaviours tailored to genetic risk, reduce health inequities through inclusive genomic research, and leverage ai to predict health outcomes in ageing populations. by bridging big data with clinical practice, dr. pazoki’s work not only addresses global challenges in cardiometabolic and ageing diseases but also shapes the future of personalized medicine, prevention strategies, and wellbeing across diverse populations. scorll down this page for full detail of her research. dr paozki is a founder and director of the cardiovascular and metabolic research group hosting researchers and academics across brunel university with direct or indirect research interest involving cardiometabolic aetiology, prevention, and health. we work in various areas to identify causes of cardiometabolic diseases (environmental, lifestyle, molecular, and clinical) and provide insight into how they interplay. we use the information for better prevention of cardiometabolic diseases in the community. if you are a msc graduates (with upper second class degree or higher) in the relevant field to the above research area, please contact dr raha pazoki (raha.pazoki@brunel.ac.uk). postgraduate fees and funding | brunel university london or scholarships and bursaries | brunel university london and other funding | brunel university london selected list of publications by dr raha pazoki karkia, r., maccarthy, g., payne, a., karteris, e., pazoki, r., & chatterjee, j. (n.d.). the association between metabolic syndrome and the risk of endometrial cancer in pre- and post-menopausal women: a uk biobank study. journal of clinical medicine, 14(3), 751. doi:10.3390/jcm14030751 hezekiah, c., & pazoki, r. (2024). physical activity and favourable adiposity genetic liability reduce the risk of hypertension among high body mass individuals. doi:10.1101/2024.12.18.24319295 maccarthy, g., & pazoki, r. (2024). using machine learning to evaluate the value of genetic liabilities in the classification of hypertension within the uk biobank. journal of clinical medicine, 13(10), 1-20. doi:10.3390/jcm13102955 hezekiah, c., blakemore, a. i., bailey, d. p., & pazoki, r. (2024). physical activity alters the effect of genetic determinants of adiposity on hypertension among individuals of european ancestry in the ukb. scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports, 34(5), 1-13. doi:10.1111/sms.14636 o’farrell, f., aleyakpo, b., mustafa, r., jiang, x., pinto, r. c., elliott, p., . . . pazoki, r. (2023). evidence for involvement of the alcohol consumption wdpcp gene in lipid metabolism, and liver cirrhosis. scientific reports, 13(1), 1-13. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-47371-7 hezekiah, c., blakemore, a. i., bailey, d. p., & pazoki, r. (2023). physical activity reduces the effect of adiposity genetic liability on hypertension risk in the uk biobank cohort. doi:10.1101/2023.09.22.23295992 roa-díaz, z. m., teuscher, j., gamba, m., bundo, m., grisotto, g., wehrli, f., . . . muka, t. (2022). gene-diet interactions and cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review of observational and clinical trials. bmc cardiovascular disorders, 22(1), 1-22. doi:10.1186/s12872-022-02808-1 o'farrell, f., jiang, x., aljifri, s., & pazoki, r. (2022). molecular alterations caused by alcohol consumption in the uk biobank: a mendelian randomisation study. nutrients, 14(14), 1-14. doi:10.3390/nu14142943 jiang, x., anasanti, m. d., drenos, f., blakemore, a. i., & pazoki, r. (2022). urinary sodium excretion enhances the effect of alcohol on blood pressure. healthcare, 10(7), 1-13. doi:10.3390/healthcare10071296 jiang, x., anasanti, m., drenos, f., blakemore, a., & pazoki, r. (2022). urinary sodium excretion enhances the effect of alcohol on blood pressure. doi:10.20944/preprints202205.0385.v1 said, s., pazoki, r., karhunen, v., võsa, u., ligthart, s., bodinier, b., . . . dehghan, a. (2022). genetic analysis of over half a million people characterises c-reactive protein loci. nature communications, 13(1), 1-10. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-29650-5 roa-díaz, z. m., asllanaj, e., amin, h. a., rojas, l. z., nano, j., ikram, m. a., . . . muka, t. (2021). age at natural menopause and blood pressure traits: mendelian randomization study. journal of clinical medicine, 10(19), 1-13. doi:10.3390/jcm10194299 jiang, x., gao, h., elliott, p., & pazoki, r. (2022). percentage of explained variance in alcohol consumption by genetic risk score in the uk biobank. in european journal of human genetics vol. 30 (pp. 528-529). online. doi:10.1038/s41431-021-01026-1 evangelou, e., suzuki, h., bai, w., pazoki, r., gao, h., matthews, p. m., & elliott, p. (2021). alcohol consumption in the general population is associated with structural changes in multiple organ systems. elife, 10. doi:10.7554/elife.65325 pazoki, r., vujkovic, m., elliott, j., evangelou, e., gill, d., mohsen, g., . . . elliott, p. (2021). genetic analysis in european ancestry individuals identifies 517 loci associated with liver enzymes. nature communications, 12, 1-12. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-22338-2 pazoki, r., lin, b. d., van eijk, k. r., schijven, d., de zwarte, s., guloksuz, s., & luykx, j. j. (2020). phenome-wide and genome-wide analyses of quality of life in schizophrenia. bjpsych open, 7(1), 1-7. doi:10.1192/bjo.2020.140 cabrera, c. p., pazoki, r., giri, a., hellwege, j. n., evangelou, e., ramirez, j., . . . warren, h. r. (2020). multi-trait genome-wide association analysis of blood pressure identifies 45 additional loci. in european journal of human genetics vol. 28 (pp. 105). virtual conference. doi:10.1038/s41431-020-00740-6 elliott, p., muller, d. c., schneider-luftman, d., pazoki, r., evangelou, e., dehghan, a., . . . tzoulaki, i. (2020). estimated 24-hour urinary sodium excretion and incident cardiovascular disease and mortality among 398628 individuals in uk biobank. hypertension, 76(3), 683-691. doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.119.14302 robinson, o., chadeau hyam, m., karaman, i., climaco pinto, r., ala-korpela, m., handakas, e., . . . vineis, p. (2020). determinants of accelerated metabolomic and epigenetic aging in a uk cohort. aging cell, 19(6), 1-13. doi:10.1111/acel.13149 schmidt, a. f., holmes, m. v., preiss, d., swerdlow, d. i., denaxas, s., fatemifar, g., . . . dehghan, a. (2019). phenome-wide association analysis of ldl-cholesterol lowering genetic variants in pcsk9. bmc cardiovascular disorders, 19(1). doi:10.1186/s12872-019-1187-z pazoki, r., lin, b. d., van eijk, k. r., schijven, d., guloksuz, s., & luykx, j. j. (2019). phenome-wide and genome-wide analyses of quality of life in schizophrenia. biorxiv, preprint. doi:10.1101/744045 pazoki, r., evangelou, e., mosen-ansorena, d., pinto, r., karaman, i., blakeley, p., . . . dehghan, a. (2019). pathways underlying urinary sodium and potassium excretion and the link to blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. in journal of hypertension vol. 37 (pp. e74). ovid technologies (wolters kluwer health). doi:10.1097/01.hjh.0000571108.82708.c0 pazoki, r., evangelou, e., mosen-ansorena, d., pinto, r. c., karaman, i., blakeley, p., . . . dehghan, a. (2019). gwas for urinary sodium and potassium excretion highlights pathways shared with cardiovascular traits. nature communications, 10(1), 1-11. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-11451-y evangelou, e., gao, h., chu, c., ntritsos, g., blakeley, p., butts, a. r., . . . elliott, p. (2019). new alcohol-related genes suggest shared genetic mechanisms with neuropsychiatric disorders. nature human behaviour, 3(9), 950-961. doi:10.1038/s41562-019-0653-z luykx, j., pazoki, r., lin, b., guloksuz, s., schijven, d., van eijk, k., & group collaborators. (2019). t168. phenome-wide and genome-wide analyses of quality of life in patients with psychosis. in biological psychiatry vol. 85 (pp. s194). elsevier bv. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.03.491 pazoki, r. (2019). cardiovascular disease, abo locus, and markers of platelet functionality. international journal of cardiology, 286(1 july 2019), 162-163. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2019.03.061 de vries, p. s., brown, m. r., bentley, a. r., sung, y. j., winkler, t. w., ntalla, i., . . . giulianini, f. (2019). multiancestry genome-wide association study of lipid levels incorporating gene-alcohol interactions. american journal of epidemiology, 188(6), 1033-1054. doi:10.1093/aje/kwz005 robinson, o., hyam, m. c., karaman, i., pinto, r. c., fiorito, g., gao, h., . . . vineis, p. (2018). determinants of accelerated metabolomic and epigenetic ageing in a uk cohort. biorxiv, preprint. doi:10.1101/411603 kilpeläinen, t. o., bentley, a. r., noordam, r., sung, y. j., schwander, k., winkler, t. w., . . . krieger, j. e. (2019). multi-ancestry study of blood lipid levels identifies four loci interacting with physical activity. nature communications, 10(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-018-08008-w ashar, f. n., mitchell, r. n., albert, c. m., newton-cheh, c., brody, j. a., müller-nurasyid, m., . . . sotoodehnia, n. (2018). a comprehensive evaluation of the genetic architecture of sudden cardiac arrest. european heart journal, 39(44), 3961-3969. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehy474 evangelou, e., warren, h. r., mosen-ansorena, d., mifsud, b., pazoki, r., gao, h., . . . gandin, i. (2018). genetic analysis of over 1 million people identifies 535 new loci associated with blood pressure traits. nature genetics, 50(10), 1412-1425. doi:10.1038/s41588-018-0205-x davies, g., lam, m., harris, s. e., trampush, j. w., luciano, m., hill, w. d., . . . kleineidam, l. (2018). study of 300,486 individuals identifies 148 independent genetic loci influencing general cognitive function. nature communications, 9(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-018-04362-x pazoki, r., dehghan, a., evangelou, e., warren, h., gao, h., caulfield, m., . . . tzoulaki, i. (2018). genetic predisposition to high blood pressure and lifestyle factors: associations with midlife blood pressure levels and cardiovascular events. in circulation vol. 137 (pp. 653-661). doi:10.1161/circulationaha.117.030898 pazoki, r. (2018). methods for polygenic traits. international journal of cardiology, 1793, 145-156. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-7868-7_10 code and academic year title level credits % teaching contribution bb3711-2022/3 introduction to epidemiology and disease prevention (block leading and delivery) 6 20 95 bb3711-2023/4 introduction to epidemiology and disease prevention (block leading and delivery) 6 20 100 bb3711-2024/5 introduction to epidemiology and disease prevention (block leading and delivery) 6 20 100 bb3804-2023/4 synoptic examinations 3 (leading and marking) 6 20 75 bb3804-2024/5 synoptic examinations 3 (leading and marking) 6 20 75 bb3804-2021/22 synoptic examination 3 (marking, cross moderating) 6 20 5 bb1719-2021/22 introduction to data analysis (leading, delivering, marking) 4 20 90 bb3091-2021/22 final year project (leading, delivering, marking) 6 40 50 bb3091-2022/23 final year project (support of leading, marking, delivering, supervision) 6 40 20 bb3091-2023/24 final year project (marking, delivering, supervision) 6 40 6 bb3091-2024/25 final year project (marking, delivering, supervision) 6 40 6 bb3803-2022/23 biomedical sciences examinations 3 (marking, question design) 6 20 20 bb3803-2023/24 biomedical sciences examinations 3 (marking, question design) 6 20 20 bb3803-2024/25 biomedical sciences examinations 3 (marking, question design) 6 20 20 bb1804-2023/24 practical skills 3: molecular analysis (marking) 4 20 20 bb1804-2022/23 practical skills 3: molecular analysis (marking) 4 20 20 bb2710-2021/22 analytical biochemistry (moderation) 5 20 3 bb2709-2021/22 genetics, genomics and human health 5 20 15 bb2709-2024/5 genetics, genomics and human health 5 20 15 bb3801-2022/3 scientific communication -essay (coursework design & delivery, marking) 6 20 20 bb3801-2023/4 scientific communication -essay (coursework design & delivery, marking) 6 20 20 bb3801-2024/5 scientific communication -essay (coursework design & delivery, marking) 6 20 20 bb2801-2021/22 career skills 5 20 5 bb2555-2022/23 placement 5 20 5 bb2555-2023/24 placement 5 20 5 bb2555-2021/22 placement 5 20 5 bb1801a-2023/24 research and communication skills - presentation 4 20 3 bb1801a-2024/25 research and communication skills - presentation 4 20 3 bb1801c-2023/24 research and communication skills - portfolio 4 20 3 bb1806-2023/24 synoptic examination 1 (marking) 4 20 3 bb1806-2022/23 synoptic examination 1 (marking) 4 20 3 bb2802-2021/22 primary literature interrogation and synthesis (supervision, marking) 5 20 3 bb2802-2022/23 primary literature interrogation and synthesis (supervision, marking) 5 20 3 bb2802-2023/24 primary literature interrogation and synthesis (supervision, marking) 5 20 3 bb2804-2023/24 data analysis, interpretation and presentation (poster, marking) 5 20 3 bb2804-2021/22 data analysis, interpretation and presentation (poster, marking) 5 20 3 bb2805-2021/22 biomedical sciences examinations 2 (moderation) 5 20 3 bb2805-2022/23 biomedical sciences examinations 2 (moderation) 5 20 3 bb2805-2023/24 biomedical sciences examinations 2 (moderation) 5 20 3 bb3801-2021/22 scientific communication – presentation (marking) 6 20 3 bb3801b (term 1)-2022/23 scientific communication – presentation (marking) 6 20 3 bb3801b (term 1)-2023/24 scientific communication – presentation (marking) 6 20 3 bb3802b (term 2)-2023/24 problem solving and data analysis – reflection (marking) 6 20 3 bb3802b (term 2)-2022/23 problem solving and data analysis – reflection (marking) 6 20 3 bb1801a-2022/23 research and communication skills - presentation 4 20 3 bb1801-2021/22 research and communication skills - presentation 4 20 3 pgt modules: code and academic year title credits core/option (c/o) module leader (y/n) % teaching contribution (excluding pgt dissertation supervision) bb5716-2024/2025 vaccines and treatment for infection and inflammation 7 20 n 10 bb5716-2023/2024 vaccines and treatment for infection and inflammation 7 20 n 10 bb5713-2022/2023 radiation, toxicology and pollution 7 20 n 10 bb5713-2021/2022 radiation, toxicology and pollution 7 20 n 10 bb5804-2024/25 scientific communication 7 20 n 10 bb5804-2021/22 scientific communication 7 20 n 10 pgt dissertation supervision: code and academic year title number primary supervisions number of secondary supervisions 2024/25-bb5604 mendelian randomisation study of lipid levels on alcohol consumption using mr-base 1 0 2022/23-bb5604 genetic risk score of alcohol consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes 1 0

Dr Raha Pazoki

Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences

Raha Pazok MD PhD FHEA is a medical doctor and an epidemiologist. She studied Epidemiology at the Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences (NIHES) and in the University of Amsterdam. She worked with various cohort and case control studies such as the Arrhythmia Genetics in the Netherlands (AGNES), the Rotterdam Study, the Airwave Health Monitoring Study and the UK Bio bank. In 2016, she joined the Department of Epidemiology and Bio-statistics at Imperial College London as a Research Associate. In 2020, she started a Teaching & Research academic position at Brunel University London. Dr Pazoki specializes in the field of health data research, with a primary focus on the epidemiology of cardiometabolic diseases. She holds a particular interest in exploring causal inference and precision medicine by leveraging genomics and extensive health data sets with sample sizes exceeding 500,000 individuals. Her expertise spans various domains, including precision medicine, global health, interventions, and the application of artificial intelligence for predicting health outcomes. She harbors a keen interest in identification of the relationship between circulating molecules and biomarkers, nutrition, lifestyle choices, genetic factors, and their collective contribution to the modulation of health risk factors and outcomes. She was the first to identify 517 novel genetic loci associated with liver enzymes and the first to show the causal effect of liver dysfunction on cardiovascular diseases. In addition, she is the first to show the effect of the alcohol consumption WDPCP gene in lipid metabolism, and liver cirrhosis. Available PhD projects: Exploring artificial Intelligence for precision medicine, focusing on the interplay between gene and environemnt Cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke, remain the leading causes of mortality worldwide and their prevalence continues to rise. These conditions are influenced by a combination of modifiable (e.g., diet, physical inactivity, smoking) and non‑modifiable (e.g., age, sex, genetic background) risk factors. Genetic variation, in particular, plays an important role in differentiating individuals at high and low risk, enabling more precise and targeted prevention strategies. As precision medicine advances, artificial intelligence (AI) and data‑driven approaches offer powerful tools for integrating genetic, environmental, and lifestyle information to better predict disease risk and improve population health outcomes.This umbrella project brings together a series of PhD opportunities focused on applying AI‑enabled precision‑medicine approaches to understand how genetic and environmental factors, such as alcohol consumption, smoking, mental‑health‑related exposures, and other lifestyle variables, contribute to cardiovascular diseases. Using data from the UK Biobank comprising 500,000 participants, students will employ statistical and machine‑learning methods to conduct advanced analyses at scale. (Genetic) Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Diseases Big Data Genome-wide Association Studies Genetic risk scores Mendelian Randomization Machine Learning Dr. Raha Pazoki’s research focuses on health data science with a strong emphasis on cardiometabolic and ageing-related diseases. Her work integrates genomics, epidemiology, and artificial intelligence to uncover genetic and environmental determinants of conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, liver dysfunction, and cardiovascular disease. She was the first to identify 517 novel genetic loci linked to liver enzymes and demonstrated their causal role in heart disease. Using Mendelian randomization, she clarifies causal pathways between biomarkers (e.g., liver enzymes, lipid levels) and age-related conditions, improving understanding of how genetic predispositions interact with lifestyle factors like diet, alcohol, and physical activity. Her studies also show that lifestyle interventions, such as exercise, can mitigate genetic risk, offering actionable insights for prevention and healthy ageing. The impact of her work spans clinical and societal domains. Clinically, she advances precision medicine by integrating genetic risk scores with lifestyle and clinical data to enable personalized treatment strategies, particularly for ageing populations with complex health profiles. Her research supports early detection of stroke, liver cirrhosis, and metabolic syndrome, and informs screening guidelines for at-risk individuals. Societally, her findings guide public health campaigns promoting healthy behaviours tailored to genetic risk, reduce health inequities through inclusive genomic research, and leverage AI to predict health outcomes in ageing populations. By bridging big data with clinical practice, Dr. Pazoki’s work not only addresses global challenges in cardiometabolic and ageing diseases but also shapes the future of personalized medicine, prevention strategies, and wellbeing across diverse populations. Scorll down this page for full detail of her research. Dr Paozki is a founder and director of the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research Group hosting researchers and academics across Brunel university with direct or indirect research interest involving cardiometabolic aetiology, prevention, and health. We work in various areas to identify causes of cardiometabolic diseases (environmental, lifestyle, molecular, and clinical) and provide insight into how they interplay. We use the information for better prevention of cardiometabolic diseases in the community. If you are a MSc graduates (with upper second class degree or higher) in the relevant field to the above research area, please contact Dr Raha Pazoki (raha.pazoki@brunel.ac.uk). Postgraduate fees and funding | Brunel University London or Scholarships and Bursaries | Brunel University London and Other funding | Brunel University London Selected list of publications by Dr Raha Pazoki Karkia, R., Maccarthy, G., Payne, A., Karteris, E., Pazoki, R., & Chatterjee, J. (n.d.). The Association Between Metabolic Syndrome and the Risk of Endometrial Cancer in Pre- and Post-Menopausal Women: A UK Biobank Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(3), 751. doi:10.3390/jcm14030751 Hezekiah, C., & Pazoki, R. (2024). Physical activity and favourable adiposity genetic liability reduce the risk of hypertension among high body mass individuals. doi:10.1101/2024.12.18.24319295 MacCarthy, G., & Pazoki, R. (2024). Using Machine Learning to Evaluate the Value of Genetic Liabilities in the Classification of Hypertension within the UK Biobank. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(10), 1-20. doi:10.3390/jcm13102955 Hezekiah, C., Blakemore, A. I., Bailey, D. P., & Pazoki, R. (2024). Physical activity alters the effect of genetic determinants of adiposity on hypertension among individuals of European ancestry in the UKB. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 34(5), 1-13. doi:10.1111/sms.14636 O’Farrell, F., Aleyakpo, B., Mustafa, R., Jiang, X., Pinto, R. C., Elliott, P., . . . Pazoki, R. (2023). Evidence for involvement of the alcohol consumption WDPCP gene in lipid metabolism, and liver cirrhosis. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 1-13. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-47371-7 Hezekiah, C., Blakemore, A. I., Bailey, D. P., & Pazoki, R. (2023). Physical activity reduces the effect of adiposity genetic liability on hypertension risk in the UK Biobank cohort. doi:10.1101/2023.09.22.23295992 Roa-Díaz, Z. M., Teuscher, J., Gamba, M., Bundo, M., Grisotto, G., Wehrli, F., . . . Muka, T. (2022). Gene-diet interactions and cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review of observational and clinical trials. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 22(1), 1-22. doi:10.1186/s12872-022-02808-1 O'Farrell, F., Jiang, X., Aljifri, S., & Pazoki, R. (2022). Molecular Alterations Caused by Alcohol Consumption in the UK Biobank: A Mendelian Randomisation Study. Nutrients, 14(14), 1-14. doi:10.3390/nu14142943 Jiang, X., Anasanti, M. D., Drenos, F., Blakemore, A. I., & Pazoki, R. (2022). Urinary Sodium Excretion Enhances the Effect of Alcohol on Blood Pressure. Healthcare, 10(7), 1-13. doi:10.3390/healthcare10071296 Jiang, X., Anasanti, M., Drenos, F., Blakemore, A., & Pazoki, R. (2022). Urinary Sodium Excretion Enhances the Effect of Alcohol on Blood Pressure. doi:10.20944/preprints202205.0385.v1 Said, S., Pazoki, R., Karhunen, V., Võsa, U., Ligthart, S., Bodinier, B., . . . Dehghan, A. (2022). Genetic analysis of over half a million people characterises C-reactive protein loci. Nature Communications, 13(1), 1-10. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-29650-5 Roa-Díaz, Z. M., Asllanaj, E., Amin, H. A., Rojas, L. Z., Nano, J., Ikram, M. A., . . . Muka, T. (2021). Age at natural menopause and blood pressure traits: Mendelian randomization study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 10(19), 1-13. doi:10.3390/jcm10194299 Jiang, X., Gao, H., Elliott, P., & Pazoki, R. (2022). Percentage of explained variance in alcohol consumption by genetic risk score in the UK Biobank. In EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS Vol. 30 (pp. 528-529). Online. doi:10.1038/s41431-021-01026-1 Evangelou, E., Suzuki, H., Bai, W., Pazoki, R., Gao, H., Matthews, P. M., & Elliott, P. (2021). Alcohol consumption in the general population is associated with structural changes in multiple organ systems. eLife, 10. doi:10.7554/eLife.65325 Pazoki, R., Vujkovic, M., Elliott, J., Evangelou, E., Gill, D., Mohsen, G., . . . elliott, P. (2021). Genetic analysis in European ancestry individuals identifies 517 loci associated with liver enzymes. Nature Communications, 12, 1-12. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-22338-2 Pazoki, R., Lin, B. D., van Eijk, K. R., Schijven, D., de Zwarte, S., Guloksuz, S., & Luykx, J. J. (2020). Phenome-wide and genome-wide analyses of quality of life in schizophrenia. BJPsych Open, 7(1), 1-7. doi:10.1192/bjo.2020.140 Cabrera, C. P., Pazoki, R., Giri, A., Hellwege, J. N., Evangelou, E., Ramirez, J., . . . Warren, H. R. (2020). Multi-trait genome-wide association analysis of blood pressure identifies 45 additional loci. In EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS Vol. 28 (pp. 105). Virtual Conference. doi:10.1038/s41431-020-00740-6 Elliott, P., Muller, D. C., Schneider-Luftman, D., Pazoki, R., Evangelou, E., Dehghan, A., . . . Tzoulaki, I. (2020). Estimated 24-Hour Urinary Sodium Excretion and Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality among 398628 Individuals in UK Biobank. Hypertension, 76(3), 683-691. doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.119.14302 Robinson, O., Chadeau Hyam, M., Karaman, I., Climaco Pinto, R., Ala-Korpela, M., Handakas, E., . . . Vineis, P. (2020). Determinants of accelerated metabolomic and epigenetic aging in a UK cohort. Aging Cell, 19(6), 1-13. doi:10.1111/acel.13149 Schmidt, A. F., Holmes, M. V., Preiss, D., Swerdlow, D. I., Denaxas, S., Fatemifar, G., . . . Dehghan, A. (2019). Phenome-wide association analysis of LDL-cholesterol lowering genetic variants in PCSK9. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 19(1). doi:10.1186/s12872-019-1187-z Pazoki, R., Lin, B. D., van Eijk, K. R., Schijven, D., Guloksuz, S., & Luykx, J. J. (2019). Phenome-wide and Genome-wide Analyses of Quality of Life in Schizophrenia. bioRxiv, preprint. doi:10.1101/744045 Pazoki, R., Evangelou, E., Mosen-Ansorena, D., Pinto, R., Karaman, I., Blakeley, P., . . . Dehghan, A. (2019). PATHWAYS UNDERLYING URINARY SODIUM AND POTASSIUM EXCRETION AND THE LINK TO BLOOD PRESSURE AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. In Journal of Hypertension Vol. 37 (pp. e74). Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). doi:10.1097/01.hjh.0000571108.82708.c0 Pazoki, R., Evangelou, E., Mosen-Ansorena, D., Pinto, R. C., Karaman, I., Blakeley, P., . . . Dehghan, A. (2019). GWAS for urinary sodium and potassium excretion highlights pathways shared with cardiovascular traits. Nature Communications, 10(1), 1-11. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-11451-y Evangelou, E., Gao, H., Chu, C., Ntritsos, G., Blakeley, P., Butts, A. R., . . . Elliott, P. (2019). New alcohol-related genes suggest shared genetic mechanisms with neuropsychiatric disorders. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(9), 950-961. doi:10.1038/s41562-019-0653-z Luykx, J., Pazoki, R., Lin, B., Guloksuz, S., Schijven, D., van Eijk, K., & GROUP collaborators. (2019). T168. Phenome-Wide and Genome-Wide Analyses of Quality of Life in Patients With Psychosis. In Biological Psychiatry Vol. 85 (pp. S194). Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.03.491 Pazoki, R. (2019). Cardiovascular disease, ABO locus, and markers of platelet functionality. International Journal of Cardiology, 286(1 July 2019), 162-163. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2019.03.061 De Vries, P. S., Brown, M. R., Bentley, A. R., Sung, Y. J., Winkler, T. W., Ntalla, I., . . . Giulianini, F. (2019). Multiancestry Genome-Wide Association Study of Lipid Levels Incorporating Gene-Alcohol Interactions. American Journal of Epidemiology, 188(6), 1033-1054. doi:10.1093/aje/kwz005 Robinson, O., Hyam, M. C., Karaman, I., Pinto, R. C., Fiorito, G., Gao, H., . . . Vineis, P. (2018). Determinants of accelerated metabolomic and epigenetic ageing in a UK cohort. bioRxiv, preprint. doi:10.1101/411603 Kilpeläinen, T. O., Bentley, A. R., Noordam, R., Sung, Y. J., Schwander, K., Winkler, T. W., . . . Krieger, J. E. (2019). Multi-ancestry study of blood lipid levels identifies four loci interacting with physical activity. Nature Communications, 10(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-018-08008-w Ashar, F. N., Mitchell, R. N., Albert, C. M., Newton-Cheh, C., Brody, J. A., Müller-Nurasyid, M., . . . Sotoodehnia, N. (2018). A comprehensive evaluation of the genetic architecture of sudden cardiac arrest. European Heart Journal, 39(44), 3961-3969. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehy474 Evangelou, E., Warren, H. R., Mosen-Ansorena, D., Mifsud, B., Pazoki, R., Gao, H., . . . Gandin, I. (2018). Genetic analysis of over 1 million people identifies 535 new loci associated with blood pressure traits. Nature Genetics, 50(10), 1412-1425. doi:10.1038/s41588-018-0205-x Davies, G., Lam, M., Harris, S. E., Trampush, J. W., Luciano, M., Hill, W. D., . . . Kleineidam, L. (2018). Study of 300,486 individuals identifies 148 independent genetic loci influencing general cognitive function. Nature Communications, 9(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-018-04362-x Pazoki, R., Dehghan, A., Evangelou, E., Warren, H., Gao, H., Caulfield, M., . . . Tzoulaki, I. (2018). Genetic predisposition to high blood pressure and lifestyle factors: Associations with midlife blood pressure levels and cardiovascular events. In Circulation Vol. 137 (pp. 653-661). doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.030898 Pazoki, R. (2018). Methods for polygenic traits. International journal of cardiology, 1793, 145-156. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-7868-7_10 Code and Academic Year Title Level Credits % teaching contribution BB3711-2022/3 Introduction to Epidemiology and Disease Prevention (Block leading and delivery) 6 20 95 BB3711-2023/4 Introduction to Epidemiology and Disease Prevention (Block leading and delivery) 6 20 100 BB3711-2024/5 Introduction to Epidemiology and Disease Prevention (Block leading and delivery) 6 20 100 BB3804-2023/4 Synoptic Examinations 3 (Leading and marking) 6 20 75 BB3804-2024/5 Synoptic Examinations 3 (Leading and marking) 6 20 75 BB3804-2021/22 Synoptic Examination 3 (marking, cross moderating) 6 20 5 BB1719-2021/22 Introduction to Data Analysis (Leading, delivering, marking) 4 20 90 BB3091-2021/22 Final Year Project (Leading, delivering, marking) 6 40 50 BB3091-2022/23 Final Year Project (support of leading, marking, delivering, supervision) 6 40 20 BB3091-2023/24 Final Year Project (marking, delivering, supervision) 6 40 6 BB3091-2024/25 Final Year Project (marking, delivering, supervision) 6 40 6 BB3803-2022/23 Biomedical Sciences Examinations 3 (marking, question design) 6 20 20 BB3803-2023/24 Biomedical Sciences Examinations 3 (marking, question design) 6 20 20 BB3803-2024/25 Biomedical Sciences Examinations 3 (marking, question design) 6 20 20 BB1804-2023/24 Practical Skills 3: Molecular Analysis (marking) 4 20 20 BB1804-2022/23 Practical Skills 3: Molecular Analysis (marking) 4 20 20 BB2710-2021/22 Analytical Biochemistry (moderation) 5 20 3 BB2709-2021/22 Genetics, Genomics and Human Health 5 20 15 BB2709-2024/5 Genetics, Genomics and Human Health 5 20 15 BB3801-2022/3 Scientific Communication -Essay (Coursework design & delivery, marking) 6 20 20 BB3801-2023/4 Scientific Communication -Essay (Coursework design & delivery, marking) 6 20 20 BB3801-2024/5 Scientific Communication -Essay (Coursework design & delivery, marking) 6 20 20 BB2801-2021/22 Career Skills 5 20 5 BB2555-2022/23 Placement 5 20 5 BB2555-2023/24 Placement 5 20 5 BB2555-2021/22 Placement 5 20 5 BB1801a-2023/24 Research and Communication Skills - Presentation 4 20 3 BB1801a-2024/25 Research and Communication Skills - Presentation 4 20 3 BB1801c-2023/24 Research and Communication Skills - Portfolio 4 20 3 BB1806-2023/24 Synoptic Examination 1 (marking) 4 20 3 BB1806-2022/23 Synoptic Examination 1 (marking) 4 20 3 BB2802-2021/22 Primary Literature Interrogation and Synthesis (supervision, marking) 5 20 3 BB2802-2022/23 Primary Literature Interrogation and Synthesis (supervision, marking) 5 20 3 BB2802-2023/24 Primary Literature Interrogation and Synthesis (supervision, marking) 5 20 3 BB2804-2023/24 Data Analysis, Interpretation and Presentation (poster, marking) 5 20 3 BB2804-2021/22 Data Analysis, Interpretation and Presentation (poster, marking) 5 20 3 BB2805-2021/22 Biomedical Sciences Examinations 2 (moderation) 5 20 3 BB2805-2022/23 Biomedical Sciences Examinations 2 (moderation) 5 20 3 BB2805-2023/24 Biomedical Sciences Examinations 2 (moderation) 5 20 3 BB3801-2021/22 Scientific Communication – Presentation (marking) 6 20 3 BB3801b (term 1)-2022/23 Scientific Communication – Presentation (marking) 6 20 3 BB3801b (term 1)-2023/24 Scientific Communication – Presentation (marking) 6 20 3 BB3802b (term 2)-2023/24 Problem Solving and Data Analysis – Reflection (marking) 6 20 3 BB3802b (term 2)-2022/23 Problem Solving and Data Analysis – Reflection (marking) 6 20 3 BB1801a-2022/23 Research and Communication Skills - Presentation 4 20 3 BB1801-2021/22 Research and Communication Skills - Presentation 4 20 3 PGT Modules: Code and Academic Year Title Credits Core/Option (C/O) Module leader (Y/N) % teaching Contribution (excluding PGT dissertation supervision) BB5716-2024/2025 Vaccines and Treatment for Infection and Inflammation 7 20 N 10 BB5716-2023/2024 Vaccines and Treatment for Infection and Inflammation 7 20 N 10 BB5713-2022/2023 Radiation, Toxicology and Pollution 7 20 N 10 BB5713-2021/2022 Radiation, Toxicology and Pollution 7 20 N 10 BB5804-2024/25 Scientific Communication 7 20 N 10 BB5804-2021/22 Scientific Communication 7 20 N 10 PGT Dissertation Supervision: Code and Academic Year Title Number Primary supervisions Number of Secondary supervisions 2024/25-BB5604 Mendelian Randomisation study of lipid levels on alcohol consumption using MR-Base 1 0 2022/23-BB5604 Genetic Risk score of Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes 1 0

jackie read physiological sciences at the university of oxford, followed by an msc in the immunology of infectious diseases at the london school of hygiene & tropical medicine. she then moved to the national institute for medical research for her phd, where she investigated the role of cytokines in b cell activation and differentiation with dr gerry klaus. jackie worked with prof hazel dockrell at lshtm (1999-2022), mainly studying immune responses in tuberculosis and how these could be utilised to assess responses to antibiotic treatment. more recently, her research has also encompassed comorbidities such as diabetes in tuberculosis, and expanded to include the role of the infection and immunity in myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome. jackie joined brunel university in march 2022, combining her research in the biosciences division with her teaching within the medical school. myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome long covid tuberculosis type 2 diabetes treatment-response biomarkers jackie’s main research interests are in infectious diseases, and particularly how chronic conditions affect immune responses to pathogens. a substantial part of jackie’s research has been investigating immune responses in people with tuberculosis, and specifically how altered blood gene expression can be utilised for tuberculosis diagnosis and drug treatment monitoring: this is beneficial for clinical management and for the development of new drugs. in a multicentre study, her research group also found that people with type 2 diabetes have excessive inflammatory responses in tuberculosis but suppressed specific protective immune responses, which may underpin their recognised enhanced susceptibility to tuberculosis disease. we are currently using macrophage in vitro models to further understand protective immunity to mycobacterium tuberculosis, and how this is affected in diabetes. this could lead to host-directed therapy in this group of people, alongside conventional antibiotic treatment. jackie has also been investigating immunological changes in people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (me/cfs), a poorly understood condition estimated to affect around 125,000 people in the uk, often leading to severe disability. it is frequently triggered by viral infection, and there are substantial overlaps in symptomology with people with long covid, including severe fatigue, post-exertional symptom exacerbation and brain fog. we have found alterations in the t cell compartment in people with me/cfs, and also preliminary evidence of enhanced reactivation of some human herpesviruses, which are highly prevalent in the adult population but usually well-controlled. medicine mbbs academic lead year 2 student selected component medicine mbbs academic content expert immunology y1 and y2 medicine mbbs house tutor – elizabeth garrett anderson

Dr Jacqueline Cliff

Senior Lecturer in Biosciences

Jackie read Physiological Sciences at the University of Oxford, followed by an MSc in the Immunology of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She then moved to the National Institute for Medical Research for her PhD, where she investigated the role of cytokines in B cell activation and differentiation with Dr Gerry Klaus. Jackie worked with Prof Hazel Dockrell at LSHTM (1999-2022), mainly studying immune responses in tuberculosis and how these could be utilised to assess responses to antibiotic treatment. More recently, her research has also encompassed comorbidities such as diabetes in tuberculosis, and expanded to include the role of the infection and immunity in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Jackie joined Brunel University in March 2022, combining her research in the Biosciences Division with her teaching within the Medical School. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Long COVID Tuberculosis Type 2 diabetes Treatment-response Biomarkers Jackie’s main research interests are in infectious diseases, and particularly how chronic conditions affect immune responses to pathogens. A substantial part of Jackie’s research has been investigating immune responses in people with tuberculosis, and specifically how altered blood gene expression can be utilised for tuberculosis diagnosis and drug treatment monitoring: this is beneficial for clinical management and for the development of new drugs. In a multicentre study, her research group also found that people with type 2 diabetes have excessive inflammatory responses in tuberculosis but suppressed specific protective immune responses, which may underpin their recognised enhanced susceptibility to tuberculosis disease. We are currently using macrophage in vitro models to further understand protective immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and how this is affected in diabetes. This could lead to host-directed therapy in this group of people, alongside conventional antibiotic treatment. Jackie has also been investigating immunological changes in people living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), a poorly understood condition estimated to affect around 125,000 people in the UK, often leading to severe disability. It is frequently triggered by viral infection, and there are substantial overlaps in symptomology with people with Long COVID, including severe fatigue, post-exertional symptom exacerbation and brain fog. We have found alterations in the T cell compartment in people with ME/CFS, and also preliminary evidence of enhanced reactivation of some human herpesviruses, which are highly prevalent in the adult population but usually well-controlled. Medicine MBBS Academic Lead Year 2 Student Selected Component Medicine MBBS Academic Content Expert Immunology Y1 and Y2 Medicine MBBS House Tutor – Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

Dr Anthony Tsolaki

Senior Lecturer/UG Admissions Tutor

Qualifications: DPhil, University of Oxford, 1999 MSc, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 1994 BSc (Hons), Biochemistry, University of North London, 1993 Academic Appointments September 2006 - Present Lecturer, Brunel University London September 2004 - August 2006, Post Doctoral Fellow, Imperial College London May 2000 - July 2004 Post Doctoral Fellow, Stanford University May 1999 - May 2000 University of California, Berkeley Molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis Host-pathogen interactions in tuberculosis Molecular evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Mechanisms of genomic variability in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Microbial genomics Innate Immunity in tuberculosis Infection Teaching Responsibilities: BB2716 Medical Microbiology BB3716 Microbial Pathogenesis BB2805 Biomedical Sciences

steven obtained a b.sc. in medical sciences from the university of leeds and received a ph.d. for a project at the cancer medicine research unit at st. james's university hospital, leeds, investigating the cd8 t-cell stimulating properties of a dna vaccine encoding multiple, melanoma-associated epitopes. following a post-doctoral position at the edward jenner institute for vaccine research in which he examined the role of auto-reactive cd8 t-cells and t-cell regulation in the context of joint inflammation, he joined the group of prof. hazel dockrell at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine where he investigated the cellular immune response to bcg vaccination and more generally with immune mechanisms that might provide protection against tuberculosis infection and disease. steven joined the division of biosciences in january 2020. i am is interested in understanding which immune response elements are responsible for protection against infection with mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tb, as well as those which prevent the development of active tb disease. although it provides incomplete protection against tb, there is much to be learnt from the immune response to the bcg vaccine which in certain circumstances, may be effective. although traditionally seen as t-cell-mediated, recent times have seen an increased interested in the role of b-cells and antibodies as well as potentially long-lived innate cells in immune protection against tb. as bcg is known to impact upon each of these immune compartments, each or all could have a role in protection. in collaboration with teams at the mrc/uvri & lshtm unit in uganda, the international tuberculosis research center, korea and institut politecnico nacional, mexico, i use samples from bcg-vaccinated individuals, a variety of in vitro cellular models of innate and adaptive immune responses and analytical methods such as functional bacterial inhibition assays, multiparameter flow cytomtry, elisa/luminex and dna methylation analysis to probe questions such as: the phenotype and function of bcg-vaccine-induced t-cells the potential for bcg-"trained" monocytes to protect against tb the role of metabolic intermediates in bcg-induced trained immunity and the potential for these to enhance vaccine effectiveness the use of immunological biomarker assays to monitor responses in patients and in vaccine trials against tb in different settings immunological biomarkers of protection against tuberculosis bcg vaccination innate/adaptive immunity

Dr Steven Smith

Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences

Steven obtained a B.Sc. in Medical Sciences from the University of Leeds and received a Ph.D. for a project at the Cancer Medicine Research Unit at St. James's University Hospital, Leeds, investigating the CD8 T-cell stimulating properties of a DNA vaccine encoding multiple, melanoma-associated epitopes. Following a post-doctoral position at the Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research in which he examined the role of auto-reactive CD8 T-cells and T-cell regulation in the context of joint inflammation, he joined the group of Prof. Hazel Dockrell at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where he investigated the cellular immune response to BCG vaccination and more generally with immune mechanisms that might provide protection against tuberculosis infection and disease. Steven joined the Division of Biosciences in January 2020. I am is interested in understanding which immune response elements are responsible for protection against infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB, as well as those which prevent the development of active TB disease. Although it provides incomplete protection against TB, there is much to be learnt from the immune response to the BCG vaccine which in certain circumstances, may be effective. Although traditionally seen as T-cell-mediated, recent times have seen an increased interested in the role of B-cells and antibodies as well as potentially long-lived innate cells in immune protection against TB. As BCG is known to impact upon each of these immune compartments, each or all could have a role in protection. In collaboration with teams at the MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Unit in Uganda, the International Tuberculosis Research Center, Korea and Institut Politecnico Nacional, Mexico, I use samples from BCG-vaccinated individuals, a variety of in vitro cellular models of innate and adaptive immune responses and analytical methods such as functional bacterial inhibition assays, multiparameter flow cytomtry, ELISA/Luminex and DNA methylation analysis to probe questions such as: the phenotype and function of BCG-vaccine-induced T-cells the potential for BCG-"trained" monocytes to protect against TB the role of metabolic intermediates in BCG-induced trained immunity and the potential for these to enhance vaccine effectiveness the use of immunological biomarker assays to monitor responses in patients and in vaccine trials against TB in different settings Immunological biomarkers of protection against tuberculosis BCG vaccination Innate/adaptive immunity

Professor Arturo Sala

Professor

Trained in Biochemistry and Cellular Biology at the University of Rome and the Italian National Institute of Health, I completed a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” on the topic of DNA and RNA methylation in relation to muscle cell differentiation. After a short postdoctoral training in the National Institute of Health in Rome, I won an international post-doctoral fellowship from the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC) and moved to the Kimmel Cancer Institute, Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia. Working in the laboratory of Prof. Bruno Calabretta, I was the first to characterize the transcription factor and oncoprotein B-MYB and establish its relationship with key tumour suppressor genes, such as p53 and retinoblastoma family members. In 2001 I was recruited by the UCL Institute of Child Health as Senior Lecturer and later promoted to Reader. In UCL I continued to pursue the study of oncogenic transcription factors in the context of neuroblastoma, a childhood tumour affecting the peripheral nervous system. I was appointed Professor of Translational Cancer Research and Deputy Director of the Brunel Institute of Cancer Genetics and Pharmacogenomics in September 2011. In 2016 I joined the Synthetic Biology Theme in the Institute of Environment, Health and Societes. Neuroblastoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, Friedreich's ataxia Rare cancers; neurodegenerative diseases; Gene and cell therapy Coordinator of the masters' cancer module

i am a microbial ecologist in the division of biosciences, within the college of health and life sciences at the university of brunel london. my research interests lie in the assessment of microbial community structure and function using high throughput sequencing and molecular microbiological techniques. focusing on the host microbiome their interaction with one another in this community and changes as a result of disease or injury, this characterisation of the communities allows the identification of functionally important changes in microbial assemblages and detection of antimicrobial resistance. my research has included work on the impact of stroke, brain injury, parasitic intestinal infections, and dementia on the interactions with the host and its microbiome. one of my current research focus areas is women's health, i am studying bacterial vaginosis, the interaction of microbes present in the vagina, detection of potential pathogens, and the development of an in-house in vitro model system using organ on a chip technology for 3d tissue culture to simulate the vaginal environment. linked to this i am interested in the impact that space travel and microgravity has on microbial populations and implications for health. i am also interested in antimicrobial resistance (amr) and detection of amr in bacterial communities with a focus on the environmental impact and ecological implications of this. it is becoming increasing an issue that amr organisms are colonising animal populations and if these pathogens are accumulated in apex predators via food chain acquisition. my doctorial training was in soil microbial ecology carrying out risk assessments and the efficacy of using bacterial biological control agents against fungi diseases of crops in laboratory, glass house and field experiments while at ceh-oxford/cardiff university. i then undertook postdoctoral research at the university of sheffield followed by the university of manchester continuing research into environmental microbiology looking a biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen and sulphur. while at manchester i moved into medical microbiome research as researcher co-investigator on a grant on t. muris and the impact on the microbiome and host. as a result of this i have formed a number of collaborations involving microbiome research. bb2716 medical microbiology (second year)

Dr Ashley Houlden

Lecturer in Biosciences

I am a Microbial Ecologist in the Division of Biosciences, within the College of Health and Life Sciences at the University of Brunel London. My research interests lie in the assessment of microbial community structure and function using high throughput sequencing and molecular microbiological techniques. Focusing on the Host microbiome their interaction with one another in this community and changes as a result of disease or injury, this characterisation of the communities allows the identification of functionally important changes in microbial assemblages and detection of Antimicrobial Resistance. My research has included work on the impact of stroke, brain injury, parasitic intestinal infections, and dementia on the interactions with the host and its microbiome. One of my Current research focus areas is women's health, I am studying bacterial vaginosis, the interaction of microbes present in the vagina, detection of potential pathogens, and the development of an in-house in vitro model system using Organ on a Chip technology for 3D tissue culture to simulate the vaginal environment. Linked to this I am interested in the impact that space travel and microgravity has on microbial populations and implications for health. I am also interested in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and detection of AMR in bacterial communities with a focus on the environmental impact and ecological implications of this. It is becoming increasing an issue that AMR organisms are colonising animal populations and if these pathogens are accumulated in Apex predators via food chain acquisition. My Doctorial training was in soil microbial ecology carrying out risk assessments and the efficacy of using bacterial biological control agents against fungi diseases of crops in laboratory, glass house and field experiments while at CEH-Oxford/Cardiff University. I then undertook postdoctoral research at The University of Sheffield followed by The University of Manchester continuing research into environmental microbiology looking a biogeochemical cycling of Nitrogen and sulphur. While at Manchester I moved into medical microbiome research as Researcher Co-Investigator on a grant on T. Muris and the impact on the microbiome and host. As a result of this I have formed a number of collaborations involving microbiome research. BB2716 Medical Microbiology (Second Year)

dr keith allen-redpath graduated with a bsc (hons) in biomedical sciences (physiology) from the university of aberdeen, scotland, in 2009. he then undertook a phd in the laboratory of professor graeme nixon at aberdeen, investigating how zinc deficiency affects vascular smooth muscle cell signalling within the aorta and carotid arteries. this phd was part-funded by the national research foundation of korea (nrf), and he was awarded his doctorate in 2013. following his phd, keith moved to cardiff, wales, to take up a five-year british heart foundation (bhf) research associate position in the laboratory of professor valerie o'donnell, focusing on how oxidized phospholipids contribute to the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms (aaa). in 2018, he joined the university of reading, england, as a senior research fellow in the laboratory of professor parveen yaqoob, where he developed a strong interest in extracellular vesicles and their roles in vascular diseases, including ischaemic heart disease (ihd) and aaa. in january 2023, keith was appointed lecturer in vascular biology at brunel university london, where his research continues to focus on the role of extracellular vesicles in vascular pathology, with the aim of identifying novel therapeutic targets in cardiovascular disease. ischemic heart disease abdominal aortic aneurysms coagulation extracellular vesicles nutrition and zinc deficiency inflammation vascular smooth muscle cell physiology coagulation and thrombosis ageing and vascular senescence dr keith allen-redpath’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that drive vascular dysfunction in cardiovascular disease. his work examines how extracellular vesicles (evs) regulate coagulation, inflammation, and vascular ageing. using proteomics, cell and molecular biology, and in vivo models, he investigates signalling pathways that contribute to atherosclerosis, aneurysm formation, and thrombosis. his translational studies integrate mechanistic insights with clinical collaborations to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for vascular disease. bb1724- career planning & innovation (block lead) bb1822- biomedical sciences examinations (block lead) bb1721- the human body: principles of anatomy & physiology bb1700- tutoring bb1601- biomedical science training ls1807- biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology examinations (block lead) bb2555- work placement bb2735- human pathology & immunology bb3091- final year project supervisor

Dr Keith Redpath

Lecturer in Biosciences (Vascular Biology)

Dr Keith Allen-Redpath graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences (Physiology) from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, in 2009. He then undertook a PhD in the laboratory of Professor Graeme Nixon at Aberdeen, investigating how zinc deficiency affects vascular smooth muscle cell signalling within the aorta and carotid arteries. This PhD was part-funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), and he was awarded his doctorate in 2013. Following his PhD, Keith moved to Cardiff, Wales, to take up a five-year British Heart Foundation (BHF) Research Associate position in the laboratory of Professor Valerie O'Donnell, focusing on how oxidized phospholipids contribute to the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). In 2018, he joined the University of Reading, England, as a Senior Research Fellow in the laboratory of Professor Parveen Yaqoob, where he developed a strong interest in extracellular vesicles and their roles in vascular diseases, including ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and AAA. In January 2023, Keith was appointed Lecturer in Vascular Biology at Brunel University London, where his research continues to focus on the role of extracellular vesicles in vascular pathology, with the aim of identifying novel therapeutic targets in cardiovascular disease. Ischemic heart disease Abdominal aortic aneurysms Coagulation Extracellular vesicles Nutrition and zinc deficiency Inflammation Vascular smooth muscle cell physiology Coagulation and thrombosis Ageing and vascular senescence Dr Keith Allen-Redpath’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that drive vascular dysfunction in cardiovascular disease. His work examines how extracellular vesicles (EVs) regulate coagulation, inflammation, and vascular ageing. Using proteomics, cell and molecular biology, and in vivo models, he investigates signalling pathways that contribute to atherosclerosis, aneurysm formation, and thrombosis. His translational studies integrate mechanistic insights with clinical collaborations to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for vascular disease. BB1724- Career Planning & Innovation (Block Lead) BB1822- Biomedical Sciences Examinations (Block Lead) BB1721- The Human Body: Principles of Anatomy & Physiology BB1700- Tutoring BB1601- Biomedical Science Training LS1807- Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology Examinations (Block Lead) BB2555- Work Placement BB2735- Human Pathology & Immunology BB3091- Final Year Project Supervisor

Dr Sam Willcocks

Lecturer in Biosciences (Microbiology & Infectious Diseases)

Sam joined Brunel University London as a Lecturer in Biosciences in 2022 from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), where he worked as Assistant Professor in the Department of Infection Biology. He previously received his PhD in Innate Immunology at the Royal Veterinary College, London in 2008. In 2018, Sam received an MRC Confidence in Concept Award for the development of a novel class of antimicrobials against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and in 2020 was awarded the Wellcome Translational Accelerator Award to determine their mechanism of action. Sam also holds an Honorary Fellowship at Birkbeck University London and retains strong links with the Antimicrobial Resistance Centre at LSHTM where he was previously Head of Biological and Pharmacological Sciences. My research interests are focussed on: Developing new antimicrobials against mycobacterial species, and using molecular approaches to understand their targets, mechanisms of action and resistance Exploring the repurposing of existing drugs for use as antimicrobials Modelling the role of the host immune system on drug-target interactions in vivo

dr camilla cerutti is a lecturer in inflammation, ageing and cancer biology at brunel university london and visiting researcher at the european institute of oncology since 2023. her research focuses on vascular and cancer cell biology in particular on cell-cell interaction and cancer metastasis. camilla graduated in medical biotechnology (bsc) at the university of milan bicocca in italy. at the same university she completed a msc in industrial biotechnology-pharmacogenomic- in 2009 with an erasmus final project placement of one year at complutense university in madrid, spain. here, she investigated the anti-tumoral effects of cannabinoids on breast cancer via jund in vitro and via akt in vivo (caffarel et al. 2008 and 2010). she completed her phd in neuro-vascular immunology in 2014 at the open university in milton keynes, uk, studying the role of human brain endothelial micrornas in leukocyte adhesion in neurodegenerative disorder such as multiple sclerosis. she developed an microfluidic system to model the interaction of human leukocyte with brain endothelial cells under hemodynamic shear forces in vitro (cerutti et al 2022). she found that human brain endothelial mir-155, mir-126 and mir-126* regulate leukocyte trafficking at the blood-brain barrier in inflammatory conditions (cerutti et al 2016 and 2017, wu 2015). dr cerutti joined the ridley`s lab at kcl, london, as research associate postdoc, where she investigated the role of rhogtpases in human breast and prostate cancer cells in the interaction with endothelial cells and during metastasis formation (cerutti et al 2021;and cerutti et al 2024). this cruk funded project in collaboration with prof muschel lab at the university of oxford (lucotti et al 2019) was further developed as senior research associate postdoc at the university of bristol leading to find that iqgap1 and nwasp promote human cancer cell dissemination and metastasis by regulating β1-integrin via fak and mrtf/srf. in 2018 she won a global research development fund from kcl to join peter searson nanobiotechnology lab at the john hopkins university (baltimore, usa) to learn the fabrication of 3d perfusable vascular microvessels. in 2020 camilla was awarded the icare-2 msca h2020 fellowship as principal investigator of the project -single-cell epigenetic and molecular signatures in human breast cancer metastasis formation - reintegration fellowship in the host lab of professor pier giuseppe pelicci at the european institute of oncology. currently, dr cerutti lab at brunel university london investigates cancer metastasis mechanisms with 2d and 3d vascular models to study cell-cell interactions by high-content live-cell imaging. 📣msca postdoctoral fellow welcome! apply here: cancer metastasis organ-specific vasculatures microfluidic 2d and 3d human vascular models cell adhesion and migration cell signaling breast and prostate cancer; endothelial cells blood-brain-barrier vascular inflammation signalling shear stress high-content live-cell imaging we are interested to unravel the molecular mechanisms of cell:cell interaction with focus on cancer metastasis formation developing advanced human 2d and 3d microfluidic vascular models and using high content live-cell imaging. bura camilla cerutti research profile google scholar camilla cerutti profile grants: 2025 diabetes uk early career small grant (co-pi) 2025 royal society international exchanges 2024 global round 3 (pi) 2024 brief award brunel university of london, uk (pi) 2024 bhf non-clinical phd-fellowship british heart fundation uk (co-pi) teaching: bb3091-final year projects (trimester 1) bb2704-molecular and cellular biology (trimester 2) bb2708-clonogenic lecture and praticals (week 19) bb3733-molecular pharmacology and toxicology (week 25) bb5715 & bb5715 cancer biology machanism and treatments (week 25) lead assessment block bb2804 data analysis on a study case (mcqs and poster presentation) assessments: bb2802&ls2800-primary literature interrogation and synthesis (trimester 1) bb2555 work placement bb2803- data evaluation and reporting bb2804-data analysis, interpretation and presentation. bb3801-scientific communication bb3091-final year projects ls2808_cn - cell biology data evaluation and reporting - a scientific report

Dr Camilla Cerutti

Lecturer in Inflammation, Ageing and Cancer Biology

Dr Camilla Cerutti is a Lecturer in Inflammation, Ageing and Cancer Biology at Brunel University London and visiting researcher at the European Institute of Oncology since 2023. Her research focuses on Vascular and Cancer cell biology in particular on cell-cell interaction and cancer metastasis. Camilla graduated in medical Biotechnology (BSc) at the University of Milan Bicocca in Italy. At the same university she completed a MSc in Industrial Biotechnology-Pharmacogenomic- in 2009 with an ERASMUS final project placement of one year at Complutense University in Madrid, Spain. Here, she investigated the anti-tumoral effects of cannabinoids on breast cancer via JunD in vitro and via Akt in vivo (Caffarel et al. 2008 and 2010). She completed her PhD in neuro-vascular immunology in 2014 at The Open University in Milton Keynes, UK, studying the role of human brain endothelial microRNAs in leukocyte adhesion in neurodegenerative disorder such as multiple sclerosis. She developed an microfluidic system to model the interaction of human leukocyte with brain endothelial cells under hemodynamic shear forces in vitro (Cerutti et al 2022). She found that human brain endothelial mir-155, mir-126 and mir-126* regulate leukocyte trafficking at the blood-brain barrier in inflammatory conditions (Cerutti et al 2016 and 2017, Wu 2015). Dr Cerutti joined the Ridley`s Lab at KCL, London, as research associate postdoc, where she investigated the role of RhoGTPases in human breast and prostate cancer cells in the interaction with endothelial cells and during metastasis formation (Cerutti et al 2021;and Cerutti et al 2024). This CRUK funded project in collaboration with Prof Muschel Lab at the University of Oxford (Lucotti et al 2019) was further developed as senior research associate postdoc at the University of Bristol leading to find that IQGAP1 and NWASP promote human cancer cell dissemination and metastasis by regulating β1-integrin via FAK and MRTF/SRF. In 2018 she won a Global Research Development Fund from KCL to join Peter Searson Nanobiotechnology Lab at the John Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA) to learn the fabrication of 3D perfusable vascular microvessels. In 2020 Camilla was awarded the iCARE-2 MSCA H2020 fellowship as principal investigator of the project -Single-cell epigenetic and molecular signatures in human breast cancer metastasis formation - reintegration fellowship in the host lab of Professor Pier Giuseppe Pelicci at the European Institute of Oncology. Currently, Dr Cerutti lab at Brunel University London investigates cancer metastasis mechanisms with 2D and 3D vascular models to study cell-cell interactions by high-content live-cell imaging. 📣MSCA Postdoctoral fellow welcome! Apply here: Cancer metastasis Organ-specific vasculatures Microfluidic 2D and 3D human vascular models Cell adhesion and migration cell signaling breast and prostate cancer; Endothelial cells blood-brain-barrier vascular inflammation signalling Shear stress High-content Live-cell imaging We are interested to unravel the molecular mechanisms of cell:cell interaction with focus on cancer metastasis formation developing advanced human 2D and 3D microfluidic vascular models and using high content live-cell imaging. BURA Camilla Cerutti research profile Google Scholar Camilla Cerutti profile GRANTS: 2025 DIABETES UK Early career small grant (co-PI) 2025 Royal Society International Exchanges 2024 Global Round 3 (PI) 2024 BRIEF award Brunel University of London, UK (PI) 2024 BHF Non-clinical PhD-fellowship British Heart Fundation UK (co-PI) Teaching: BB3091-Final Year Projects (trimester 1) BB2704-Molecular and Cellular Biology (trimester 2) BB2708-Clonogenic lecture and praticals (week 19) BB3733-Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology (week 25) BB5715 & BB5715 Cancer Biology Machanism and Treatments (week 25) LEAD Assessment BLOCK BB2804 Data analysis on a study case (MCQs and Poster presentation) Assessments: BB2802&LS2800-Primary Literature Interrogation and Synthesis (trimester 1) BB2555 Work PLacement BB2803- Data Evaluation and Reporting BB2804-Data analysis, Interpretation and Presentation. BB3801-Scientific communication BB3091-Final Year Projects LS2808_CN - Cell Biology Data Evaluation and Reporting - A scientific report

dr doreen lau is a lecturer at brunel university of london and a visiting researcher at the university of cambridge. she began her scientific career at the agency for science, technology and research (a*star) in singapore, where she focused on functional genomics and imaging in developmental biology. she later earned her phd at the university of cambridge as a cancer research uk and cambridge trust scholar under the co-supervision of professor ferdia gallagher and professor klaus okkenhaug, specialising in cancer immunology and the clinical translation of molecular imaging biomarkers for cancer immunotherapy in both patients and preclinical models. dr lau has a broad interdisciplinary background spanning cancer immunology, pharmacology, and biomedical imaging. she trained in cancer imaging and pharmacology at imperial college london under the guidance of professor eric aboagye, worked at the university of oxford on antigen presentation in cancer with professor tim elliott, and served as a visiting scientist at astrazeneca, where she developed tissue-based imaging biomarkers in immuno-oncology. she has contributed to teaching, previously serving as a part-time lecturer at the university of oxford, where she co-led the cancer immunology module and lectured on imaging, disease mechanisms, and cancer treatment on msc courses. her research contributions to cancer immunology and imaging have been recognised with multiple international awards, including the 1st place william g. negendank young investigator award in cancer imaging (ismrm, 2018), the women in molecular imaging network scholar award (wmis, 2019), a top 3 phd award (esmi, 2021), the merit travel grant and best poster award in immuno-oncology biomarker development (esmo, 2023), and the best flash talk in cancer immunology (cams-oxford institute, 2023). in recognition of her achievements as an early-career scientist, she was also elected to a junior research fellowship in sciences at wolfson college, university of oxford, in 2022. dr lau’s research group integrates cancer immunology, experimental modelling, and advanced imaging to understand and overcome barriers to effective immunotherapy. the team investigates how immune recognition of cancer is shaped by antigen presentation, the tumour microenvironment, and host factors, and how these interactions determine treatment response, resistance, and immune-related toxicity. to address these questions, the group combines systems immunology and multi-omic profiling to study cancer and immune cells at genetic, protein, and metabolic levels in both patient samples and preclinical models. they also employ chemical biology, bioengineering, and innovative in vitro and ex vivo platforms to dissect tumour–immune crosstalk, alongside advanced imaging technologies to visualise immune activity and tumour biology from single cells to the whole organism. these efforts aim to uncover fundamental principles of tumour-immune interactions and translate them into biomarkers, diagnostics, and imaging tools for patient stratification, therapy monitoring, and more effective immunotherapies. in parallel, the group contributes to early-phase drug discovery by facilitating the screening and validation of novel immunotherapeutics, with approaches that also have broader relevance to chronic inflammation, infection, and autoimmune diseases. research collaboration open to academic collaboration, industry partnerships and joint phd supervision. cancer immunology, immunotherapy, biomarkers, imaging science, biomedical engineering undergraduate modules: bb2735 human pathology and immunology, bb2812 synoptic examination 2, bb3091 final year projects, bb3733 molecular pharmacology and toxicology masters modules and supervision of projects on cancer immunology

Dr Doreen Lau

Lecturer in Inflammation, Ageing and Cancer Biology

Dr Doreen Lau is a Lecturer at Brunel University of London and a Visiting Researcher at the University of Cambridge. She began her scientific career at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore, where she focused on functional genomics and imaging in developmental biology. She later earned her PhD at the University of Cambridge as a Cancer Research UK and Cambridge Trust Scholar under the co-supervision of Professor Ferdia Gallagher and Professor Klaus Okkenhaug, specialising in cancer immunology and the clinical translation of molecular imaging biomarkers for cancer immunotherapy in both patients and preclinical models. Dr Lau has a broad interdisciplinary background spanning cancer immunology, pharmacology, and biomedical imaging. She trained in cancer imaging and pharmacology at Imperial College London under the guidance of Professor Eric Aboagye, worked at the University of Oxford on antigen presentation in cancer with Professor Tim Elliott, and served as a Visiting Scientist at AstraZeneca, where she developed tissue-based imaging biomarkers in immuno-oncology. She has contributed to teaching, previously serving as a part-time lecturer at the University of Oxford, where she co-led the Cancer Immunology module and lectured on imaging, disease mechanisms, and cancer treatment on MSc courses. Her research contributions to cancer immunology and imaging have been recognised with multiple international awards, including the 1st Place William G. Negendank Young Investigator Award in Cancer Imaging (ISMRM, 2018), the Women in Molecular Imaging Network Scholar Award (WMIS, 2019), a Top 3 PhD Award (ESMI, 2021), the Merit Travel Grant and Best Poster Award in Immuno-Oncology Biomarker Development (ESMO, 2023), and the Best Flash Talk in Cancer Immunology (CAMS-Oxford Institute, 2023). In recognition of her achievements as an early-career scientist, she was also elected to a Junior Research Fellowship in Sciences at Wolfson College, University of Oxford, in 2022. Dr Lau’s research group integrates cancer immunology, experimental modelling, and advanced imaging to understand and overcome barriers to effective immunotherapy. The team investigates how immune recognition of cancer is shaped by antigen presentation, the tumour microenvironment, and host factors, and how these interactions determine treatment response, resistance, and immune-related toxicity. To address these questions, the group combines systems immunology and multi-omic profiling to study cancer and immune cells at genetic, protein, and metabolic levels in both patient samples and preclinical models. They also employ chemical biology, bioengineering, and innovative in vitro and ex vivo platforms to dissect tumour–immune crosstalk, alongside advanced imaging technologies to visualise immune activity and tumour biology from single cells to the whole organism. These efforts aim to uncover fundamental principles of tumour-immune interactions and translate them into biomarkers, diagnostics, and imaging tools for patient stratification, therapy monitoring, and more effective immunotherapies. In parallel, the group contributes to early-phase drug discovery by facilitating the screening and validation of novel immunotherapeutics, with approaches that also have broader relevance to chronic inflammation, infection, and autoimmune diseases. Research Collaboration Open to academic collaboration, industry partnerships and joint PhD supervision. Cancer immunology, immunotherapy, biomarkers, imaging science, biomedical engineering Undergraduate modules: BB2735 Human Pathology and Immunology, BB2812 Synoptic Examination 2, BB3091 Final Year Projects, BB3733 Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology Masters modules and supervision of projects on cancer immunology

professor veena kumari obtained a phd in psychology from banaras hindu university, india in 1993 prior to joining the institute of psychiatry, london for post-doctoral research. she became a beit memorial research fellow in 1999, a wellcome senior fellow in basic biomedical science in 2002, and a full professor in 2006 at the institute of psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience (formerly known as the institute of psychiatry), king’s college london, uk. she joined brunel university of london in jan 2018 as professor of psychology and the director of the centre for cognitive and clinical neuroscience (ccn). her research interests include the neurobiological effects of pharmacological and psychological treatments in psychosis, neurobiology of violence in mental illness, psychobiology of addiction, and personality and brain functioning. prof kumari has over 300 publications in reputed psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience journals and received various national and international awards for her research including the young investigator award from the national alliance of research on schizophrenia and depression, usa (1999), research fellowship from beit memorial foundation (1999-2002), the bap (british association of psychopharmacology) clinical psychopharmacology prize (2002), wellcome senior fellowship in basic biomedical science (2002-2009), the prestigious humboldt research award (2014), and most recently a bonn international fellowship (2020/21). professor kumari has supervised a large number of post-graduate and doctoral students and served in editor or editorial board member roles for a number of psychology and psychiatry journals. cognitive and affective deficits in schizophrenia, depression and personality disorders neurobiological effects and predictors of outcome following drug and psychological treatments neurobiology of violence in psychosis and personality disorders sleep deprivation and mental health neuroscience of mindfulness cognitive psychopharmacology, particularly the effects of psychostimulants, antipsychotics, nicotine and anxiolytics neurobiology of sex related differences personality neuroscience msc cognitive and clinical neuroscience module lead for py5616 - cognitive and clinical neuroscience - core topics

Professor Veena Kumari

Professor - Psychology

Professor Veena Kumari obtained a PhD in Psychology from Banaras Hindu University, India in 1993 prior to joining the Institute of Psychiatry, London for post-doctoral research. She became a Beit Memorial Research Fellow in 1999, a Wellcome Senior Fellow in Basic Biomedical Science in 2002, and a Full Professor in 2006 at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (formerly known as the Institute of Psychiatry), King’s College London, UK. She joined Brunel University of London in Jan 2018 as Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Centre for Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience (CCN). Her research interests include the neurobiological effects of pharmacological and psychological treatments in psychosis, neurobiology of violence in mental illness, psychobiology of addiction, and personality and brain functioning. Prof Kumari has over 300 publications in reputed psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience journals and received various national and international awards for her research including the Young Investigator Award from the National Alliance of Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, USA (1999), research fellowship from BEIT Memorial Foundation (1999-2002), the BAP (British Association of Psychopharmacology) Clinical Psychopharmacology Prize (2002), Wellcome Senior Fellowship in Basic Biomedical Science (2002-2009), the prestigious Humboldt Research Award (2014), and most recently a Bonn International Fellowship (2020/21). Professor Kumari has supervised a large number of post-graduate and doctoral students and served in editor or editorial board member roles for a number of psychology and psychiatry journals. Cognitive and affective deficits in schizophrenia, depression and personality disorders Neurobiological effects and predictors of outcome following drug and psychological treatments Neurobiology of violence in psychosis and personality disorders Sleep deprivation and mental health Neuroscience of mindfulness Cognitive psychopharmacology, particularly the effects of psychostimulants, antipsychotics, nicotine and anxiolytics Neurobiology of sex related differences Personality neuroscience MSc Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience Module Lead for PY5616 - Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience - Core Topics

Doctoral Researchers and Fellows

Our doctoral researchers and fellows:

Nazar Beirag

Zabreen Busharat

Ylenia Cicirò

Christopher D'Souza

Karanjit Das

Christiana Doulami

Fred Jonathan Edzeamey

Kavita Gadar

Angila Gurung

Luxshieha Hareymaaran

Periklis Katopodis

Gideon MacCarthy

Ruchira Mann

Denise Ragusa

Collaborative Partners:

Our collaborative partners include:

Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia,
Calgary University, Canada
University of Pennsylvania, USA
Emory, USA,
INCERN, France
Münster University, Germany
Harvard Medical School, USA
Utrecht University, Netherlands
Karolinska Institute, Sweden
Max Plank Institute, Münster, Germany
University College London, UK
Manchester University, UK, Oxford University, UK
Imperial College London, UK
University of North Carolina, USA
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Centre, USA
MRC toxicology Unit, Cambridge, UK

Professional Services Staff

Administrators and others who help support the CIRTM

Coral Hankins
Centre Adminsitrator