I joined the School of Life and Health Sciences in January 2011, after 17 years as an academic member of staff at the University of Strathclyde. I worked in several different departments there, starting in Chemistry, then moving to Immunology, Bioscience, and lastly Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science. This reflects my broad scientific background and interests in oxidative stress ranging from molecular processes to inflammation in disease.

I have extensive collaborations in Europe: I was treasurer of the Society for Free Radical Research (Europe) from 2009-2016, and have been a workgroup leader in the European COST Actions B35 (Lipid peroxidation associated disorders) and  CM1001 on “Chemistry of non-enzymatic protein modification”.  I am currently a Working Group Leader in the COST Action CA19105 "EpiLipidNET".

I have taught extensively in biological and biomedical related classes at the University of Strathclyde, where my primary focus was on biochemistry, metabolism and molecular events in cardiovascular disease. I have also been an invited lecturer for the Postgraduate Research Courses in Integrative Physiology at the University of Barcelona, and have lectured at the Spetses Free Radical Summer School run by the Society of Free Radical Research Europe. At Aston University I teach biochemistry and biomedical science.

My research is centred in the field of Redox Biology and Oxidative Stress, and I am an internationally recognized researcher in this field. Redox balance controls many cell signaling pathways leading to cell proliferation, differentiation and toxicity. I am particularly well-known for research on analysis of oxidized phospholipids using mass spectrometry, and recently this has expanded into lipidomics and ox-lipidomics. My group also works on analysis and biological effects of protein oxidation both in vitro and in vivo. A strong current focus is on the structure-function relationship of protein lipoxidation, which involves the formation of adducts of oxidative lipids with proteins, which is important in many inflammatory diseases and cancer.

I led the Horizon 2020 Innovative training network MASSTRPLAN (Mass Spectrometry Training network in Protein Lipid Adduct Analysis) from 2015 to 2019. More information is available on our webpage https://www.masstrplan.org/. I am also a member of AMPL (Aston Membrane Proteins and Lipids group) and a Co-investigator on the international collaborative projects MemBrane and MemTrain, where my role involves support for lipidomic and ox-lipidomic analysis.

I am currently module leader for a 2nd year module called Molecular Pathology (BY2PA2), and in 2019-20 will be module leader for the new Analytical Biochemistry module. I also teach in Metabolism (BY2BC1 and BC1006), Biological Basis of Disease (BY3BD2 and BI4005), and 1st and 2nd Year Key Skills. I am a tutor for placement students and usually accept 2 in my lab each year, as well as taking final year project students.

• BA (Hons) Biochemistry  - Oxford University (Pembroke College) - 1986
• DPhil Biochemistry - Oxford University (Pembroke College) - 1990
• MA  - Oxford University (Pembroke College) - 1990  

• August 2006 - January 2011: Senior Lecturer, SIPBS, University of Strathclyde.
• April 2005 - August 2006: Senior Lecturer, Department of Bioscience, University of Strathclyde.
• September 2001 – April 2005: Lecturer, Department of Bioscience, University of Strathclyde.
• September 1994 - August 2001: Glaxo-Jack Research Lecturer, Department of Immunology, University of Strathclyde.
• April 1993 - to August 1994:  SHHD funded postdoctoral research fellow in the Dept. of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Strathclyde, working with Prof. W.E. Smith. (An investigation of oxidative stress in preeclamptic erythrocytes using in vivo NMR and resonance Raman spectroscopy).
• April 1992 - March 1993:  AFRC funded postdoctoral research assistant to Dr C. Abell, Department of Chemistry, Cambridge. (The purification of kaurene synthase and related diterpene cyclases from Ricinus communis).
• October 1989 - March 1992:  AFRC funded postdoctoral research assistant to Dr B.C. Loughman and Dr R.G. Ratcliffe, Department of Plant Sciences, Oxford. (The application of in vivo NMR to the study of plant systems).

• The Biochemical Society (1986-present)
• Society for Free Radical Research (1995-present)
• Society for General Microbiology (1997-present)
• British Society for Cardiovascular Research (2003-present)

I have supervised more than 20 graduate research students and about 20 visiting scientists from a variety of countries.  PhD students graduated at Aston University are shown on the "Student Theses" Page. Currently I am primary supervisor for 5 PhD students and associate supervisor for another.

Tel: +44 (0)121 204 4085
Email: [email protected]
Room number: MB 357F