Sophie Palmer is an experienced Senior Research Manager in the infectious disease and global health area. Her experience includes, providing high level guidance, support and recommendation, proactively resolving strategic issues, forward planning and overseeing operations. Sophie is currently consolidating her experience with an MBA
Sophie Palmer is an experienced Senior Research Manager in the infectious disease and global health area. Her experience includes, providing high level guidance, support and recommendation, proactively resolving strategic issues, forward planning and overseeing operations. Sophie is currently consolidating her experience with an MBA qualification. She has experience in collaborating with multiple University offices and international institutes and is confident in facilitating, developing and implementing strategy with a variety of stakeholders such as eminent international scientists, academic institutes and industry partners.
Sally Forrest is a Medical Microbiology and Immunology graduate with over 10 years practical experience in both industry and academia laboratories. She is currently working as the lab manager for the Dougan Group, experienced in cell culture including primary, iPSC culture and differentiation and infection models. Sally has fluorescent
Sally Forrest is a Medical Microbiology and Immunology graduate with over 10 years practical experience in both industry and academia laboratories. She is currently working as the lab manager for the Dougan Group, experienced in cell culture including primary, iPSC culture and differentiation and infection models. Sally has fluorescent imaging knowledge which has helped to optimise high throughput imaging on individual bacteria using the Opera Phenix Imaging platform. She has recently worked on study to validate a rapid diagnostic method and analyse the microbiome of bronchial alveolar lavage samples from patients in intensive care. Additionally, she has procured several pieces of key capital equipment and is responsible for the general day-to-day running of the laboratory.
Mailis Maes started as a PhD student in Gordon Dougan’s group in 2018. Her PhD is focused on the intracellular pathogen Salmonella Typhi, and encompasses both the phylogenetics of Salmonella Typhi in Latin America, as well as the behaviour of Salmonella Typhi within macrophages and gallbladder organoids. Mailis has extensive experience
Mailis Maes started as a PhD student in Gordon Dougan’s group in 2018. Her PhD is focused on the intracellular pathogen Salmonella Typhi, and encompasses both the phylogenetics of Salmonella Typhi in Latin America, as well as the behaviour of Salmonella Typhi within macrophages and gallbladder organoids. Mailis has extensive experience in working safely with intracellular and airborne, containment level 3 pathogens from her previous roles in tuberculosis research, including running tuberculosis diagnostics and epidemiology in both rural and urban cities of Venezuela during her time at the Instituto de Biomedicina of Universidad Central de Venezuela, followed by studies looking at human genetic traits and primary immune deficiencies associated with increased susceptibility to tuberculosis while working in Sergey Nejentsev’s group at the University of Cambridge.
Dr Ben Warne qualified from the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine in 2010. He was awarded a National Institute for Health Research Academic Clinical Fellowship in 2012 and was subsequently appointed as a Specialty Registrar in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. He is currently working
Dr Ben Warne qualified from the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine in 2010. He was awarded a National Institute for Health Research Academic Clinical Fellowship in 2012 and was subsequently appointed as a Specialty Registrar in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. He is currently working as a Clinical Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine at Cambridge, studying clinical isolates of outbreak strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae. His research is focused on the characterisation of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in these strains using a combination of genomics approaches and high-content bacterial imaging, under the supervision of Prof Gordon Dougan and Dr Estée Török. Ben is also collaborating with colleagues at Public Health England in a large clinical, epidemiological and genomic study of the nosocomial transmission of influenza in Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
Dr Ellen Higginson joined the University of Cambridge Department of Medicine as a Research Associate in 2018. Her area of expertise is in molecular microbiology and global health, with a focus on gastrointestinal pathogens. Dr Higginson completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne, Australia, before moving to the University of Maryl
Dr Ellen Higginson joined the University of Cambridge Department of Medicine as a Research Associate in 2018. Her area of expertise is in molecular microbiology and global health, with a focus on gastrointestinal pathogens. Dr Higginson completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne, Australia, before moving to the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), USA to work on bacterial vaccines. While at UMB she also worked on several global health projects, including stints in Kenya, Chile and Samoa. Dr Higginson moved to Cambridge to work on the Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments project, a large interdisciplinary project looking at the impact of improved water sanitation on human and environmental health in informal settlements in Asia and the Pacific. This work is being done in collaboration with the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Monash University, Australia, where Dr Higginson also holds visiting scientist/adjunct research associate positions.
Sushmita Sridhar is a Wellcome Sanger Institute PhD student in the Dougan group. She is interested in the genotypic and phenotypic response of Salmonella Typhimurium to the antimicrobial ciprofloxacin. Her project uses a combination of transcriptomics, high-throughput phenotyping, whole genome sequencing, and microbiological growth assa
Sushmita Sridhar is a Wellcome Sanger Institute PhD student in the Dougan group. She is interested in the genotypic and phenotypic response of Salmonella Typhimurium to the antimicrobial ciprofloxacin. Her project uses a combination of transcriptomics, high-throughput phenotyping, whole genome sequencing, and microbiological growth assays to elucidate how bacteria survive in and overcome ciprofloxacin stress. She is particularly interested in the evolution of decreased ciprofloxacin susceptibility in invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella Typhimurium ST313 and is using them as a case study to explore how differences in ciprofloxacin susceptibility arise in a highly clonal population.
Dr Ankur Mutreja is an experienced global health scientist who is passionate about science and innovation for controlling and eradicating infectious diseases and AMR. Having worked in both academic research and biotech industry, Ankur brings extensive experience in identifying and translating scientific research into tangible products o
Dr Ankur Mutreja is an experienced global health scientist who is passionate about science and innovation for controlling and eradicating infectious diseases and AMR. Having worked in both academic research and biotech industry, Ankur brings extensive experience in identifying and translating scientific research into tangible products or services for regulated markets. Ankur leads a research group as a Group Leader - Global Health (Infectious Diseases) at the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge. In addition, he runs several public health projects across Asia and Africa with his network of international collaborators.
Robert Will is a PhD student in the Dougan & Mutreja groups in the University of Cambridge Department of Medicine and CITIID, as well as a student member of Hughes Hall and visiting research at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. He is funded by Medical Research Council Doctoral Training Program, after graduating with a First Class BSc (Hons
Robert Will is a PhD student in the Dougan & Mutreja groups in the University of Cambridge Department of Medicine and CITIID, as well as a student member of Hughes Hall and visiting research at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. He is funded by Medical Research Council Doctoral Training Program, after graduating with a First Class BSc (Hons) Biology with a Year in Industry from Swansea University. Robert is interested in translational research, focusing on infectious diseases, bacterial evolution and genomics, as well as how communicating science impacts policy and public perception. He is also passionate about widening participation, especially in postgraduate research. His work is primarily focused on computationally analysing large collections of whole genome sequences from bacterial pathogens – in particular Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Vibrio Cholerae – with the aim of improving our understanding of disease evolution across time and space. Robert represents the Microbiology Society as part of the Champions initiative and was elected to be the Communications Representative of the Early Career Microbiologist's Forum for 2020/21 by its members. He also sits on the MRC DTP committee as a Student Representative.
Fahad Khokhar is a Research Assistant in the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, joining Dr. Estée Török’s research group in 2016, with research focussed on screening for multidrug resistant organisms. In 2018 he joined Professor Gordon Dougan’s and Dr Ankur Mutreja’s research groups based at the Cambridge Institute of Ther
Fahad Khokhar is a Research Assistant in the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, joining Dr. Estée Török’s research group in 2016, with research focussed on screening for multidrug resistant organisms. In 2018 he joined Professor Gordon Dougan’s and Dr Ankur Mutreja’s research groups based at the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Diseases and is currently leading a project of developing a molecular diagnostic assay for the detection of enteric pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes. Fahad is working on both the laboratory and bioinformatics sides, with particular specialism in Oxford Nanopore sequencing and data analysis.
Claire Cormie started her career as an Apprentice Lab Technician at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, where she was taught techniques in electron and advanced light microscopy after coming from a non-scientific background. Her particular interest is in fluorescence microscopy: She will be managing and operating the Dougan Lab confocal micros
Claire Cormie started her career as an Apprentice Lab Technician at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, where she was taught techniques in electron and advanced light microscopy after coming from a non-scientific background. Her particular interest is in fluorescence microscopy: She will be managing and operating the Dougan Lab confocal microscope and looks forward to seeing what exciting samples people will bring to her!
Katrien Sutherland is a Research Assistant in the Dougan Group. She gained her Master in Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Glasgow, where she established her interests in the microbiome, host-pathogen interactions and alternative therapies to antibiotics. She spent a year on placement at the University of Western Austr
Katrien Sutherland is a Research Assistant in the Dougan Group. She gained her Master in Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Glasgow, where she established her interests in the microbiome, host-pathogen interactions and alternative therapies to antibiotics. She spent a year on placement at the University of Western Australia, where she contributed to research on a bacterial therapy to prevent ear infections in young children. Katrien has experience in bacterial and cell culture, immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. She also enjoys organising and participating in science communication events, as well as the occasional pub quiz.
Dr. Sandra Van Puyvelde is a Senior Research Associate in the Dougan group. She received her MSc and PhD degree in Bioscience Engineering at the University of Leuven (Belgium). In her PhD research, she studied Salmonella Typhimurium gene regulation during biofilm formation. After her PhD she obtained an advanced MSc degree in Statistica
Dr. Sandra Van Puyvelde is a Senior Research Associate in the Dougan group. She received her MSc and PhD degree in Bioscience Engineering at the University of Leuven (Belgium). In her PhD research, she studied Salmonella Typhimurium gene regulation during biofilm formation. After her PhD she obtained an advanced MSc degree in Statistical Data Analysis at the University of Ghent (Belgium) and worked as a research fellow at the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp studying the genomics of Salmonella causing bloodstream infections in Africa, in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge and Cambridge University where she worked as a visiting researcher since 2015 and 2018 respectively. She joined the Laboratory of Medical Microbiology at UA as an Assistant Professor in 2019, which she combines with a research appointment at the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge. In her research, Dr. Sandra Van Puyvelde combines bioinformatics and molecular approaches to understand bacterial infections and their resistance to antibiotics.
Derek has worked in various aspects of Microbiology Research since 1976. He started out at the Wellcome Foundation in Beckenham, Kent with William Turner investigating Staphylococcal antigens, for Vaccine designs, with a focus on Leucocidin and delta hemolysin before moving to Escherichia coli enterotoxigenic isolates and studying K88,
Derek has worked in various aspects of Microbiology Research since 1976. He started out at the Wellcome Foundation in Beckenham, Kent with William Turner investigating Staphylococcal antigens, for Vaccine designs, with a focus on Leucocidin and delta hemolysin before moving to Escherichia coli enterotoxigenic isolates and studying K88, K99 and 987p which was developed for a Piglet vaccine in Lazlo Nagy’s group.
In 1983, Derek moved to Gordon Dougan’s new Group in Beckenham where the fields of Classical Bacteriology and the application of the new field of Molecular Biology came together and saw major inroads into Whooping Cough (Pertactin/69K, a staple of acellular Whooping cough Vaccines now used throughout the world) , tetanus and Salmonella typhi attenuated strains for Vaccine trails.
In 1993, the Vaccine Research Group moved to Imperial College and continued these Vaccine orientated research aims. During this time an understanding of the role of ompR-envZ in S. typhi Vi capsule expression was discovered. Sequencing of pathogens came into fruition and many discoveries were made including the identification of Phage-Plasmids in a number of wild type S. typhi strains of which pHCM2 was the most extensively studied.
This multi-faceted research pursuit continued when Derek moved with Gordon to the Sanger Institute based at Hinxton, just outside Cambridge in 2004. This allowed us to continue our interests in Vaccines, bacterial pathogenicity and genomics along with studies of the various classic collection of Vi Targeting bacteriophages (Vi01 to VI07).
In 2019, Derek joined Gordon Dougan at Addenbrookes as a Senior Scientist where his new group eventually moved into the brand new JCBC Building. Cholera and Neisseria projects where started with an eye to develop Vaccine projects with collaborators in India and Imperial College Along with Ankur Mutreja and Fahad, a new aim is to develop diagnostic methods to use in the field for studying and identifying an array of antibiotic microbial resistance profiles, S. typhi H58 and XDR detection along with Vibrio cholerae detection and lineage identification..
Josefin Bartholdson Scott obtained her PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2009 studying antimicrobial peptide resistance and exopolysaccharide production of the cystic fibrosis pathogen Burkholderia cenocepacia.
She was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, where she screened and characterised essential h
Josefin Bartholdson Scott obtained her PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2009 studying antimicrobial peptide resistance and exopolysaccharide production of the cystic fibrosis pathogen Burkholderia cenocepacia.
She was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, where she screened and characterised essential host-parasite protein-protein interactions involved in malaria infection, which led to the discovery of a new vaccine candidate, Rh5, for Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
She is currently a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge directing the laboratory component of the NIHR BRC antimicrobial resistance research programme. She is managing clinical sample processing projects with the aim to use translational genomics to improve diagnostics and treatment of critically ill patients. She has also set up a high-throughput bacterial phenotyping platform and is currently working on projects modelling the behaviour of major nosocomial bacterial pathogens under antimicrobial pressure, as well as screening therapeutic monoclonal antibodies against multi-drug resistant bacteria using high-content imaging.
Joana is a Research Assistant working with Prof Steve Baker. She is currently working on purifying O-antigen from Salmonella Typhi and Paratyphi A for bioconjugate vaccine studies. Joana was previously employed with the Oxford Vaccine Group where her main focus was on clinical trials for new MenB and Pertussis vaccines. Her research int
Joana is a Research Assistant working with Prof Steve Baker. She is currently working on purifying O-antigen from Salmonella Typhi and Paratyphi A for bioconjugate vaccine studies. Joana was previously employed with the Oxford Vaccine Group where her main focus was on clinical trials for new MenB and Pertussis vaccines. Her research interests include global health and developing new prophylaxis therapies to tackle infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries.
Megan Carey is an epidemiologist and a PhD candidate in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge. Her doctoral work will focus on the molecular epidemiology of SalmonellaTyphi, with the aim of using genomic data to track the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance. She is also interested in the use of genomic d
Megan Carey is an epidemiologist and a PhD candidate in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge. Her doctoral work will focus on the molecular epidemiology of SalmonellaTyphi, with the aim of using genomic data to track the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance. She is also interested in the use of genomic data to inform public health policy. Megan is a country focal point for the THECA (Effect of a novel typhoid conjugate vaccine in Africa: a multicentre study in Ghana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Prior to matriculating at Cambridge, Megan was a Program Officer in the Global Health Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where she was responsible for the typhoid and cholera vaccine development and surveillance portfolios, as well as the Women Leaders in Global Health initiative. Megan received an M.S.P.H degree in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, as well as a certificate in Vaccine Science and Policy. Previously, Megan worked at the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institute, and as a management consultant. She completed a post-baccalaureate premedical program at Georgetown University, and studied International Relations and Government as an undergraduate at Harvard College.
HyonJin Jeon is a Project manager and a PhD student studying epidemiology of invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) in Africa. She joined the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge in Oct 2019 as EDCPT project manager to work on THECA project (Effect of a novel typhoid conjugate vaccine in Africa: a multicenter study in Ghana
HyonJin Jeon is a Project manager and a PhD student studying epidemiology of invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) in Africa. She joined the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge in Oct 2019 as EDCPT project manager to work on THECA project (Effect of a novel typhoid conjugate vaccine in Africa: a multicenter study in Ghana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). She’s also affiliated with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Seoul, South Korea where she has gained knowledge and expertise in program administration and management especially for multi-country research programs in resource limited settings. Her areas of interests include; understanding how iNTS has been spread and distributed across Africa using data stemming from a decade-long S. Typhi/iNTS surveillance project in Africa (TSAP/SETA/SETAplus) led by IVI; studying transmission analysis and antibiotic resistance of iNTS in Africa using genomics; project management and administration of multi-country, large-scale research projects.
JuYeon Park is a data analyst who is working for vaccine clinical trials and observational public health-related studies.
She has working experiences in disease surveillance studies, vaccination campaigns, Phase I-III and related bridging studies. As a biostatistician and data manager, she has contributed data-related activities to the p
JuYeon Park is a data analyst who is working for vaccine clinical trials and observational public health-related studies.
She has working experiences in disease surveillance studies, vaccination campaigns, Phase I-III and related bridging studies. As a biostatistician and data manager, she has contributed data-related activities to the project which includes sample size calculations and development of statistical analysis plans for research protocols, devising and installing data management tools at study sites, conduct of training courses as well as the adequate document preparation related to data analysis and management, data monitoring, and data analyses to achieve objectives. She has extensive field experiences collaborating with investigators and staffs at research site.
Recent and current projects she is participating in is individually randomized clinical trials for typhoid conjugate vaccine in Asia, cluster randomized Phase III trial to assess the typhoid vaccine safety and effectiveness supporting data generation for vaccine introduction, and epidemiological study to estimate typhoid disease burden in Africa.
Jeong Eun Bak is a Project Manager working for developing and introducing a new vaccine against Schistosomiasis and Invasive Non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease in Africa. She joined the Department of Medicine in July 2019 to work on the VASA program (“Vaccine Against Schistosomiasis for Africa: A Phase I clinical study of the Schis
Jeong Eun Bak is a Project Manager working for developing and introducing a new vaccine against Schistosomiasis and Invasive Non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease in Africa. She joined the Department of Medicine in July 2019 to work on the VASA program (“Vaccine Against Schistosomiasis for Africa: A Phase I clinical study of the SchistoShield® anti-schistosomiasis vaccine in adults in endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa”) and the Vacc-iNTS program (“Advancing a GMMA-based vaccine against invasive non-typhoidal salmonellosis through Phase I trial in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa”). Prior to joining the team in Cambridge, she worked at the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) where she has expanded her knowledge and professional skills of Phase II & III clinical trial monitoring, vaccine cold chain management with renewable energy, and overall project management & administration. Her background is in vaccinology and infectious disease epidemiology, and her research interests are on infectious disease outbreaks, pattern of disease transmission, and disease control and prevention in low-middle income setting with a focus on vaccine introduction and health impact assessment of vaccination programs. She holds a MSc in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Bachelor of International Relations from the Australian National University. She plans to pursue her doctorate with the University of Cambridge on the aforementioned topics.