bio

I am a neuroscientist with more than 20 years of experience in bench science and I have worked in both industry and academia.

I’m from the from the UK, where I graduated with a BSc in Pharmacology from the University of Manchester, then a PhD in Pharmacology from University College London. After a 4 year postdoctoral position at King’s College London, I moved to Tampa where, for the last 10 years, I have been working at the University of South Florida.

You can find my CV here.

 
 
 

science

I did some work on the brain while working with Drs. Robert Williams and Marcus Rattray during my time at King’s College. My project was on the mechanisms neurons use to protect themselves in diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Sensory nerve receptors in the lung detect specific chemicals. They transmit this information by initiating electrical impulses along nerves to signal to the brain.

Sensory nerve receptors in the lung detect specific chemicals. They transmit this information by initiating electrical impulses along nerves to signal to the brain.

Most of my experience is with the sensory nervous system. Sensory nerves detect what is happening in their local environment to report back to the brain. These can be broadly be separated into the nerves which sense innocuous touch and pressure and those which sense painful and damaging stimuli (nociceptors) From the Latin nocēre ("to hurt").

I currently work for Dr. Thomas Taylor-Clark in a lab studying the role of nociceptors in the lungs and airways. These nerves sense what is in the air we breathe including particles from smoke and pollution. They can also detect certain chemicals produced by the immune system when the body is trying to protect itself from infection. In response to these signals the airways produce responses such as mucus secretion or the activation of muscles to produce cough.

 

Responses like cough are necessary and important for protecting the lungs, however, in conditions such as asthma, these sensory nerves become more sensitive than usual, so they are triggered inappropriately. We want to understand how and why this happens to identify new ways of treating disorders of the airways.