I am Assistant Head of the School of Life Sciences with responsibility for Curriculum Development and the Student Experience. I am a Biochemist and lead undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Molecular Biology. I am joint academic lead for the Antibiotics Undersea Quintin Hogg Trust funded project.
I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, have an MA in Higher Education (University of Westminster) and am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. I am a member of the British Pharmacological Society.
Following on from a BSc (Hons) degree in Medical Biochemistry (University of Surrey), during which I spent a fascinating Sandwich year working with Dr Steven Gross at Cornell University Medical College. I went back to New York to research GTP cyclohydrolase, which encodes for an important enzyme in tetrahydrobiopterin biosynthesis, an essential cofactor for the production of tyrosine, catecholamines and serotonin, as well as Nitric Oxide. My PhD thesis "Pterin biosynthesis, binding and modulation of eNOS catalytic function" was examined and awarded by University of Surrey. As a post-doctoral research fellow at UCL I worked with Prof Patrick Vallance researching the pathophysiological effects of asymmetric dimethylarginine on the cardiovasculature.
To understand blood clots, we investigated platelets and endothelial cells to look at haemostatic regulation, Dr Gordge and I have investigated how thiol isomerases, including protein disulphide isomerase (PDI), influence fibrinolytic regulation at the endothelial surface. I collaborated with KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana with a project looking at the incidence of malaria and influence of alpha-thalassemia genotype.
I currently collaborating with Dr Sharron Rossiter, University of Hertfordshire and Dr Joanne Murray, University of Edinburgh.
Pedagogical research: I am evaluating how virtual laboratory simulations influence student engagement and learning, peer-marking and streaming of laboratory classes. Following a move to on-line teaching in the pandemic I have evaluated the impacts of these changes. I have published findings and have presented at national and international HE teaching conferences.
https://www.labster.com/blog/university-of-westminster-experience
