Overview

Cohort: 9

I completed my undergraduate studies and was also awarded a distinction for an intercalated MRes in Immunobiology from Newcastle University. My foundation training was in South Manchester, after which I moved to Waikato, New Zealand where I held a respiratory research registrar post.

I returned to Manchester as a Respiratory ACF, and I made it to final interview for doctoral fellowships for MRC and Wellcome (4ward North), but was not funded. I then completed a year of speciality training (ST4) and was successful in securing funding from NIHR through the Manchester BRC to start a PhD with The University of Manchester. I had 12 months of maternity leave at this point.

I applied for and was successfully awarded funding for further research, and Years 2 and 3 of my PhD from Wellcome through 4wardNorth.

PhD title

Phenotyping in untreated asthma; investigation of how novel small airways biomarkers and physiological metrics can drive high precision diagnosis in untreated asthma.

Brief summary of PhD project

I will investigate novel biomarkers of small airways dysfunction that may accurately identify steroid-naïve asthma phenotypes.

I have worked on the Manchester-based Rapid Access to Diagnostics in Asthma (RADicA) project since 2019. It has recruited over 400 treatment-naïve people aged 3-70 years with symptoms suggestive of asthma.

This data-rich cohort of well characterised untreated asthmatics provides the perfect opportunity to explore how novel measures of small airways disease may improve diagnostic accuracy in asthma, and explore underlying endotypes and drive personalised management.

I am particularly interested in Particles in Exhaled air (PExA) samples, and how these compare with bronchoalveolar lavage samples in this cohort.

The sample collection is based in Manchester through the RADicA study, and is supported by proteomic analysis based at Newcastle University.

Key collaborators/supervisors

• Professor Stephen Fowler (Manchester)
• Professor Hannah Durrington (Manchester)
• Professor Matthias Trost (Newcastle)

Specialty interest/techniques

• Asthma diagnostics
• Phenotyping
• Bronchoscopy
• Proteomic analysis of respiratory samples

Career aspirations

To become a clinical academic with expertise in diagnostic development.

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