Dr Richard Urbanowicz B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., A.F.H.E.A.

Lecturer in Infection Immunology Infection Biology & Microbiomes

About

Personal Statement

Richard Urbanowicz did his B.Sc in Microbiology and Virology at Warwick University and then completed an M.Sc in Immunology and Allergy at the University of Nottingham. After this he completed a Ph.D in Immunology focussed on the role of cytotoxic cells in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) under the supervision of Prof. Lucy Fairclough at the University of Nottingham. He then took a postdoctoral position in the lab of Prof. Jonathan Ball. Research projects included:

• characterising monoclonal antibodies for use in a phase I/II clinical trial for the prevention of Hepatitis C virus reinfection
• isolating and characterising novel human monoclonal antibodies from individuals with Hepatitis C virus infection
• establishing a diverse panel of E1E2 glycoproteins for use in both the HCV pseudoparticle (HCVpp) and cell culture (HCVcc) systems, that can be used to interrogate the efficacy of both anti-viral and anti-receptor antibodies
• establishing a monoclonal antibody platform to interrogate bovine and ovine antibody responses to viral diseases
• assessing the impact of host and virus genetic variability on Arena- and Filo-virus cell entry and infectivity

Currently he is a Lecturer in Infection Immunology at the University of Liverpool. His group focuses on understanding antibody recognition of pathogens and their role in recruiting immune system components for pathogen elimination after natural infection or vaccination.