About
I acquired a BSc in Medical Biochemistry in 1996 and a PhD in Biochemistry in 2000 from the University of Birmingham, UK. I then worked as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Cancer Research UK Paterson Institute for Cancer Research in Manchester, UK (2000-2002) and at the Medical Research Council Radiation and Genome Stability Unit in Harwell, UK (2003-2007). I subsequently worked as a Senior Investigator Scientist at the Cancer Research UK/Medical Research Council Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology at the University of Oxford, UK (2008-2012) before joining the Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine at the University of Liverpool as a Lecturer and Research Group Leader in October 2012. I became Professor and Chair in Radiation Biology in 2022.
I have accumulated over 20 years research experience in the biochemistry of DNA damage repair, and particularly in the base excision repair pathway that is involved in the repair of DNA base damage and DNA single strand breaks induced endogenously within our cells, but also as a result of exogenous stress, including ionising radiation. Recently, I have pioneered scientific research demonstrating an important role for the ubiquitin proteasome pathway in the regulation of base excision repair proteins, and thus in the cellular response to DNA damage. I also conduct research examining the radiobiology of proton beam therapy, particularly in the context of DNA damage and repair. I have been an author on over 60 peer-reviewed publications and my research is currently supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Medical Research Council (MRC) and North West Cancer Research (NWCR).