Dr Nicola Darling

Personal Statement

Nicola moved to the University of Liverpool in June 2023 to set up her lab within the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems Biology. Her lab’s focus is to understand the intracellular signalling pathways that control the formation and release of inflammatory mediators in mast cells.

Previously, Nicola was a postdoctoral researcher at MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit at the University of Dundee. In Philip Cohen’s lab, Nicola studied the contribution of Salt-Inducible Kinases (SIKs) in regulating cytokine production and phenotype of macrophages. During a short postdoc in Doreen Cantrell’s lab, Nicola focused on proteomic analysis of mast cells. Nicola completed her PhD at Babraham Institute, Cambridge in Simon Cook’s lab where she researched the role of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) in the endoplasmic reticulum stress response.

Nicola is passionate about improving research culture and led Diversity and Inclusion work at MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit. In this role she introduced new ideas and initiatives and was awarded the School of Life Sciences People’s Award for leadership in improving working culture in 2021.