Please contact me to discuss self-funded PhD and MRes projects. 

If you are interested in studying for a PhD in this research subject area click here 'Tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR)'. Project code EPSRC_2023_05 (closing date 19 May 2023)

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Last updated 20th August 2025

I am a protein biochemist/enzymologist with an interest in using proteins or enzymes (nature’s catalysts) as drug targets or as tools to assist in the development of new drugs and antibiotics. The in depth characterisation of the protein target can help develop more specific and effective medicines. I am also interested in looking at the production of drugs, antibiotics, high value chemicals and natural products, with biotechnological or pharmaceutical applications looking at, and utilising their enzymatic pathways and cascades.

I have a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Leicester, following a move with my supervisor from the Dept. of Pure and Applied Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde. I worked under Professor Andrew Munro at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) at The University of Manchester where I have been a member of a long-standing research collaboration with Dr Anthony Cpyne and Professor Chris Abell at the University of Cambridge. We have been characterising the drug target cytochrome P450s and other redox enzymes from the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (the causative agent of TB). We are using structural biology and biochemical techniques to understand how these enzymes work and using the resultant crystal structures and biophysical properties of some of these enzymes to build new drug molecules. Other projects of biotechnological or pharmaceutical interest involve: The characterisation of decarboxylase enzymes that make hydrocarbons like terminal alkenes, which are involved in the production of biofuels, in a joint project between the MIB and Industry. I have a particular interest in  engineering enzymes to produce new drug candidates helping to adress the global problem of antimicrobial resstance (AMR).

I joined the University of Huddersfield as a Senior Lecturer in Cell Biology/Biochemistry.