I first developed an interest in structural molecular biology during my undergraduate degree at the University of Sheffield. To pursue this interest, I studied for a PhD in X-ray crystallography at the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds under the supervision of Prof. Simon Phillips. I then worked as a postdoctoral research fellow under the supervision of Prof. Steve Homans and Prof. Steve Baldwin. By studying how a range of small molecules bind to the hydrophobic pocket of a small protein, we were able to demonstrate that hydrophobic ligand-protein interactions can be enthalpy driven with a significant contribution from London dispersion forces.

In 2006, I started a postdoctoral position at the University of York work under the supervision of Prof. Jennifer Potts on fibronectin-binding proteins from pathogenic bacteria, elucidating mechanisms of the beta-zipper interaction.

I joined the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Huddersfield in September 2008.

• The causative agent of Lyme Disease - Borrelia burgdorferi

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