I'm a clinical researcher focused on understanding antimicrobial resistance in a global health context. I work as a Clinical Research Fellow at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), funded by the Wellcome Trust, and am currently undertaking a PhD with the Department of Clinical Sciences. My work integrates clinical medicine, laboratory research, and bacterial genomics, with a particular interest in the transmission of drug-resistant bacteria in low-resource healthcare settings.

 

I am currently based at the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Programme in Blantyre, Malawi, where I am the principal investigator for the Hospitalisation and Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase Enterobacterales colonisation in Malawi study. This project aims to understand how, when, and why patients and their carers acquire extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing enterobacterales (ESBL-E) in the gut during hospital admission, combining clinical sampling, molecular microbiology, and genomic epidemiology.

 

Before beginning my PhD, I trained in infectious diseases and medical microbiology as a doctor in the UK National Health Service (NHS), and  hold a master’s in Medical Microbiology from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a master’s in Research from the University of Liverpool, and a diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from LSTM. I have previously contributed to large-scale clinical trials, including the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine and the RECOVERY platform trial for COVID-19 therapeutics. I've presented my work at international conferences, published in peer-reviewed journals, and was awarded an Infection Science Award by the Microbiology Society.

 

My research interests include antimicrobial resistance transmission dynamics, hospital infection control, and the integration of genomics into clinical microbiology in low- and middle-income countries.

 

 

I'm interested in how bacterial genomics can be used to inform clinical and public health decision-making, particularly in the context of antimicrobial resistance in low-resource healthcare settings. My work explores how sequencing can be embedded into real-world systems – for example, through prospective outbreak investigation, hospital surveillance, or understanding antimicrobial resistance transmission at the patient and ward level.

 

As a clinician-scientist, I am particularly motivated by research that bridges the gap between the lab and the bedside. I'm interested in how genomic tools can be used not only to describe resistance, but also to guide actionable responses in infection prevention and control. I also believes in the importance of developing sustainable sequencing capacity and ensuring data generated in low- and middle-income countries serves the local context.

 

More broadly, I have a wide-ranging interest in infectious diseases, diagnostics, and global health. I value research that addresses practical clinical challenges and am particularly interested in how emerging technologies can be harnessed to improve care and outcomes in settings where health systems are under pressure.