- Neuroscience, Inflammatory Disorders and Therapeutics
About me
I am interim Associate Head of College for Liberal Arts and Sciences with responsibility for Students and Education. Within the college, I facilitate Curriculum enhancement, which includes moving to authentic assessment, embedding work-based learning, education for sustainable development and commitment to EDI. I work closely with Senior Tutors, Directors of Learning, Teaching and Quality, Assistant and Heads of School to support students from pre-arrivals, through induction and throughout their programs with academic support.
I work collaborate with colleagues across the University to implement the University Education Strategy. I co-lead the Continuation and Completion strand of the University Access and Participation Plan.
I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, have an MA in Higher Education (University of Westminster) I am a member of the British Pharmacological Society. I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and Co-Chair of the Royal Society of Biology Research Education Group (BERG).
Teaching
My introduction to teaching was at University College London as a tutor in the Medical School. Since joining University of Westminster, I completed the Certificate of Higher Education (2007) becoming a Fellow of the HEA (2008), Senior Fellow of the HEA (2015) and completed the MA in Higher Education (University of Westminster, 2015). I was awarded a University of Westminster Teaching Fellowship (2016-17). I am actively involved in pedagogic research focusing on peer-marking, virtual laboratory simulations and use of digital tools to enhance teaching.
I am a Biochemist and have research experience looking at key regulatory signalling pathways utilising a range of biochemical and molecular techniques. I teach undergraduate and postgraduate students in areas of molecular bioscience. I am part of the Cavendish Living Lab Academic Team and am joint lead for the Students as Researchers, which is investigating the impacts of air pollution on communities and Urban Health with a specific focus on the Aerobiome.
I contribute teaching in bioethics, biochemistry, chemistry and molecular biology to foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate students. I have always believed that research should inform teaching and have experience supervising undergraduate and postgraduate and doctoral research projects.
Research
Following on from a BSc (Hons) degree in Medical Biochemistry (University of Surrey), during which I spent a fascinating Sandwich year working with Dr Steven Gross at Cornell University Medical College. I went back to New York to research GTP cyclohydrolase, which encodes for an important enzyme in tetrahydrobiopterin biosynthesis, an essential cofactor for the production of tyrosine, catecholamines and serotonin, as well as Nitric Oxide. My PhD thesis "Pterin biosynthesis, binding and modulation of eNOS catalytic function" was examined and awarded by University of Surrey. As a post-doctoral research fellow at UCL I worked with Prof Patrick Vallance researching the pathophysiological effects of asymmetric dimethylarginine on the cardiovasculature.
To understand blood clots, we investigated platelets and endothelial cells to look at haemostatic regulation, Dr Gordge and I have investigated how thiol isomerases, including protein disulphide isomerase (PDI), influence fibrinolytic regulation at the endothelial surface. I collaborated with KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana with a project looking at the incidence of malaria and influence of alpha-thalassemia genotype.
I currently collaborating with Dr Sharron Rossiter, University of Hertfordshire evaluating bio-impacts of novel arginine-based compounds through a combination of in silico and in vitro approaches.
Pedagogical research: I am evaluating how virtual laboratory simulations influence student engagement and learning, peer-marking and streaming of laboratory classes. . I have published findings and have presented at national and international HE teaching conferences.
https://www.labster.com/blog/university-of-westminster-experience
Publications
For details of all my research outputs, visit my WestminsterResearch profile.