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Biography
I am a virologist working at the interface of vaccine development, synthetic virology, and fundamental enabling science. My training began with a Biology BSc at Imperial College London, followed by an MSc in Medical Microbiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. I completed my PhD at the University of Kent, where I developed influenza pseudotype systems-synthetic viral tools that allow us to safely study viral entry and antibody neutralisation.
My research focuses on building and applying synthetic viral platforms to answer fundamental questions in immunology and to accelerate vaccine design. By engineering pseudoviruses and refining neutralisation assays, I generate reproducible, high-quality data that support pre-clinical vaccine evaluation. This enabling science underpins efforts to improve breadth, durability, and cross-protective immunity against emerging and re-emerging viruses.
I am now establishing my laboratory at the 糖心原创. Our lab focus is on exploiting viral sequences and synthetic virology approaches to develop next-generation therapeutics. By interrogating and repurposing viral genetic elements, we aim to create innovative antiviral strategies and platform technologies that translate fundamental virology into impactful biomedical solutions.
Expertise Summary
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Virology and vaccine development for emerging and re-emerging viruses
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Synthetic virology and viral pseudotype engineering
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Design and optimisation of neutralisation and immunogenicity assays
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Pre-clinical vaccine evaluation and immune profiling
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Exploitation of viral sequences for next-generation therapeutics
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Development of enabling laboratory platforms bridging fundamental and translational science
Research Summary
My current research builds on synthetic virology and viral sequence engineering to create new vaccine and prophylactic platforms against a range of high鈥憄riority pathogens, including influenza… read more
Current Research
My current research builds on synthetic virology and viral sequence engineering to create new vaccine and prophylactic platforms against a range of high鈥憄riority pathogens, including influenza viruses, coronaviruses, and Lassa fever virus. I design and exploit engineered viral constructs and sequence鈥慸erived tools to probe immune responses, enhance immunogenicity, and develop flexible platforms that can be rapidly adapted to emerging threats. By integrating virological insight with translational assay systems, my work aims to accelerate the discovery of broadly protective and next鈥慻eneration therapeutics.
A key focus is on harnessing synthetic biology to improve how vaccines and prophylactics are designed and evaluated in pre鈥慶linical settings. This includes generating novel antigen presentations, tuning immune engagement, and implementing high鈥憈hroughput functional assays that help prioritise the most promising candidates early in development.
In parallel, I am investigating viral ecology in under鈥憇tudied reservoirs, including deer populations in the UK. This work examines how viruses circulate between wildlife, humans, and livestock, and aims to identify transmission links that could influence outbreak risk. Understanding these reservoir dynamics helps inform more effective surveillance and control strategies, and ensures that vaccine and prophylactic platforms are relevant to real鈥憌orld spillover scenarios.
Past Research
My past research has focused on developing and applying synthetic virology tools to better understand viral entry and antibody-mediated immunity, with a strong emphasis on enabling vaccine development.
During my PhD, I established and optimised influenza viral pseudotype systems-safe, engineered viral particles that model authentic virus entry. These platforms allowed me to investigate neutralising antibody responses, cross-reactivity, and potential correlates of protection, contributing to efforts to design broader and more effective influenza vaccines.
I later expanded this work to coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 and related betacoronaviruses, where I developed and applied pseudotype-based neutralisation assays to quantify functional antibody responses. This research supported improved evaluation of vaccine immunogenicity and contributed to the standardisation of laboratory methods for assessing protective immunity.
Across these projects, a consistent theme in my work has been the development of robust, reproducible assays that bridge fundamental virology and translational vaccine research, generating enabling technologies for pre-clinical evaluation and pandemic preparedness.