Meet our Team

Professor Daniela Ferreira

Head of Clinical Sciences Department, Professor of respiratory infection and vaccines immunology at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Daniela is a global leader in Respiratory Infections and Controlled Human Infection Challenge(link is external) with experience in bacterial challenge, co-infection studies, mucosal immunity (nose and lungs) and vaccine testing and immune responses. She leads a Programme of work on respiratory infections and accelerated vaccine development with over £20million from various funders including BMGF, MRC, UKRI, NIHR and several industry partners. She leads the unique Experimental Human Pneumococcal Consortium in partnership with over 50 laboratories of worldwide experts on respiratory infection and pneumococcal biology. To date her team has safely challenged over 1800 participants with live bacteria in over 30 clinical studies in their bespoke research clinic at the Accelerator.

Her team has played a substantial role in the UK covid-19 pandemic response as a trial site for several covid vaccine studies including the Oxford / Astrazeneca vaccine.

Daniela obtained a PhD in Immunology in 2009 from the University of Sao Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil). From 2001 to 2009 Daniela trained at Butantan Institute (Sao Paulo, Brazil) on development of novel vaccines against respiratory infections using different formulations, new adjuvants and routes of immunization. During her PhD Daniela was awarded the prestigious Robert Austrian Research Award in Pneumococcal Vaccinology to develop novel nasal vaccines (2006). Daniela joined the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in 2009 as a postdoctoral scientist and was promoted to Professor and Head of department in 2018.

Dr Adam Roberts

Reader, Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and Resistance, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Adam Roberts is a Reader and AMR lead at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Adam has been investigating the fundamental mechanisms of transferable AMR for more than 20 years and, since arriving at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in 2017, has focussed on translational aspects of AMR and early-stage drug discovery and development.

His current research activities include investigations into the many drivers of resistance in a One Health context, the molecular genetics of resistance mechanisms and mobile genetic elements and how they contribute to the dissemination of AMR and the use of evolutionary biology to inform antibiotic treatment regimens and drug design. His team also carry out discovery projects, investigating novel antimicrobial natural products, target-site identification, mechanism of action, and determining the resistance development potential of novel molecules within the LSTM’s drug development pipeline.

Adam’s research activities have led to more than 100 peer reviewed publications and reviews on AMR and his group is currently funded by the Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research, UK Research and Innovation’s Strength in Places Fund, and the European Regional Development Fund plus various charities including the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Foundation. He runs The Transposon Registry and the award-winning citizen-science, drug-discovery project Swab and Send, is the Network coordinator of the JPIAMR Network of European and African Researchers on AMR (NEAR-AMR) and is a policy advisor (Drug Resistance) to the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Dr Derek Lindsay

Chief Operating Officer, Infex Therapeutics.

Dr Lindsay was a co-founder of Redx Pharma and its Chief Operating Officer from 2012-17. His former roles include being a Director of Innovation of pharmaceutical industry consortium Britest Ltd from 2006 to 2012, and R&D Director of Avecia Pharmaceutical Products in a management career of more than 30 years. Derek has worked in R&D, Process Development and Hazards at Avecia and its predecessor businesses, Zeneca and ICI, which he joined in 1988, after initially working in R&D at BP from 1985.

Professor Giancarlo Biagini

Head of the Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Professor Biagini’s career has focused on the biochemistry, pharmacology and therapeutics of human pathogens most notably Plasmodium falciparum and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Basic biochemical research includes the characterisation of bioenergetic components in the respiratory chain and of key substrate and drug transporters. This fundamental work has contributed to our understanding of mechanisms of drug action, major resistance mechanisms in malaria and validation of novel targets for chemotherapy in both malaria and TB. He has over 20 years’ experience in molecular pharmacology and drug discovery/development from the development of HTS campaigns to candidate declaration working with Industry and with product development partnerships (PDPs).

More recently, he has been involved in the development of new image-based pharmacodynamic platforms to identify and accelerate antimalarial and antitubercular pre-clinical drug candidates, as well as clinical pharmacology projects towards understanding PK-PD determinants of poor patient outcomes again for both TB and malaria patients. He is the drug lead within Research Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics (RCDD) at LSTM. He is chair of the LSTM Research Committee, Director of the MRC Doctoral Training Partnership in Translational and Quantitative Skills in Global Health and co-lead of LSTM’s MRC Skills Development Fellowship programme.

Professor William Hope OBE (FRACP, FRCPA, PhD)

Dame Sally Davies Chair of AMR Research – Director, Centre of Excellence in Infectious Diseases Research – Co-Lead, NIHR Infectious Diseases National Specialty Group University of Liverpool.

Professor Hope qualified in Medicine in 1991, before undertaking specialist training in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology. He completed his PhD in antimicrobial pharmacology in 2006, while undertaking fellowships at the University of Manchester, UK, and the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA. He was an NIHR Clinician Scientist and this award focussed on individualised antimicrobial therapy.

Professor Hope leads the Centre of Excellence in Infectious Diseases Research (CEIDR) which focuses on infection therapeutics. Areas of special interest and research are antimicrobial pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, antimicrobial drug development and individualisation of antimicrobial therapy. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases as well as NIHR National Specialty Co-Lead for Infectious Diseases. Professor Hope is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and is the National Institute of Health Research Clinical Research Network Co-lead for Infectious Diseases.

Professor Andy Shaw

Head of the Built Environment and Sustainable Technology Research Institute (BEST) in the Faculty of Engineering and Technology at Liverpool John Moores University

Professor Shaw also leads the RF and Microwave (RFM) research theme within the institute. He graduated from the University of Liverpool with a BEng Hons in Electrical and Electronic engineering in 1990, a MSc in Materials Science (Engineering) in 1991 and a Ph.D. in 1995, titled “The realisation of an industrial free electron laser”. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Liverpool for 8 years on industrial microwave applications for both material processing, sensor technologies and microwave plasma applications.

In 2003, he become a lecturer at the University of Liverpool within the Electrical Engineering department whilst continuing to research in microwave industrial applications, but also in the use of subsea radio frequency (RF) communications as part of a MoD funded project and later as an FP6 EU funded project. In 2005, he joined Liverpool John Moores University as Senior Lecturer in the General Engineering Research Institute (GERI) before becoming the head of the Electrical Engineering department within the School of Engineering in 2007. He became a Reader in Environmental and Sustainable technology in 2010 within the BEST research institute and finally director of the BEST research institute in 2015 and finally attained his Professorship in Microwave technology in 2016. He has over 20 years of expertise in developing industrial applications, such as material cutting, vitrification, exhaust gas conditioning for vehicles, pyrolysis, torrefaction and gasification, microwave chemistry and microwave biodiesel production. Along with the design and development of numerous NDT sensor technologies for the process engineering, healthcare and manufacturing sectors. He is also a director of the CO Research Trust which is a charity that funds Carbon monoxide research.

Professor Rasmita Raval

Professor in Chemistry and Director of the Surface Science Research Centre at the University of Liverpool

Professor Raval is also the Director of ‘The Open Innovation Hub for Antimicrobial Surfaces’ and is one of the four co-directors of the UK ‘National Biofilms Innovation Centre’.

Rasmita Raval is a Professor in Chemistry and Director of the Surface Science Research Centre at the University of Liverpool. She is also the Director of ‘The Open Innovation Hub for Antimicrobial Surfaces’ and is one of the four co-directors of the UK ‘National Biofilms Innovation Centre’.

Her interdisciplinary research spans knowledge-based design of functional surfaces, molecular nanoscience and bio-interfaces. Her research group combines protocols for targetted assembly of functional nano-architectures and concurrent development and utilisation of powerful scientific techniques to probe the behaviour and performance of these systems at the atomic, molecular and cellular level. This experimental effort is combined with theoretical modelling to yield insights into molecular and biological responses and behaviour at interfaces.

She also leads a dedicated innovation team to translate frontier research into technology platforms, with a specific focus on antimicrobial and anti-infective surfaces and materials. Accelerated translation is driven within an active and connected collaboration ecosystem involving multinational companies and SMEs across multiple sectors, healthcare stakeholders and regional, national and international agencies.

Dr Ana Isabel Cubas Atienzar

Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Ana obtained her degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Murcia in 2013.

In 2017 Ana obtained her PhD from the Salford University (UK). Her PhD focused on the epidemiology and genetic diversity of parasite Toxoplasma gondii in the Peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico. Shortly after her PhD she was appointed as Research Fellow at the Roslin Institute, in Edinburgh where she worked on diagnostic development for porcine viral and bacterial diseases.

She joined LSTM in 2019 as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate working on the development and implementation of novel and Point-of-Care diagnostics for the detection of High-Consequence Infectious Diseases such as Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, Lassa fever and COVID-19. She is additionally involved in molecular diagnosis of AMR markers and in the evaluation of a number of commercial tests, notably for SARS-CoV-2.

Ana lectures and runs laboratory practicals in LSTM master module Trop 936 (AMR diagnostics and ELISA diagnostics). She has also supervised master projects and dissertations, including training and lab supervision.

Dr David Weetman

Reader, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Dr Weetman graduated in Zoology (BSc) from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and in Ecology (MSc) from The University of Wales, Bangor. His PhD at The University of Liverpool was followed by postdoctoral positions in the Molecular Ecology and Fisheries Genetics Group at the University of Hull. He joined LSTM in 2006 working as a senior PDRA on IVCC and then NIAID-funded projects on the genetic basis of insecticide resistance in the primary malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. He was appointed as Reader in 2020.

His research aims primarily to investigate the genes and mutations responsible for insecticide resistance in mosquitoes and phlebotomine sandflies and how these spread among populations. A goal of this work is to identify and apply DNA markers for molecular surveillance of insecticide resistance in control programmes. A second area of research is in questions related to the causes and consequences of vector speciation and population subdivision and how these regulate transfer of adaptive traits of medical importance. He is also broadly interested in the application of molecular techniques to applied ecological questions in vector biology. He coordinates the Vector Research Support group (VRS), which provides molecular and biochemical collaboration, training and services to students, visiting scientists and for control trials.

Professor Nicholas Feasey

Infectious Diseases physician and Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Professor Feasey is based at the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme in Blantyre, Malawi. His research is focused on the surveillance and management of antimicrobial resistant bacterial infection, and taking a one health approach to exploring the transmission of enteric pathogens associated with invasive disease. His research group uses bacterial genomics, spatial statistics and transmission modelling in collaboration with the Wellcome Sanger Institute and CHICAS at the University of Lancaster.

Dr Grant Hughes

Reader and Wolfson Fellow at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Professor Hughes’ PhD research at The University of Queensland focused on developing a symbiotic control strategy of an agricultural disease caused by a viral pathogen transmitted by Planthoppers. To further his expertise in the vector biology and symbiosis fields he undertook a Postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and then a Research Associate position at Penn State University where he examined the interactions between Wolbachia, a common bacterial endosymbiont of insects, other microbiota, and Plasmodium parasites in Anopheles mosquitoes. In 2015, he joined the Department of Pathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch as an Assistant Professor and focused on examining interactions between the microbiome and arboviruses in Aedes mosquitoes. Professor Hughes joined the Departments of Vector Biology and Tropical Disease Biology at LSTM in 2018 where his group works on arboviruses and microbes of mosquitoes.

Professor Nicholas Casewell

Director of the Centre for Snakebite Research & Interventions and Chair in Tropical Disease Biology at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Following completion of his doctoral studies characterising the venom composition of medically important snake species at Bangor University, Prof. Casewell worked for two years for MicroPharm Ltd leading research and clinical development of snakebite treatments known as antivenoms. Thereafter, Prof. Casewell was awarded a NERC Independent Fellowship and returned to Bangor University to investigate the origin and function of fish venoms.

In 2014, Prof. Casewell joined the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and his research has since focused on understanding the basis for variation in venom toxin composition in snakes and rationally applying this information to devise new therapeutic solutions for combatting snakebite. In 2020, Prof. Casewell was appointed Director of the Centre for Snakebite Research & Interventions at LSTM, and currently leads a team of 25 individuals focused on biomedical, clinical and public health research activities in the UK and overseas relating to tropical snakebite.

Professor Neill Liptrott

Chair of Pharmacology and Immunocompatibility and Coordinator of The Nanotherapeutics Hub at The University of Liverpool

Prof. Liptrott, Chair in Pharmacology and Immunocompatibility at the University of Liverpool, has expertise in pharmacology, immunology, and molecular cell biology.

As the principal investigator of the Liverpool Immunocompatibility Group, Coordinator of the Liverpool Nanotherapeutics Hub, and Platform manager (Nanotherapeutics) for the Infection Innovation Consortium (iiCON), he oversees critical research initiatives. His roles extend to serving as a member of the Liverpool City Region Health & Life Sciences Board; biocompatibility leads for the Centre of Excellence for Long-acting Therapeutics (CELT) and steering board member for the Intracellular Drug Delivery Centre (IDDC).

Prof. Liptrott’s research investigates the biological interactions of complex medicines, advanced therapeutics, and biomaterials, assessing their biocompatibility, immunomodulatory potential, and risk. Notably, his work has supported the successful translation of solid drug nanoparticle formulations through GMP manufacture for HIV treatment. He supports developers in navigating the complexities of advanced therapeutics for clinical studies.

Prof. Liptrott contributes significantly to various organisations, serving as a member of the Executive Board and Core Expert Team for the European Nanomedicine Characterisation Laboratory (EUNCL) and as Academic in Residence at the National Measurement Laboratory, among other roles. He is actively involved in initiatives such as creating the British Society for Nanomedicine and serves as an elected Trustee, emphasising immunological safety. At the University of Liverpool, he spearheaded the establishment of the MSc in Pharmacology and Toxicology, where he serves as programme director.

Dr Preeti Bakrania

Scientific Director, Biologics Discovery and Development, LifeArc.

Preeti Bakrania, leads the Biologics Discovery and Development team in LifeArc’s Therapeutic Translation Platform group within Translational Sciences. She oversees a team of 25 scientists based at sites in Stevenage and the Francis Crick Institute who are dedicated to the successful delivery of high-quality biological therapeutics to support LifeArc’s Portfolio. She obtained her PhD in Biochemistry at the National Institute for Medical Research and has more than 20 years’ research experience working in a number of disease areas including neuroscience, oncology and ophthalmology with postdoctoral roles held within UCL, University of Cambridge and University of Oxford. She joined LifeArc 15 years ago and is an experienced project and portfolio manager. Preeti managed LifeArc’s worldleading antibody humanisation portfolio, which has been involved in the development of five commercialized drugs, including Keytruda® and Leqembi®, and also led LifeArc’s portfolio to generate fully human antibodies using the Intelliselect® Transgenic Platforms against a
number of target classes across a wide range of disease areas for pre-clinical development.
Preeti is a passionate scientist who thrives on the successful delivery of drug discovery programmes to the clinic for the benefit of patient healthcare and has a track record of success with a number of publications, named inventor on four patents and has been a Board Observer for DJS antibodies which was recently acquired by Abbvie.

Professor Andrew Owen

Co-director of the Centre of Excellence for Long-acting Therapeutics (CELT)

Andrew Owen is a co-director of the
Centre of Excellence in Long-acting
Therapeutics (CELT) at the University of Liverpool. He
is principal investigator for LONGEVITY, an international
project funded by Unitaid that aims to translate
long-acting medicines for malaria, tuberculosis, and
Hepatitis C Virus. Andrew also leads a modelling and
simulation core and sits on the executive group for
the NIH-funded Long-acting/Extended-release
Antiretroviral resource Programme (LEAP). He is a
Director and Chief Scientific Officer for Tandem Nano
Ltd. and co-inventor of patents relating to drug delivery.
Since March 2020, he has been intensively engaged
in evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 antiviral candidates.

Professor Steve Rannard

Co-director of the Centre of Excellence for Long-acting Therapeutics (CELT) Steve is a professor of chemistry at the University of Liverpool.

Professor Steve Rannard is a co-director of the Centre of Excellence for Longacting Therapeutics (CELT), the academic lead for
Nanomedicine within the Materials Innovation Factory
and Director of the Radiomaterials Laboratory within
the Department of Chemistry. His therapeutic research
primarily focuses on advanced materials science
onto unmet medical/clinical needs to target new
patient benefits using scalable polymer syntheses,
nanoparticle synthesis, solid drug nanoparticle
formulation and nanoemulsion platforms. Steve
spent 16 years in industry (Cookson, Courtaulds,
Unilever) and has co-founded four start-up companies
(IOTA Nanosolutions Ltd, Hydra Polymers Ltd, Tandem
Nano Ltd, and Polymer Mimetics Ltd). Steve was the
first recipient of the RSC/Macro Group UK Young
Researcher of the Year medal, sequential RSC
Industrial Lectureships at Strathclyde and Sussex, a
visiting lectureship at Sussex, visiting Professorship at
UOL, and a Royal Society Industry Fellowship.