Speaker biographies

Professor Peter G. Barlow BSc (Hons) PhD FHEA FRSB is Chair of Immunology and Infection, and Director of the Centre for Biomedicine & Global Health, based within the School of Applied Sciences at Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland, UK. Professor Barlow’s research interests lie in studying the human innate immune system with a view to developing novel therapeutics for infections. He is particularly interested in studying the activities of Host Defence Peptides (HDP), principally in the context of viral infections, such as influenza and rhinovirus, as well as the Flaviviridae, Dengue Virus.

Host Defence Peptides, also known as antimicrobial peptides, are key components of the immune response. These peptides have been shown to display a broad spectrum of antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities and, as such, are exciting targets for novel therapeutics. He has recently led projects funded by the MRC and the CSO investigating HDP as novel therapeutic antivirals for dengue virus and rhinovirus infection, and maintains a broad network of collaborators, including with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, the Eijkman Molecular Biology Research Centre for in Jakarta, and Stanford University, California.

Jaime Garcia-Iglesias is Chancellor’s Fellow in the Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society. His work explores the intersections of sexuality and public health.

He currently leads on two ESRC-funded projects exploring the health implications of dating apps and the relationships between HIV and COVID-19. His most recent books include The Eroticising of HIV: Viral Fantasies (2022) and Viral Times: Reflections on the COVID-19 and HIV Pandemics (co-edited with Maurice Nagington and Peter Aggleton) (2024)

Andy graduated in veterinary medicine from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in London. After a time working in clinical practice Andy completed the RVC Small Animal Internship before volunteering on the 2013 launch of the Mission Rabies project in India. He went on to work in Goa and other project sites, supporting the development of dog rabies surveillance and vaccination methods and became the project lead for developing a smartphone app to monitor and direct field activities.

Andy began his part-time PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 2016 alongside his role at WVS, focusing on understanding the methods of rabies control in Goa, India, where he was deeply involved in project management and strategy.

He now leads the research and technology strategy at Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS), a UK-based international veterinary charity working to drive change in animal welfare and One Health.

Jess is a Chancellors Fellow based at the University of Edinburgh  she co-leads the CE4AMR network alongside a growing portfolio of research on AMR in relation to human-wildlife conflict.

As a Zoologist by training Jess is particularly interested in the role of wildlife within the One Health dynamics of AMR. For example what are the impacts of drug resistant infections on wildlife health and behaviour? What human activities are driving AMR in wildlife? Can AMR be considered a form of human-wildlife conflict?  She works on the co-development of educational resources for different communities including young people and the wildlife conservation sector, again focusing on AMR and human-wildlife conflict.  Jess is also interested in the development of evaluation strategies that consider the processes and mechanisms of behaviour-change, and the flow of knowledge and behaviour change within communities. 

In her time outside academia, Jess has designed, delivered and evaluated a range of climate and environment-focused education projects and has become particularly interested in the use of participatory research to tackle global challenges.

Dr. Iruka Okeke is Professor of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and a Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellow at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Dr. Okeke is a Fellow of the Nigerian and African Academies of Science.

Her research group uses microbiology, genetic and genomic methods to investigate the mechanisms bacteria use to colonize humans, cause disease and gain drug resistance. She also studies laboratory practice in Africa, contributes to collaborative genomic surveillance for antimicrobial resistance and communicates about microbiology to a broad range of stakeholders.

Guy obtained his integrated master's degree in Biology from Cardiff University, before moving to Edinburgh as part of the Wellcome Trust Hosts, Pathogens and Global Health programme.

He is currently a postdoctoral research associate in the Matthews lab focused on trypanosome developmental biology and immune evasion. 

The Perona lab studies immune responses to infection, especially the tricky balance between protection, pathology and repair. They use multiple infections and co-infections including parasitic, bacterial and viral pathogens, and their research questions involve T cell biology, tissue regulation and immune metabolism. 

Georgia joined the University of Edinburgh in January 2024, and has previously run research programmes in Glasgow, the US and Canada. The lab website is http://peronalab.uk

Matt is an ecologist who works mainly on the social dynamics, population biology and epidemiology of wildlife populations.He is currently a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Edinburgh.

His current research focuses on the role of  the social behaviour and demography of host populations in host-pathogen dynamics. My team works on a range of projects at the interface of behavioural and disease ecology.

Matt is also a keen natural historian and wildlife photographer, spending lots of time outdoors locally and when travelling.

David Smith is a Moredun Foundation Research Fellow at The Moredun Research Institute. David's primary research interests are in understanding cellular and molecular interactions at host:pathogen interfaces. To investigate this, David has put a lot of focus into developing and validating livestock organoid models in recent years and is now starting to apply these to model infectious diseases.

David works on a variety of pathogens, with a main focus on parasitic diseases, from the single-celled protozoa to multicellular helminth parasites. Ultimately, David aims to translate basic research in host:pathogen molecular interactions into the development of novel vaccines for disease prevention.

Alice received her PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge in 2008.  She held an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship and a Nuffield New Career Development Fellowship at the University of Sussex until 2013 when she joined the University of Edinburgh as a Chancellor's Fellow.

She has published widely on the anthropology of global health interventions, medical institutions and medical innovation and is the author of the academic monograph Biomedicine in an Unstable Place: Infrastructure and Personhood in a Papua New Guinea Hospital, published by Duke University Press.

She is Principal Investigator of DiaDev, a six year research programme to investigate the design and use of diagnostic devices in global health, funded by the European Research Council, and has recently been awarded a 5 year Wellcome Trust Discovery Award to investigate the history, impact and solutions to global healthcare waste and pollution.

Rebecca Sutherland trained in infectious diseases and microbiology in Oxford before taking up her consultant post in Edinburgh in 2012. Prior to this, she worked in rural South Africa during the first roll out of antiretroviral therapy to the community. She has been HIV Lead in NHS Lothian and since the pandemic has developed research interest and expertise in running vaccine trials.

She is predominantly interested in a clinically facing service, with strong links with other research centres, to provide a united approach to the management of the patient with infection.

Kate Sutton has worked in the field of avian immunology for over 10 years, with a particular interest in mucosal immunology and the mononuclear phagocytic system.

Kate was recently awarded a Career Track Fellow at the Roslin Institute in which she will focus on using transgenic chicken lines to evaluate the functions of innate immune cells in natural- and vaccine-mediated responses and in particular how they interact with cells of the adaptive immune system and induce long-term immune protection

Mark Woolhouse is Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He trained as a population biologist with a BA from Oxford (UK), a MSc from York (UK) and a PhD from Queen's (Canada) before turning to epidemiology, holding research posts at the University of Zimbabwe, Imperial College London (MRC Training Fellowship), the University of Oxford (Beit Memorial Fellowship and Royal Society University Research Fellowship), and now Edinburgh (currently in the Usher Institute).

His current research interests are in antimicrobial resistance, emerging viral diseases and health systems in Africa.