Dr Emad Anaam
After graduating with MSc in laboratory diagnosis for studying the significance of in-vitro serum biomarkers in early diagnosis of ovarian cancer, Emad was awarded a PhD scholarship from the University of Liverpool to work on the in-vitro metabolic profiling of head and neck cancer cells. Emad joined CELT as a postdoctoral research associate in 2022 to work on a project that aims to develop methods for in-vitro release testing of Long-Acting injectables (LAIs) and seeks to progress a new approach combining LAIs and microarray patches (MAPS) to simplify the therapy of various chronic diseases.
Dr Usman Arshad
Usman obtained an MSc in Drug Discovery Skills from King’s College London and a BSc in Physiology and Pharmacology with Honours from UCLAN before He undertook his CRUK funded PhD at the University of Liverpool which focused on developing nanomedicines for metastatic cancers. In his role as a post-doctoral research associate within CELT, Usman conducted research on the LONGEVITY project and various COVID-19 projects.
Dr Jennifer Blaylock
Jen completed her PhD at the University of Aberdeen and has extensive experience conducting and managing biological research and clinical trials before undertaking a role as project manager for the LONGEVITY project - a multinational collaboration aiming to develop long-acting injectable medicines for malaria prophylaxis, TB prevention and HCV therapy that forms part of the CELT project portfolio. Jen’s previous experience includes biobanking, research governance, research quality management and overseeing large research study portfolios.
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Helen Cox
Helen Cox has joined CELT as a full time Research Technician following a secondment with the group since October 2021. She has worked for the University of Liverpool since graduating with a BSc (Hons) in Anatomy & Human Biology in 1989, apart from a period of time in the late 1990s at Liverpool John Moores University where she completed a MPhil in muscle physiology under the supervision of Professor Dave Goldspink. Helen has gained experience, particularly in histology labs, in a wide variety of research settings including breast cancer, orthopaedics, herpes virology, lung cancer, anti-coagulant therapeutics, pancreatitis and women’s health.
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Ian Crook
Ian joined CELT as a Project Officer, providing comprehensive support to senior members of the team, across a large portfolio of research projects and related activity. Prior to this role Ian had worked with a number of other areas across the University including the School of Medicine and Institute of Population Health.
Dr Paul Curley
Paul took up a role as a Research Fellow in the Department Pharmacology and Therapeutics to focus on the development and pharmacological assessment of novel long-acting therapeutics. He developed substantial experience with multiple in vitro, in vivo and in silico methods for the assessment of nanoparticle and small molecule drug delivery and became the lead researcher for bioanalysis and in vitro testing of long-acting therapeutics within CELT. This included the development and validation of bioanalytical methods for the quantitation of therapeutics, investigating drug uptake and toxicity utilising in vitro cell systems, and in vivo disposition of small molecule and nanoformulated antiretrovirals. Paul also gained expertise in physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling and utilised this skill to predict plasma and tissue distribution of standard and long-acting antiretroviral formulations prior to preclinical and ultimately clinical in vivo studies.
Joanne Herriott
Jo joined the CELT Pharmacology group to conduct work as a research technician. She previously worked for the Biomedical Services Unit for 21 years where she specialised in Containment Level 3 laboratory work.
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Edyta Kijak
Edyta graduated in Animal Production at University of Technology and Agriculture in Bydgoszcz, Poland before working as a scientist at Aptuit (an Evotec company) in the Department of Pharmacology. Edyta previously worked as an animal technician at University of Liverpool and at Cancer Research UK before taking up a role as a research technician for CELT.
Julie Kivlin
Julie joined CELT as a Senior Finance Officer supporting the LONGEVITY project to provide comprehensive budget support to all LONGEVITY partners as well as detailed monitoring and reconciliation of complex budgets. Prior to joining the University, Julie worked within a number of public and private sector companies assisting with the financial management of externally funded projects.
Dr Henry Pertinez
In his role as a pharmacometrician (specialist in analysis and mathematical modelling of quantitative pharmacological data), both pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic, Henry has conducted quantitative data analysis using various techniques such as compartmental and non-compartmental pharmacokinetic analysis, physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modelling (PBPK), deconvolution and population mixed effects analysis to provide insight into the meaning and interpretation of data, and for simulation and extrapolation of drug use scenarios.
Dr Rajith Rajoli
Rajith obtained his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Liverpool in 2017 before undertaking a role as a Research Fellow at CELT. As a pharmacometrician, he worked on design, validation, simulation, and dose optimisation of various chemical entities using physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models for various routes of administration. This work has been primarily in the therapeutic areas of HIV, TB, HCV, malaria and SARS-CoV-2. His research interests focus on improving the estimation capabilities of PBPK models to better inform drug pharmacokinetics. Rajith has authored over 30 peer reviewed publication in various journals, books and review manuscripts.
Dr Jo Sharp
Jo completed her PhD at The University of Manchester in 2010 focused on the virulence and gene expression of Aspergillus fumigatus and efficacy of antifungal drugs. She has managed a number of complex projects in her role as programme manager for CELT Pharmacology, and has over 10 years’ experience of preclinical models of infection. Jo has led the preclinical evaluation team investigating antiviral candidates against SARS-CoV2 and HIV as well as novel long-acting medicines for diseases such as malaria, TB and HCV.
Dr Lee Tatham
Lee completed his BSc in Microbiology before undertaking a PhD, investigating the antimicrobial efficacy and mode of action of solid drug nanoparticles. He held various postdoctoral positions focusing on the pharmacological assessment of novel nanoscale drug delivery systems and their application to HIV therapy. Lee has expertise in the development and application of preclinical models to assess the pharmacology and bio-distribution of drug-loaded nanoparticles for both oral and parenteral delivery. His research activities primarily focus on delivering the objectives of Tandem Nano Ltd. He has published a number of research articles and is co-inventor of patents relating to the application of nanotechnology to drug delivery.
Anthony Valentijn
After graduating from Monash University, Australia with a BSc (Hons) in Immunology, Anthony spent eight years working on hypertension, specifically the renin-angiotensin system. Anthony moved to the UK to work on the biology of the epithelia, covering development, apoptosis, stem cells and cancer. Anthony has over 25 years of experience in medical research and is an expert in 3D culture systems. He began working for CELT as a research technician to manage the day-to-day running of the CELT labs and provide technical support for his colleagues.
Shirl Wedgwood
Shirl was appointed as Senior Research Administrator at CELT to work on the LONGEVITY Project and provides administrative support to the management team and researchers. Prior to this, she was the senior clerical officer in the Biomedical Services Unit supporting the day to day Administration of the central office and the animal unit as well as providing administrative support to the Technical Staff and Researchers.
Dr Lorraine Ralph
Lorraine obtained a BSc in Pharmacology from the University of Liverpool before completing a PhD in Population Pharmacokinetics using NONMEM at the University of Glasgow. After gaining over 20 years’ experience in industry, she returned to the University of Liverpool to work as a Pharmacometrician. Lorraine performs modelling and simulation using ‘R’ and Julia to support decision making and dose optimisation using a variety of techniques including compartmental analysis and physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modelling (PBPK).
Dr Eduardo Gallardo Toledo
Eduardo obtained his BSc in Biochemistry and an MSc in Biochemistry and Toxicology from Universidad de Chile before he was awarded a PhD scholarship from the Chilean Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo to work on the development of nanomedicines for Alzheimer’s disease. He joined CELT as a post-doctoral research associate in 2021 to evaluate in situ forming implants (ISFIs) for the treatment of chronic disease. Currently, Eduardo conducts research on a project aiming to evaluate long-acting injectable (LAI) formulations to prevent and treat tuberculosis.
Doaa Ahmed Mohamed
Doaa studied a Pharmacy BSc from a Greenwich University (UK) and MSA University (Egypt) collaboration. After graduating, Doaa started pharmacist training which included a quality control internship at GSK and time as a Clinical Trials Assistant for Icon PLC. In 2019, Doaa completed a MSc in Pharmaceutical Drug Modelling at Uppsala University (Sweden), where her thesis concentrated on investigating peptide aggregation behaviour using molecular dynamics simulations. Doaa came to the University of Liverpool for a PhD, deciding to concentrate on PBPK modelling, defining and predicting the inorganic nanoparticles by distribution biodistribution focusing on magnetic iron oxide distribution in prostate solid tumours and systemically in the body. Within CELT, Doaa has worked on several projects, including LEAP.
Del (Rebecca Derrick)
Del is CELT's Science Communications Officer with over 15 years experience working in higher education in various roles (starting as a lecturer in neuroscience and psychopharmacology) that includes communications for a lot of that time. Del's communications work has included a variety of other sectors outside of education such as events, tourism and cultural. Over time, they developed an unconscious specialism in digital communications with a focus on understanding algorithmic trends to build relevant organic audiences and engagement through website optimisation for search engine preferences and social media.
Chloe Bramwell
Chloe’s journey at the University of Liverpool started in 2019, undertaking a BSc in Biological Sciences. From here Chloe progressed into a research Masters in Clinical Biology, the research was mainly virology based studying murine herpes, laminins and hepatitis B virus. After graduation, Chloe moved into a Research Associate role in James Stewart’s group in containment level 3 work with a company to test disinfectant for SARS-Cov-2. In 2022, Chloe joined the CELT team continuing their work in containment level 3 viral work.