People
Our members make up an interdisciplinary team of leading scientists. Here, you can learn more about our institute management board and leadership team.
Co-director
Professor Chris Brightling
- NIHR Senior Investigator and Clinical Professor in Respiratory Medicine
- Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and NIHR Senior Investigator
- Respiratory Theme Lead for Leicester NIHR-Biomedical Research Centre co-ordinates the MRC Molecular Pathology Node EMBER and is the Respiratory lead for the IMI 3TR.
- National lead for the post-COVID consortium PHOSP-COVID and local research lead for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn more about Professor Brightling
Co-director
Professor Don J.L. Jones
- Professor in Translational Biomarkers Co-Director of the John and Lucille van Geest Biomarker Facility
- LD3 Director
- Part of the precision medicine cross cutting theme of the NIHR-Biomedical Research Centre
Learn more about Professor Jones
Co-director
Professor Jacqui Shaw
- Professor of Translational Cancer Genetics
- Head of Department, Genetics and Genome Biology
- Extensive expertise in innovative blood-based tests for monitoring breast and lung cancers, known as liquid biopsies
- Co Theme Lead for Personalised Cancer Prevention and Treatment at the BRC
Learn more about Professor Shaw
Operations Manager
Dr Lynne Howells
- Extensive experience of in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo translational cancer research with a focus on therapeutic cancer prevention
- Delivery of bench-to-bedside cancer research programmes as part of the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre Network
IPH commercial manager
Dr Carl Edwards
- Extensive experience in managing development of commercial portfolios
- Facilitates industry-led research collaborations in precision health
Ms Louise Fairgrieve provides communications expertise to enhance visibility of our portfolio both internally and externally.
Management Board Members
Professor Chris Brightling, Professor Don J.L. Jones, Professor Jacqui Shaw and Dr Lynne Howells
Professor Martin Halliwell
- Professor of American Thought and Culture and Director of Research and Enterprise for the School of Arts
- College of Social Science, Arts and Humanities Lead for the University’s Wellcome Trust ISSF Grant
- Research expertise on mental health and public health in North American and Caribbean contexts, including American Health Crisis: One Hundred Years of Panic, Planning, and Politics (U. of California Press, 2021) and The Edinburgh Companion to the Politics of American Health (Edinburgh UP, 2022).
- Co-I on ESRC-funded project between Leicester and the University of Guyana on mental health challenges in Guyana’s prison system.
- Completing the final volume, Transformed States: Medicine, Biotechnology, and American Culture, 1990–2020, of a landmark trilogy for Rutgers University Press, charting a cultural history of mental health in the U.S. from World War II to Covid-19.
Learn more about Professor Martin Halliwell
Dr Luke Baker
Dr Luke Baker is a lecturer in muscle biology who's research focuses on understanding the onset and resolution of the inflammatory process in those with long-term conditions. Dr Baker's research programme brings together an interdisciplinary set of research methodologies, using a bench-to-bedside approach with the primary aim of achieving patient benefit. His research aims to identify mechanisms, develop therapeutics and test intervention efficacy in those who suffer with poor skeletal muscle health.
Learn more about Dr Luke Baker
Dr Robert Free
Robert Free is a Lecturer in Health Data Science at the University of Leicester and the Director of Informatics for the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). His own research focuses on the use of advanced data science (including artificial intelligence and machine learning) to develop and translate models and technologies into data-driven tools for improving healthcare outcomes. As Director of Informatics, he oversees the BRC's new Health Informatics Platform through which he aims to facilitate and develop exciting interdisciplinary research collaborations and partnerships in data science.
Learn more about Dr Robert Free
Dr Zahir Hussain
As a Lecturer in Fluid Dynamics, Dr Hussain’s research is focussed on the use of analytical and computational approaches to fluid flows, with a particular interest in understanding transitional and turbulent flows. He is National Lead of the UK Fluids Network (UKFN) Special Interest Group (SIG) on ‘Boundary Layers & Complex Rotating Flows’. He has employed his expertise in fluid dynamics to model flows in novel heart valves, as well as cerebral haemodynamic flows. He has led EPSRC research grants as PI and has secured over £300k of funding in recent years.
Learn more about Dr Zahir Hussain
Dr Chitra Seewooruthun
Chitra Joined the LD3 team in Jan 2023 as the structural biologist. Chitra's work has involved developing early-stage small molecules and therapeutics across a network of interdisciplinary research groups. She provides expertise in protein expression, purification, biophysical characterisation, and structural biology in cross-collaborations across the university and with external partners. Her previous identified novel sites for small molecules on target proteins using conformational locking VHHs. Chitra has also been part of the CRUK accelerator with collaborators in Glasgow, the Institute of Cancer Research, Manchester, and the AstraZeneca Antibody Alliance Lab.
Cian Sutcliffe
Cian is a doctoral student at the Institute for Precision Health. His research examines the impact of anti-diabetic medication (namely SGLT2 inhibitors) on skeletal muscle health and physical function under the supervision of Professor Melanie Davies CBE and Dr Luke Baker. In 2021, Cian graduated with a bachelor’s degree in health and exercise science from Dublin City University and in 2022 gained a master’s degree in physiology and nutrition from Loughborough University. He has spent time at the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology (Ireland), KU Leuven (Belgium) and the European Space Agency (Germany). He is an Early Career Representative for The Physiological Society where he has met government officials in Westminster to voice the concerns of young scientists.