Principal Investigator and Reader (Tenured Associate Professor) based at the University of Manchester

My initial exposure to research was a project on the process of wound healing as a first year medical student at UCL in London. This small study encouraged me to do a one year project in tissue repair as part of an intercalated BSc. During my basic surgical training, I worked on a number of clinical projects; however, it was not until completion of basic surgical training that I had the opportunity to continue with basic scientific research. Having completed a one year research fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, I subsequently gained an MRC clinical training fellowship. This award led to a successful PhD in molecular genetics of scar formation at the University of Manchester. I then began my specialist training in Plastic Surgery. Since completion of my PhD, I continued to maintain an active research interest as a lecturer and was successful in achieving an NIHR clinician scientist award in plastic & reconstructive surgery research. Over the past few years, I have supervised numerous students who have successfully completed their research, given oral presentations in national and international meetings as well as published in peer reviewed scientific literature. My group comprises of several post docs, experimental officers, postgraduate students (PhD, MD, MSc, MRes), academic foundation doctors and elective medical students. My international collaborators are from the USA, Europe, and Asia.

My main interest is in skin biology, tissue regeneration and fibrosis; areas of current research include skin scarring, skin regeneration and fibrosis, breast and palmar fascia fibrosis and cutaneous infection (H Index = 45).The objective of my research is to elucidate fundamental mechanisms in wound healing and infection; tissue regeneration and fibrosis and to use this knowledge of new therapeutic targets and biomarkers to develop novel therapies particularly in detection, prevention and treatment of abnormal wound healing, wound infection and fibrotic disorders. For further details please visit Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Research.

Medical students

Science and Bioengineering undergraduates and postgraduates

Academic Foundation trainees

Junior Surgical Trainees (Anatomy, pathology and principles of surgery on the Manchester MRCS course)

MSc in Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine, Bioengineering and Medical Sciences MSc courses

MPhil & PhD Students

• General Medical Council
• Wound Healing Society 
• Wound Healing Foundation (Board of Directors)
• European Tissue Repair Society

My laboratory is self sufficient with an in-house ability and capacity to carry out molecular, cellular, histological and genetic research. In addition, my research staff utilize state of the art equipment and have access to organotypic and organ culture models of skin as I have a  tissue bank licence and have access to donated human tissue for the purpose of research from a variety of sources. 

BSc (Hons) MBBS MRCS (Eng, Edin) PhD