Nick is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy holding joint Senior Lectureships in the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and Manchester Medical School. He currently serves as the Faculty of Biology Medicine & Health's Lead for Student Experience & Inclusion and Teaching & Learning Enhancement Lead for the Chemistry discipline, as well as being a Departmental Head of Employability in the School of Natural Sciences. He sits on the Faculty of Science & Engineering’s Teaching Academy Committee and is an Academic Coordinator for three Peer Support schemes:

- University-wide Commuter Peer Mentoring

- Chemistry Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS)

- Faculty-level Industrial Placement Mentoring

Previously Nick held the roles of University Theme Lead for Student Success & Academic Development, School E-Learning Lead, Departmental Head of Social Responsibility and Faculty Lead for Postgraduate Researcher Training. His interests in teaching, effective learning environments and student support were sparked and developed by his work as a Pastoral Care Tutor in Denmark Road Halls of Residence and PASS Leader / Student Coordinator in the former Faculty of Life Sciences.

Nick is a transnational educator as recognised by his receipt of the Biochemical Society Teaching Excellence Award 2025. His discipline-specific teaching encompasses areas of organic compound reactivity and biomolecular chemistry, ranging from undergraduate instruction at the university to open online course modules with over 100,000 learners worldwide. He is a member of the NASPA Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services knowledge community of North American universities as well as a co-founder of the UK’s National Learning & Teaching-focussed Network. His work in education has been recognised by an Inaugural Fellowship of the Institute for Teaching & Learning, prizes from the Directorate for the Student Experience and University of Manchester Students' Union, as well as multiple institution-wide Teaching Excellence Awards.

Nick’s interests lie in the area of designing holistic instructional systems that include media-rich materials, flexible delivery, peer learning and fostering sense of belonging / community for learners. He cascades these approaches through his academic practitioner development work both within the university and nationally.

Examples include:

- National Health Service: Clinical Educator Development (Health Education England, Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust) and Higher Scientific Specialist Training.

- Undergraduate: Peer Assisted Study / Peer Mentor Training, Interdisciplinary Educational Project Supervision

- Postgraduate / Postdoctoral: Graduate Teaching Assistant Training, Teaching for Researchers Programme

- University Staff: New Academics’ Programmes (across two faculties), Pedagogic Development Programme, Advance HE Accreditation Programme.

Nick is an internationally-recognised science communicator combining art, applied linguistics and research outcomes to engage diverse, global audiences. For his work on dissemination of research outcomes to non-traditional, hard-to-reach audiences, Nick has received a Making A Difference Award for Outstanding International Public Engagement and was made an Inaugural Public Engagement Champion of the University of Manchester. His initiatives have also been recognised additionally by an award from the Royal Society of Chemistry's Diversity & Inclusion Fund, a Biochemical Society Diversity in Science Grant as well as inclusion in successful submissions to the Queens Anniversary Prize (creation of  socioeconomic impact) and REF2021 by his department (impact case study, awareness raising).

Nick’s contributions to the research agenda of the university focus on pathways to impact within the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and the Biotechnology Research Beacon more broadly. He founded and coordinates the institute's Programme of Public Engagement with Research & Researchers, which aims to lower the barriers to science communication for postgraduates, postdoctoral staff and academics. Selected works in these areas include: 

• Climate change science communication to vulnerable coastal communities in Brazil (Maretório Project) with partners from Canada and Germany.
• Art-science collaborations with the Royal Northern College of Music (Music and Mutation) to compose pieces for the general public made from sequences of DNA.
• Multilingual community engagement partnering international, bilingual researchers with other than English language communities across Greater Manchester.

2022- : Senior Lecturer in E-Learning (Department of Chemistry)

2022- : Senior Lecturer in Academic & Researcher Development (Division of Medical Education)

Unit Coordinator (CHEM10111), Project Supervisor (CHEM30620), EDI Committee Member, Admissions & Recruitment Committee Member.

2017-2022: Lecturer (Department of Chemistry)

2019-2022: Lecturer (Centre for Academic & Researcher Development)

Organic Chemistry Tutor, Residential Life Advisor (Denmark Road Halls of Residence), Academic in Residence (Horniman House)

2015-2017: Public Engagement Programme Manager

Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, BBSRC Networks in Industrial Biotechnology (IBCarb & BioCatNet)

2015-2017: Postdoctoral Research Associate

EU Innovate Medicine's Initiative (CHEM21), Horizon 2020 Coordination & Support Action (CarboMet)

2012-15: Postgraduate Doctoral Researcher

PhD in Biological Chemistry, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Outreach Volunteer

2009-12: Undergraduate Student

BSc (Hons) in Molecular Biology, Peer-assisted Study Session Leader / Student Coordinator, Vice Captain of the University of Manchester Trampoline Club.