Principal Investigators

Institute of Metabolism and System Research Principal Investigators

Dr Ildem Akerman

Dr Ildem Akerman

Diabetes UK RD Lawrence Fellow
Associate Professor in Functional Genomics

Dr Akerman is interested in answering fundamental questions about gene regulation in diseased and healthy pancreatic beta cells through integrated use of molecular, genomic, computational and systems biology. Her team aims to understand how various types of noncoding DNA elements interact to establish gene expression in the pancreatic beta cell. With the support of Diabetes UK, Akerman lab has ...

Professor Davide Calebiro

Professor Davide Calebiro

Professor of Molecular Endocrinology
Co-Director of the Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors (COMPARE)
Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow

Davide Calebiro is a Professor of Molecular Endocrinology and Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research (IMSR) and Co-Director of the Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors (COMPARE) of the Universities of Birmingham and Nottingham

He leads a multidisciplinary research team comprising biologists, chemists, physicists, engineers and computer ...

Dr Sarah J Conner

Dr Sarah J Conner

Senior Lecturer in Reproductive Biology

Sarah Conner is a Senior Lecturer in Reproductive Biology and an Honorary Research Scientist at the Birmingham Women’s Fertility Centre.

In addition to her research interests, Sarah is an enthusiastic contributor to and coordinator of Reproduction teaching across a number of undergraduate programmes in the University.

Professor Arri Coomarasamy

Professor Arri Coomarasamy

Professor of Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine
Director of the Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research
Founding Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health

Professor Coomarasamy is the Director of Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Care and Research. His research interests are in fertility, early pregnancy and global women’s health.

Dr Gabriela Da Silva Xavier

Dr Gabriela Da Silva Xavier

Associate Professor in Cellular Metabolism
IMSR Deputy Director of Education
IMSR Lead for Postgraduate Research

Gaby is an Associate Professor in Cellular Metabolism and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.  She has an interest in energy homeostasis, particularly in fuel sensing mechanisms that may play a role in diabetes and obesity.

Society for Endocrinology logo

Dr Adam Devall

Dr Adam Devall

Associate Professor of Maternal Health Clinical Trials
Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research and WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health

Adam's primary research focus is clinical trials in early pregnancy care, with a particular focus on miscarriage, infertility and global women’s health. As Associate Professor of Maternal Health Clinical Trials, he collaborates with the Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit to manage a portfolio of national and international clinical trials. He is also a senior consortium member of the Tommy' ...

Dr Rima K. Dhillon-Smith

Dr Rima K. Dhillon-Smith

Clinical Lecturer in Early Pregnancy and Reproductive Medicine

Dr Rima Dhillon-Smith is a clinical lecturer based at the  Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. She combines her academic work with clinical duties as a registrar in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.  Rima’s main research interests lie in reproductive endocrinology, subfertility, paediatric gynaecology and early pregnancy.  She is a key ...

Dr Vivek Dhir

Dr Vivek Dhir

Senior Lecturer in Molecular Endocrinology
MPharm Admissions Tutor - Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

Vivek Dhir is a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Endocrinology and has published a number of high impact research papers in scientific journals as well as reviews in the fields of endocrinology, metabolism and genetics. He has received major grants from the Welcome trust and The MRC.

Vivek is keen to talk about his science and gives frequent seminars to various groups at the local, national and ...

Dr Sarah Dimeloe

Dr Sarah Dimeloe

Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research
Birmingham Fellow
European Commission Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellow, Leukemia UK John Goldman Fellow

Sarah Dimeloe is a Birmingham Fellow working across the Institutes of Immunology and Immunotherapy (III), and Metabolism and Systems Research (IMSR).

Research in Sarah’s lab is focused on the metabolism of immune cells and how this underpins their role in health and disease.

Dr Dimeloe is a member of the 2017/18 Birmingham Fellows.

 

Dr Paul A. Foster

Dr Paul A. Foster

Associate Professor in Cancer Endocrinology
IMSR Director of Education
IMSR Senior Tutor

Dr Foster is an established research figure in the fields of endocrinology, cancer and drug discovery. With over two decades of experience in both academic and industrial environments, he has extensive research knowledge on a wide-range of areas. He is an author on over 55 scientific peer-reviewed papers, covering endocrinology, oncology, inflammation, cardiology, and drug development, and has ...

Dr Meurig Thomas Gallagher

Dr Meurig Thomas Gallagher

Assistant Professor
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) Research Person Responsible (Centre #0209)

Dr Gallagher's research interests are in: image analysis of human sperm motility; Biological fluid dynamics; Asymptotic and numerical methods to investigate problems in fluid mechanics; Mathematical modelling of fluid structure interaction; Numerical modelling of stability of Non-Newtonian fluids.

Dr Caroline Gillett

Dr Caroline Gillett

Assistant Professor in Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement
IMSR Lead for Public Engagement

Caroline Gillett is the Assistant Professor in Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement in the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research (IMSR). She manages IMSR’s Public and Patient Engagement and Involvement Strategy, including devising and delivering activities, training and events to engage diverse communities with IMSR’s highly societally relevant research portfolio.

She ...

Professor Neil John Lloyd Gittoes

Professor Neil John Lloyd Gittoes

Consultant Endocrinologist and Honorary Professor of Endocrinology

Professor Neil Gittoes is Consultant Endocrinologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham and Honorary Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Birmingham. He is inaugural Head of the Centre of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (CEDAM), a partnership organisation across NHS provider organisations and the University of Birmingham aiming to optimise translational research ...

Dr Caroline Gorvin

Dr Caroline Gorvin

Sir Henry Dale Fellow
Associate Professor of Receptor Biology

Caroline’s research is focussed on the trafficking and signalling of membrane proteins, and how their impairments contribute to endocrine and metabolic disease. Her research group investigates the fundamental mechanisms by which G protein-coupled receptors signal to regulate appetite, bone metabolism and calcium homeostasis. 

Dr Rowan Hardy

Dr Rowan Hardy

Associate Professor in Steroid Metabolism and Signalling
School of Biomedical Sciences Post Graduate Research Lead
School of Biomedical Sciences Research Themes Lead

As an Associate Professor in Steroid Metabolism and Signalling I have expanded upon a successful Versus Arthritis Early Career Development fellowship to become a leader in the field of steroid metabolism and inflammation and in vivo models of chronic inflammation. My research group is examining the roles of myeloid and mesenchymal steroid metabolism and signalling in mediating inflammatory ...

Professor Martin Hewison

Professor Martin Hewison

Interim Director of the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research (IMSR)
Professor of Molecular Endocrinology

Martin’s group investigates the role vitamin D  plays in human health beyond its effects on bone. They focus on vitamin D and immune function, and how this influences infectious diseases, pregnancy and autoimmune disease.

Dr Jan Idkowiak

Dr Jan Idkowiak

Clinical Associate Professor in Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes
Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes

Jan is Clinical Associate Professor in Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, based at the IMSR and at the Department of Endocrinology at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Jan is Programme Director of the Welcome Trust/ NIHR Clinical Research Facility(Paediatrics) and he also leads the West Midlands Childhood Obesity (Complications of Excess Weight, CEW) Service at Birmingham ...

Dr Leandro Junges

Dr Leandro Junges

SMQB Centre Fellow

Dr Leandro Junges is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Systems Modelling and Quantitative Biomedicine (IMSR - UoB). He has a particular interest in the development and application of quantitative methods to help understanding biomedical systems and develop personalised predictions in healthcare, especially in the context of neuroscience.

Part of the Centre for Systems, Modelling and ...

Professor Niki Karavitaki

Professor Niki Karavitaki

Professor of Endocrinology
IMSR Lead for Continuous Professional Development
Lead for Academic Clinical Training in Endocrinology and Diabetes (University of Birmingham)

Niki Karavitaki is Professor of Endocrinology and Honorary Consultant Endocrinologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham where she co-leads the Pituitary Service and Pituitary MDT.

Her research and clinical interests focus on hypothalamo-pituitary disease (particularly sellar and parasellar tumours and hypopituitarism) covering pathogenesis, management and long-term outcomes and ...

Professor Jackson C. Kirkman-Brown MBE

Professor Jackson C. Kirkman-Brown MBE

Professor in Reproductive Biology

Jackson’s research is about andrology and its application in the diagnosis and treatment of infertility, with direct impact on care and quality of life of the patients involved and the birth of the next generation. 

Dr Christian Ludwig

Dr Christian Ludwig

Associate Professor in Metabolic Biophysics
IMSR Lead for Academic Integrity

Christian’s research is focused on developing novel experimental and analytical approaches to map metabolic pathway activities without assuming a particular metabolism model.

Dr Maria Makarova

Dr Maria Makarova

Assistant Professor

Dr Maria Makarova is a Group leader at the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research at College of Medical and Dental Sciences. Her research is focussed on the chemical biology of lipid metabolism, linking genetics and membrane biophysics with applications in evolution, cell physiology, and industrial microbiology.

Professor Chris McCabe

Professor Chris McCabe

Professor of Molecular Endocrinology
IMSR Director of Research
IMSR and College of MDS Lead for Sustainability

Chris McCabe is Professor of Molecular Endocrinology at the University of Birmingham. He works on mechanisms of endocrine cancers, including thyroid, breast and head and neck tumour models. Specifically, the research of the McCabe group focuses on the action of the sodium iodide symporter NIS in thyroid tumours; assessment of the role of the proto-oncogenes PTTG and PBF in thyroid, breast, and ...

Dr Jonathan W. Mueller

Dr Jonathan W. Mueller

Lecturer in Endocrine Biochemistry
IMSR Deputy Lead for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Dr Mueller is interested in enzyme-catalysed reactions that modulate hormone function and act as biological switches. One of these transformations is the dynamic sulfation and de-sulfation of steroid hormones. Dr Mueller’s research group studies these sulfation pathways, using a variety of biochemical, bioanalytical and cell biological techniques.

Jon has authored more than 25 primary ...

Professor Manfred Opper

Professor Manfred Opper

Professor of Machine Learning

Professor Manfred Opper is interested in the development and the theoretical analysis of methods for probabilistic inference in machine learning using techniques of statistical mechanics and statistics. In recent years he has worked especially in the area of data assimilation, where he has developed approximations for inference in stochastic differential equations, Markov jump processes and ...

Dr Alessandro Prete

Dr Alessandro Prete

Clinical Associate Professor in Endocrinology and Diabetes

Dr Alessandro Prete completed his training in Endocrinology and Diabetes in Rome, Italy. In 2016, he joined the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research at the University of Birmingham. Since 2018, he is a Diabetes UK Sir George Alberti Research Fellow and is currently working towards a PhD. The title of his PhD thesis is "Exploring the metabolic impact of mild autonomous cortisol excess ...

Dr Cristina L Ronchi

Dr Cristina L Ronchi

Reader in Endocrine Oncology and Consultant Endocrinologist

Cristina Ronchi is a clinician scientist with long-standing translational expertise in endocrine tumors. Her research field mostly focuses on genetic studies and investigations of molecular markers involved in the pathogenesis of adrenal tumours in general and prognosis of adrenocortical cancer. She is particularly active in research dissemination and collaborates with several world-leading ...

Dr Atif Shahzad

Dr Atif Shahzad

Assistant Professor of Medical Technologies
Programme Lead MSc Biomedical Innovation
Theme Lead Medical Sensors and Wearable Technology, SMQB

Dr Atif Shahzad is Assistant Professor of Medical Technologies and Programme Lead for MSc Biomedical Innovation program at the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, University of Birmingham. He is associated with the Centre for Systems Modelling and Quantitative Biomedicineand also holds an honorary position at the University of Galway. Atif is interested in needs-led health technology ...

Dr Vicki E. Smith

Dr Vicki E. Smith

Associate Professor in Molecular Endocrinology, BBSRC New Investigator Award Holder

Vicki is interested in thyroid biology and the molecular pathogenesis of thyroid disease. Her research focuses on improving existing treatments and identifying novel therapies in thyroid cancer.

Dr Angela E Taylor

Dr Angela E Taylor

Senior Research Fellow
Academic Lead Steroid Metabolome Analysis Core

Angela is an analytical chemist who leads the research of the Steroid Metabolome Analysis Core (SMAC). SMAC is a team consisting of scientists, who develop, optimise and validate mass spectrometry methods which are applied to laboratory-based research, clinical research and clinical trials.

Angela’s research interest is the study of steroid metabolism in health and disease, including ...

Professor Daniel A. Tennant

Professor Daniel A. Tennant

Professor of Biochemistry
IMSR Deputy Director of Research

Professor Daniel Tennant is a Professor of Biochemistry in the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research (IMSR), situated on the second floor of the Institute of Biomedical Research. He uses stable isotope tracers to investigate changes in the use of nutrients in conditions where oxygen is limiting (hypoxia), or in the presence of genetic mutations that induce a hypoxia-like response. Dan ...

Professor John Terry

Professor John Terry

Interdisciplinary Professorial Fellow
Director, Centre for Systems Modelling & Quantitative Biomedicine

Professor John Terry is Interdisciplinary Professorial Fellow: a post he holds jointly across Mathematics, Computer Science and the Institute for Metabolism and Systems Research. John is also the recipient of a prestigious EPSRC Established Career Fellowship, as well as being an EPSRC Public Engagement Championwithin Computer Science. John’s research transcends traditional discipline ...

Professor Shakila Thangaratinam

Professor Shakila Thangaratinam

Dame Hilda Lloyd Chair of Maternal and Perinatal Health
Joint Director of WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women's Health
Lead for Maternal & Reproductive Health

Professor Shakila Thangaratinam is Dame Hilda Lloyd Chair of Maternal and Perinatal Health at the University of Birmingham, and leads the Maternal and Reproductive Health Theme (Jan 2020-). She is the co-Director of WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health and academic lead for Women’s Health in Birmingham Health Partners. As Consultant Obstetrician she ...

Dr Patricia Thomas

Dr Patricia Thomas

MRC Research Fellow

Patricia is an MRC Skills Development Fellow based in the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research (IMSR). Her research uses cutting-edge experimental and computational research methods to investigate the mechanisms underpinning obesity-induced type 2 diabetes (T2D). She is particularly interested in understanding how intracellular fatty acid storage, mobilisation, and metabolism cause ...

Dr Benjamin Wakerley

Dr Benjamin Wakerley

Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer
Consultant Neurologist
Director of Birmingham Headache Centre

Dr Wakerley is a leading consultant neurologist and expert in headache. He is also an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer within the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research.

Professor Javier Zamora

Professor Javier Zamora

Professor of Biostatistics in Maternal and Perinatal Health

Professor Zamora has developed an academic career at the University of Madrid in the Biomathematics department as an Associate Professor of Biostatistics. He has been appointed as Non-Clinical Senior Lecturer of Perinatal statistics in BARC (Barts Research Centre for Women’s Health) in Queen Mary University of London.

Professor Zamora has an outstanding track record of delivering ...

Dr Eder Zavala

Dr Eder Zavala

Assistant Professor in Mathematics

Dr Eder Zavala is an applied mathematician jointly appointed across the School of Mathematics, Computer Science, and the College of Medical and Dental Sciences. His work focuses on interdisciplinary research spanning mathematics, computational and biomedical sciences. Eder has held an MRC Skills Development Fellowship and a EU Horizon 2020 secondment to develop quantitative methods for the ...