Principal Investigators

Institute of Metabolism and System Research Principal Investigators

Dr Sofia Ahola

Dr Sofia Ahola

Assistant Professor

Dr. Sofia Ahola is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science at the College of Medicine and Health. Sofia Ahola’s research group focuses on unravelling molecular mechanisms of mitochondrial diseases and their tissue specific fingerprints. We are especially interested in studying the stress responses and metabolic changes upon mitochondrial dysfunction ...

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 ...

Dr John Allotey

Dr John Allotey

Associate Professor in Epidemiology and Women’s Health
Lead for Global Engagement in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science

John Allotey is Associate Professor in Epidemiology and Women’s Health at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women's Health within the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science. He has almost a decade of experience in academic clinical research, primarily in the field of maternal health. His research interests lie in the development, evaluation and implementation of ...

Professor Davide Calebiro

Professor Davide Calebiro

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

Davide Calebiro is the Head of the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science, a Professor of Molecular Endocrinology, Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow 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
Deputy Director of Education in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science
Lead for Postgraduate Research in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science

Gaby is an Associate Professor in Cellular Metabolism and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.  An expert in pancreatic islet biology, she is interested in energy homeostasis, particularly in fuel sensing mechanisms that may play a role in diabetes and obesity.  She is currently also studying mechanisms behind some rare metabolic conditions. She is a team member of the NIHR ...

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 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

Department of Metabolism and Systems Science
Associate Professor

Sarah Dimeloe is an Associate Professor working across the Departments of Immunology and Immunotherapy, and Metabolism and Systems Science.

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


 

Dr Anirban Dutta

Dr Anirban Dutta

Associate Professor of Quantitative Biomedicine
Strategy Lead for Industry and Knowledge Exchange at SMQB

Dr Dutta is a distinguished biomedical engineer and entrepreneur whose global career bridges academia and industry, significantly advancing neuroengineering for neurorehabilitation. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering from Jadavpur University in India, followed by an M.S. from the University of Florida and a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in the USA. Further enhancing his expertise, ...

Dr Paul A. Foster

Dr Paul A. Foster

Associate Professor in Cancer Endocrinology
Director of Education for the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science
Department of Metabolism and Systems Science 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
Lead for Public Engagement in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science

Caroline Gillett is the Assistant Professor in Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science. She manages the Department's Public and Patient Engagement and Involvement Strategy, including devising and delivering activities, training and events to engage diverse communities with the Department'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
Department of Biomedical Sciences Post Graduate Research Lead
Department 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 Department of Metabolism and Systems Science
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 ...

Professor Niki Karavitaki

Professor Niki Karavitaki

Professor of Endocrinology
Lead for Continuous Professional Development in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science
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
Lead for Academic Integrity in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science

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
Director of Research in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science
Lead for Sustainability for the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science and College of Medicine and Health

Chris McCabe is Professor of Molecular Endocrinology at the University of Birmingham. He works on mechanisms of endocrine cancers, including thyroid and breast 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 and breast; in vitro and in ...

Dr Jonathan W. Mueller

Dr Jonathan W. Mueller

Associate Professor of Endocrine Biochemistry Department
Lead for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Dr Mueller’s research aims for an understanding of the structure and function of proteins. Jon’s major interest is in enzyme-catalysed reactions that modulate hormone function, switching hormone action on or off. The dynamic sulfation and de-sulfation of steroid hormones is one of these switches. Dr Mueller’s research group studies sulfation pathways, using bioinformatics as ...

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
President-Elect of ENSAT

Cristina Ronchi is a clinician scientist with long-standing translational expertise in endocrine tumors. Her research field mostly focuses on mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of adrenal tumours, as well as prognostic biomarkers and novel drug targets for adrenocortical cancer.  She is particularly active in research dissemination and collaborates with several world-leading groups ...

Professor Nadia Schoenmakers

Professor Nadia Schoenmakers

Professor of Endocrinology
125th Anniversary Chair

Nadia Schoenmakers is a clinician-scientist who investigates  the causes and consequences of a broad range of thyroid disorders. Her research particularly focuses on rare diseases such as congenital hypothyroidism (CH), for which she aims to delineate the genetic basis, and to determine the associated phenotypes. In the laboratory, she seeks to understand the role of known and novel genes in ...

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 Department of Metabolism and Systems Science, 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 ...

Professor Alexandra J. Sinclair

Professor Alexandra J. Sinclair

Professor of Neurology, Bloomer Chair of Neurology
Director of the Translational Brain Science Research Group
Director and Chief Investigator for the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Predict Consortia (mTBI Predict)

 

 

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.

Professor Daniel A. Tennant

Professor Daniel A. Tennant

Professor of Biochemistry
Deputy Director of Research in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science

Professor Daniel Tennant is a Professor of Biochemistry in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science, 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 applies the ...

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 Department for Metabolism and Systems Science. 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 ...

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 Medicine and Health. 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 diagnosis and ...