Dr Scott P Davies MSci, MRes, PhD

• PhD in Immunity and Infection, University of Birmingham, 2018
• MRes in Immunity and Infection, University of Birmingham 2014
• MSci in Biological Sciences, University of Birmingham, 2012

Scott completed his MSci in 2012 at the University of Birmingham, gaining research experience through a laboratory project supervised by Dr Michael Tomlinson. He also conducted ecological research through an international placement organised by Operation Wallacea, for which he received funding from the University.

He secured a place on an MRC-funded Doctoral Training programme, which included an initial MSci year which he completed in 2014. He then went on to complete his PhD at Birmingham in 2018 in the lab of Dr Zania Stamataki, where he investigated hepatocyte efferocytosis and compared it to the newly discovered cell-in-cell process of Enclysis, to which he helped define.

He then began his postdoctoral career by receiving an NC3Rs training fellowship in 2018 to develop methods to image ex vivo human liver tissue using multiphoton microscopy. He moved to the lab of Professor Ye Oo in 2020, where he is investigating a new process describing the internalisation of CD8+ T cells into biliary epithelial cells, including its mechanism and role in autoimmune liver diseases. He published the results of this investigation in Nature Communications in January 2024.

• Primary supervisor to final year BMedSci students in 2024
• Has hosted small group teaching sessions with first year Biomedical Sciences undergraduates part of Cellular Biochemistry and Biology

Research interests

Dr Davies’ major research interest focuses on interactions between epithelial cells and immune cells in the context of autoimmune liver disease. He aims to uncover the functions and consequences of the formation of heterotopic cell-in-cell structures and how they contribute to disease pathogenesis. He is passionate in pushing the capabilities of microscopy and the research questions which they can answer.

Current projects

• Understanding the internalisation of CD8+ T cells by biliary epithelial cells in primary biliary cholangitis
• Exploring stability and function of regulatory T cells in human livers to development immunotherapy for autoimmune hepatitis

• Current committee member of the British Society for Immunology (BSI) Midlands affinity group
• He is a MHFA mental health champion
• Member of the European Association for the Study of the Liver
• Nominated as the Gibco Cell Culture Hero for May 2023 and gave a webinar to accompany the title
• Spoken at “Pint of Science” Birmingham events whilst representing the NC3Rs in 2019 and has formed part of the organising team in the past
• Invited speaker for “Snippets of Science” session at Laboratory Animal Science Association (LASA) in 2019
• Taken part in several public engagement events includes “Meet The Scientist” at the ThinkTank and the “Big Bang Fair” a the NEC, representing the BSI