Dr Aaron Scott PhD FHEA

• PG Certificate in Higher Education (2019)
• PhD, Respiratory immunology, Queens University Belfast (2011)
• MSc in Biomolecular structure and function, Queens University Belfast (2007)
• BSc (Hons) Biochemistry, Queens University Belfast (2006)

Dr Aaron Scott studied Biochemistry at Queens University Belfast, where he also completed a Masters in Biomolecular structure and function. Building on his training as a biochemist Aaron then undertook a PhD in Respiratory Immunology, in which he examined the role of immunomodulatory proteins in Cystic Fibrosis.

Following completion of his doctoral studies Aaron moved to the Cancer Sciences department at the University of Birmingham to identify human monoclonal antibodies directed against alloantigens in the sera of sensitised individuals following solid organ transplant. In 2014 he returned to respiratory research, within the Department of Inflammation and Ageing, examining the Mechanistic and functional importance of HSD-1 activity in ARDS.

In December 2017, Dr Scott was made a Lecturer within the Department of Inflammation and Ageing and has most recently, in August 2022, become an Associate Professor in Respiratory Science as part of the Birmingham Acute Care Research (BACR) group within the Department. 

Since his appointment in 2017 Dr Scott has further developed his interests in chronic inflammatory lung disease, mainly falling into two core elements:

1. The role of the exposome in driving pathology - alternative nicotine delivery devices, pollution.
2. Characterising the role of aberrant proteinase activity in driving lung disease to allow therapeutic modification.

Undergraduate

Biomedical Science (UG)
Fundamentals of Life Science (FLS)
Foundations in Pharmacology (FNP)
Student selected Project (3SP); Module lead

MBCHB (UG)
Introduction to Respiratory Medicine

Dr Scott supervises several BMedSci UG and MBCHB intercalation projects each year

Postgraduate

Respiratory Medicine MSc
Immunology and Immunotherapy MSc
iDTP - Mini Research Project; Module lead

Aaron supervises laboratory-based research projects for several MSc/MSci programmes.

Aaron has supervised 1 PhD students to award of degree. He currently supervises 8 doctoral students, comprised of both clinical researchers and discovery scientists.

Aaron is interested in supervising doctoral research students who are interested in research related to:

• Examining the role of the exposome in driving inflammatory lung disease, in particular the impact of alternative nicotine delivery devices, such as e-cigarettes and pollution.
• Characterising disease mechanisms (acute and chronic) inflammatory lung disease to identify novel points of intervention for development of novel therapeutics.

If you are interested in studying any of these subject areas please contact Dr Aaron Scott directly.

For any general doctoral research enquiries, please email mds-gradschool@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

For a full list of available Doctoral Research opportunities, please visit our Doctoral Research programme listings.

Research interests
Aaron’s research is focused on chronic inflammatory lung disease (COPD, ILD). Within this space, Aaron has a particular interest in:

1) The role of the exposome in driving pathology - alternative nicotine delivery devices, pollution.
E-cigarette related studies form the core of Aaron’s current work in this area, investigating the impact of e-cigarettes on the innate immune response of the airways, the evidence efficacy for cessation efficacy in at risk patient groups (COPD) and in the chronic setting, the effects of long-term vaping on healthy and at-risk patient lung health

2) Characterising the role of aberrant proteinase activity in driving lung disease to allow therapeutic modification.

3) Driving better understanding of shared disease mechanisms us to develop better drug targets for disease modification.

During the pandemic, Aaron also led on a COVID-19 focussed project examining the role of dysregulated neutrophil activity in driving pathology. This complements ongoing collaborative interests in a variety of other areas, including; Community Acquired Pneumonia and Sepsis, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Tuberculosis and fibrotic lung disease.

• Aaron is a long-standing Associate Editor for BMJ pulmonary Medicine.
• Aaron continues to contribute to various media platforms to discuss the results of his e-cigarette related research in the context of the wider field and is a contributor to open access scientific discussion forums such as The Conversation.
• Aaron believes it is important researchers work harder to engage patients and the public at all levels of our research and in sharing the outcomes of research in an easily understandable and useful way.
• Aaron is also involved in widening participation schemes at various levels to stimulate interest in STEM subjects in higher education, working directly with schools, teachers and pupils provide insight and break down perceived barriers which may hamper engagement.