Personal Statement
Alistair is a Co-Director of the Centre for Genomic Research (CGR) at Liverpool and has 20 years of experience in microbiome and microbial/host interactions. He has an international track record working on human and zoonotic pathogens and their vectors. He is a scientist who uses genomic techniques to unlock biology. His research combines molecular biology, technology, and bioinformatics to provide this understanding of host-microbe interactions. This means that his work is multidisciplinary and highly collaborative. He sees his role as providing the genomic expertise to aid the understanding of varied biological systems, bringing unique skills to research teams.

He has a B.Sc. in Biology (Hons), with a 2:i classification, from the University of York, UK, which he obtained in 1997. He completed a M.Sc. (Dic) in Applied Entomology at Imperial College, UK, in 1998. He Ph.D. was on aphid symbiosis under the supervision of Prof. A.E. Douglas at the University of York, UK, 2003.

Research Overview
His main area of research is microbial/host interactions, which covers his interest in arthropod symbiosis, pathogens and microbiomes. He has extensive experience in designing and analysing genomic and RNAseq data, including arthropod genomes, e.g., Nasonia wasp (Science), tsetse fly (Science), mite (GigaScience), and a new high-quality version of the Diamondback moth genome sequence using the PacBio (data at lepbase.org). His research also uses single-cell genomics, and he is the lead for the CGR single-cell genomics facility.

Pandemic response and roles:
His recent work has resulted in a key role as the Deputy Director of the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK), where he was instrumental in leading the UK genomics response to the current pandemic. This work, funded by UKRI, Wellcome, and the Department of Health & Social Care Testing Innovation Fund, provided crucial genomic insights into the pandemic. COG-UK's mission was to enable a research network to provide the knowledge and expertise to set up UK-wide SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing and analysis and then to pass this know-how on to Public Health Agencies to enable the creation of a national pathogen genomics service significantly impacting the UK's response to the pandemic.