Personal Statement
I joined the University of Liverpool in 2000 to begin a research career investigating the pathophysiology of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. My group was the first to suggest a role for protein kinase CbetaII in the pathogenesis of CLL, and first to identify aberrant expression of Lck as a potential therapeutic target. My group pioneered understanding of B cell receptor signal pathway rewiring in CLL, and has developed novel techniques, such as Proximity Ligant AssaY for Rna (PLAYR), for mulitplex analysis of RNA expression in single cells using mass cytometry. Prior to Liverpool, I worked at the University of Ulm characterising the expression and function of protease activated receptors on monocytic cells, the University of Würzburg where I was first to demonstrate c-Raf-BRaf heterodimerisation, and I was a fellow of the Max-Planck-Society where my findings characterising the pro-inflammatory response of vascular endothelial cells to activated platelets have become citation classics. I gained my PhD from the University of Liverpool in 1994.

Research Overview
The work of my group is focused on understanding the pathophysiological events that give the malignant cells in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and other B cell lymphomas their growth advantage. We are principally interested in characterising the processes that lead to accelerated CLL and Richter's Transformation, a condition where CLL transforms into a very aggressive form of diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Monoallelic deletion of the short arm of chromosome 17 (del17p) is a risk factor for such transformation, and my lab has used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate the first isogenic CLL cell line with this chromosomal abberation. This work broad importance to other cancers because del17p is a common feature of the malignant cells in these diseases, and our research may find critical vulnerabilities important for their survival and proliferation. I work closely together with Dr Mark Glenn, who is an expert in CRISPR/Cas9, and Professor Nagesh Kalakonda, who is a clinician scientist, and I am also the academic lead of the Cell Sorting and Mass Cytometry Shared Research Facility at the University of Liverpool.