Personal Statement
I am a Group Leader at the University of Liverpool with a research focused on organelle biology, live-cell imaging and disease mechanisms. My work aims to understand how intracellular organelles, particularly lysosomes, mitochondria, endosomes and the endoplasmic reticulum, communicate to maintain cellular homeostasis, and how defects in these systems contribute to neurodegenerative disease, muscular dystrophy and ageing-related cellular dysfunction.

My group develops and applies molecular tools, including genetically encoded fluorescent reporters, ratiometric pH sensors, proximity-labelling approaches, organelle purification methods and quantitative imaging workflows. These technologies allow us to measure organelle function directly in living cells and to connect changes in pH, lipid signalling, vesicle recycling, organelle positioning and stress responses with disease-relevant mechanisms.

A major strength of my research is the combination of tool development with biological application. We are interested not only in observing organelles, but in engineering new ways to measure, perturb and understand their function. This includes work on lysosomal pH regulation, presynaptic vesicle acidification, organelle contact sites and lipid transfer between compartments.

My long-term goal is to build a research links fundamental cell biology with translational discovery, using advanced imaging and molecular engineering to identify early disease mechanisms and support the development of new therapeutic strategies.

Research Overview
I am a Group Leader (Assistant Professor, Lecturer-Tenured) in the Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, within the Faculty of Health & Life Sciences at the University of Liverpool. I am based in the Department of Musculoskeletal Ageing Science and am also affiliated with the Liverpool Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Centre (LINC).

My research focuses on how intracellular organelles, particularly lysosomes and mitochondria, regulate cellular homeostasis, neuronal resilience and disease progression. A major theme of my work is understanding how defects in lysosomal acidity, organelle positioning, membrane integrity and organelle communication contribute to neurodegenerative and age-related disease.

My scientific trajectory has combined neuroscience, cell biology, advanced imaging and disease mechanisms. Following doctoral training in neurobiology at the European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen and postdoctoral work at Yale University, I established my independent research programme at the University of Liverpool. My group develops and applies genetically encoded fluorescent reporters, live-cell imaging, proximity labelling, organelle purification and quantitative proteomics to study organelle function in living cells.

A central focus of my current research is the development of ratiometric imaging tools to measure lysosomal pH and organelle stress responses in real time. These approaches allow us to connect organelle-level dysfunction with molecular mechanisms in models relevant to Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease and other disorders affecting neuronal and cellular homeostasis. We are particularly interested in using these technologies to identify disease mechanisms and support imaging-based therapeutic discovery.

Alongside my research, I contribute teaching in cell biology, biotechnology, fluorescence microscopy, biological imaging and image analysis. I also have a strong interest in translational organelle biology, technology development and the commercial potential of imaging-based platforms for drug discovery. I am part of the editorial team of Traffic.