Biography

I completed my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Leeds, then moved to the University of Oxford to the Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, and obtained a DPhil working with Professors Xiaoning Xu and Gavin Screaton. I joined the Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 2007, to work on Immunology in Pre-eclampsia with Professors Ian Sargent and Chris Redman. My work focused on studying placental derived factors that contribute to maternal systemic inflammatory changes in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia. A key aspect of this work was studying the interactions between syncytiotrophoblast microvesicles and exosomes with immune cells in pregnancy.

I am a reproductive immunologist working on infertility and early pregnancy. Together with Dr Ingrid Granne, I am aiming to further understand the nature of uterine immunity pre-pregnancy and immunological events that unfold in early pregnancy.

Research Interests

• Endometrial immune cells and their role in fertility and recurrent miscarriage

• The interactions of seminal fluid extracellular vesicles with maternal endometrial cells

• Embryo factors that enhance implantation

• The influence of follicular fluids on oocyte viability

• Cytokines in pathological pregnancies, in particular IL-33 and its decoy sST2 which we have show is highly elevated in pre-eclampsia

Opportunities to work with us

Speculative enquires from people wishing to work with us are always welcome and should be made in the first instance by e-mail to myself or Dr Ingrid Granne