Current Lab Members
Professor David Grainger
Dave trained as a biochemist and is interested in different aspects of bacterial chromosome biology, particularly gene regulation. He relocated his laboratory to the University of Birmingham in March 2011 having previously established a research group at the University of Warwick. He is a life-long supporter of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. He believes this has made it easier to cope with the frequent disappointments that befall a research scientist.
Dr. James Haycocks
Originally from London, James did his undergraduate degree in Microbiology and Virology at the University of Warwick, before completing his PhD in the Grainger lab. James currently studies the regulation of pathogenicity in Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) and Vibrio cholerae. James is funded by the Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP).
Dr. David Forrest
David grew up in Sheffield, and much to his parents dismay stayed there to study for his undergraduate Masters degree at The University of Sheffield. He then moved to the Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology at Newcastle University for his PhD and first research associate job investigating a novel RNA polymerase in B.subtilis. Now in the Grainger lab, he’ll be looking into AT rich DNA and its role in bidirectional transcription initiation.
Dr. Prateek Sharma
Prateek studied Genetic Engineering at SRM University, India, and did his undergraduate research project at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS). At NCBS he developed an interest in Molecular Microbiology and Plant defence systems. After his undergraduate degree, Prateek moved to the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena (Germany) and completed his MSc in Molecular Life Sciences. Prateek joined the Grainger lab in 2013 and is funded by The Darwin Trust of Edinburgh. His work currently focuses on understanding Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) enterotoxin expression in response to environment and host.
Dr. Emily Warman
Emily is from Devon and moved to Birmingham in 2012 to study at the University of Birmingham. After graduating with an MSci in Human Biology she returned to the university as a PhD student and Research Technician with the Grainger lab. Upon completing her PhD Emily obtained a post-doctoral position in the lab. She is exploring pervasive transcription and its regulation in E. coli.
Dr Simon Legood
Simon moved to Birmingham to study Biological Sciences at Aston University. After a brief stint in finance, Simon completed his MSc at the IMI where he went to on to work as a technician in Jessica Blair’s Lab. Simon returned to the IMI to join the Grainger Lab after completing his PhD in Microbiology at the Institut Pasteur in Paris.
Miss Alexandra Trigg
Alexandra is originally from Newcastle and completed her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology at the University of Sheffield. She went on to study her MSc Microbiology and Infection at The University of Birmingham. She is most interested in the mechanisms that cause antimicrobial resistance. Alexandra is funded by the BBSRC as part of the MIBTP.
Mrs Ksenia Klimova
Ksenia grew up in Tomsk (Russia), where she did her undergraduate degree in Biosciences. After graduation she moved to London and worked for Latis Scientific, Alpha Scientific and Procter&Gamble as a microbiologist. Ksenia joined the Grainger Lab as a PhD student in 2020 to work on activation of antibiotic resistance mechanisms in bacteria. She is funded by The Darwin Trust of Edinburgh.
Mr. Charles Cooper
Charles, originally from London, spent most of his childhood in Portugal. He completed his integrated masters in biochemistry at the University of Oxford. He is interested in the regulation of antibiotic resistance and is studying these mechanisms in Acinetobacter baumanii. Charles is funded by the Wellcome Trust as part of the Wellcome Trust Doctoral Training Centre in Antimicrobials and Antimicrobial Resistance.
Mr. Andrew Fletcher
Born and raised in Milton Keynes, Andrew completed his undergraduate Masters in Biochemistry at The University of Birmingham. As part of his degree he completed a year placement at GSK, before returning for his final year where he explored the mechanisms of acid resistance in E. coli. His fundamental interest is the regulation of antibiotic resistance, which brought him back to Birmingham and to the Grainger lab to complete his PhD. Andrew is funded by BBSRC as part of the MIBTP.
Mrs Rachel Hoare (nee Wheat)
Rachel started work at UoB in 2006 as a research technician, later undertaking a part-time MSc in Clinical Oncology. During her time at UoB she has gained experience in cell culture, molecular biology, immunohistochemistry, clinical oncology, genomics, and in-depth Nanopore sequencing technology. Outside the lab Rachel is a family person, enjoying spending time with her 2 children. Rachel joined the Grainger lab as senior research technician in December 2022, taking a new and exciting direction in her career to investigate the pathogenesis of bacteria.
Previous Lab Members
Dr. Shivani Singh
After completing her BSc in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Central Lancashire, Shivani obtained an MSc in Medical Molecular Microbiology from University of Aberdeen. Following this, she took up a Research Assistant post with Professor Ian R Booth in University of Aberdeen. Shivani joined our group in 2009, obtained her PhD in 2014, and worked with us as a Leverhulme Trust funded post-doc until 2017. Shivani’s next destination was the MRC London institute of medical sciences, where she completed a post-doctoral research position. In 2020, Shivani joined Nucleus Global to work in medical communications.
Dr. Laura Sellars
Laura is from the Wirral and did a BSc in Biochemistry at the University of York. She came to Birmingham to join Steve Busby’s lab for her PhD before moving across the IMI to the Grainger lab for a Wellcome Trust funded post-doc position. Laura joined Lab Support UK in 2015.
Dr. Kiran Chintakayala
Kiran joined the group in 2010 as a BBSRC funded post-doctoral researcher having previously completed his PhD studies at the University of Nottingham with Prof. Panos Soultanas. Kiran is now Senior Scientist at Evotec in Oxfordshire.
Dr. Lisa Lamberte
Lisa, born and raised in Manila, is currently a post doctoral reseacher working on Escherichia coli gene expression and pervasive transcription. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Biology degree the De La Salle University-Manila. From there she went on to obtain her Master of Science in Microbiology degree at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. After attaining her degree, she worked at the Marine Science Institute at the same university working in close collaboration with the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine. In 2012, she moved to Birmingham and obtained her PhD in 2016. In 2017 Lisa obtained a post-doctoral position with Prof. Willem van Schaik to study antibiotic resistance and the microbiome.
Dr. Gemma Warren
Gemma grew up in County Durham and moved to the Midlands in 2000 to study Mathematics at the University of Warwick. After her undergraduate degree she stayed at Warwick and joined the MOAC Doctoral Training Centre, where she completed an MSc and PhD in Mathematical Biology and Biophysical Chemistry. She then worked as a Post Doc at Warwick Medical School for 3 years. She moved to Aston University to work as a laboratory technician, before joining the Grainger lab as a research technician in 2016. Gemma moved back to the north east in 2020 and is currently Principle Science Technician at Nelson Thomlinson School in Cumbria.
Dr. Jai Manneh
Jainaba is from Birmingham and completed her BSc and MSc at the University of Wolverhampton. She moved to The Gambia to work at the MRC Gambia site before joining the Grainger Lab on a 3-year PhD programme. She has interests in the molecular mechanisms of virulence and pathogenesis of enteropathogens and was funded by the Islamic Development Bank’s Merit Scheme. After graduating, Jai worked as a research molecular biologist at Biofidelity Ltd.
Dr. Rachel Kettles
Rachel is originally from Essex and completed her undergraduate degree in Microbiology at the University of Surrey in 2014, before joining the Grainger Lab for her PhD which was funded by the BBSRC as part of the Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership (MIBTP). After her PhD, Rachel worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Manchester before joining the NHS as a clinical microbiologist in 2020.
Dr. Alistair Middlemiss
Alistair grew up in East Sussex and completed his MSci degree in Microbiology at the University of East Anglia. He is interested in bacterial pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance. His PhD focused on MarR, the repressor of the multiple antibiotic resistance operon and the downstream activator MarA. Alistair was funded by the Wellcome Trust as part of the Wellcome Trust Doctoral Training Centre in Antimicrobials and Antimicrobial Resistance. He is now senior scientist, molecular biologist, at GSK in Worthing.
Dr. Tom Guest
Tom is originally from Somerset and completed his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. He moved to Birmingham for his PhD and was funded by the BBSRC as part of the MIBTP. Tom work on gene regulation and cyclic-di-GMP signalling in V. cholerae during his PhD. He has now taken up a post-doctoral position in Umeå working with Felipe Cava.
Dr. Lucas Walker
Lucas grew up in Portsmouth and moved north to do his undergraduate Master’s in Biochemistry at the University of Sheffield. After a year and a half in London, working as a research technician at UCL, he applied to the Grainger lab to undertake his PhD. Lucas’s work, on gene regulation in Vibrio cholerae, was funded by the BBSRC as part of the MIBTP. After completing his PhD, Lucas was appointed to the position of scientist at Apis Assay Technologies.