DrAlex Cocker

Alex completed a BSc in Biology at the University of Leeds in 2012, and from 2013 to 2015 worked as a Research Assistant at the St Stephen’s AIDS Trust, where he ran a number of clinical trials focussing on HIV, Hepatitis C and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. During this time Alex successfully applied for the Chelsea and Westminster JRC Studentship grant, and started his PhD exploring the effect of both pregnancy and HIV on immune function, under the supervision of Professor Mark Johnson and Dr Nesrina Imami.

Following the completion of his PhD in 2019 Alex worked briefly as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant in the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction working on assays to explore the cells of the uterine tissues during pregnancy, then for 3 years as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Parham Lab at Stanford University where he continued his work in infectious diseases, focusing on how chronic infection can affect Natural Killer cell education, development and function. Alex is now a Research Associate in the Davis lab in the Department of Life Sciences investigating how immune cell nanostructures are linked to their function.