He is Chair in Global Health and Tuberculosis at Imperial College, London (ICL), a physician and microbiologist (accredited in Microbiology, Virology and Immunology). He has 25 years’ experience as PI/Co-I for complex respiratory disease research programmes focusing on TB/HIV and antimicrobial drug resistance, integrating clinical, biological and social themes. He has held multiple Board leadership roles in academia and the NHS.

He is: Fellow of ESCMID (2017- ); Member ICL Antimicrobial Research Collaborative; NIHR Health Protection Research Unit Respiratory Infections, ICL (2014-2017); Founder member ECDC TB Reference Lab Network (2009-onwards); Global CrypTIC TB DST Consortium; Director UK National Mycobacterium (TB) Reference Laboratory (1996-2015) Consultant Microbiologist (p/t) University Hospitals Dorset 2017- current; Member of British Thoracic Society MDRTB National Advisory Panel; NICE Clinical TB Adviser; Member MRC DPFS Grants Panel (2021- ); Member NICE-TAC (determines NHS drug etc purchasing/provision). UK NHS COVID Clinical Reference Group and diagnostics (2020-21).

Research expertise in diagnostics, AMR, disease risk factor and survival analysis, covid vaccine: TB/HIV LMIC programme development and implementation (eg EU FP6, FP7, H2020, Horizon Europe, DFID and WHO); ECDC TB Network (see above) focuses on diagnostics and analysis of drug resistance; training programmes (including Ukraine) for WHO, British Council; published over 280 peer-reviewed papers in these areas. Current Chief Investigator VAROT Study looking at post aminoglycoside hearing analysis and Horizon Europe EuCARE Covid 19 UK (UK arm of a multicenter Covid 19 consortium considering all aspects of Covid infection from diagnosis and genomics to survival by variant, immunology vaccine hesitancy, and UK NHS COVID Clinical Reference Group and diagnostics. WHO: diagnosis and treatment of drug resistant bacterial infections (AMR), and management of MDRTB and HIV-TB. Until recently WHO consultant and member of multiple WHO technical and policy committees including Chair WHO European Lab Initiative.

Leadership and Management: Non-Executive Board Director Kent Community Hospital Trust (2018-2022); Chair WHO European Laboratory Initiative on TB, HIV and viral hepatitis, until 2022) including supporting COVID19 strategy; Member Divisional Management Boards HPA/PHE, KCL, QMUL, ICL. Director/Co Lead DFID and EU Framework Programmes 1990-current); Director Health Sciences Research Ltd (2006-current), a not-for-profit ethos organisation supporting young scientist and medical training; faculty MSc Health Management, City University, London. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2025.

Research:

Our research sits firmly at the boundary of basic and translational sciences where scientific advances in for example, understanding the genetic and biochemical mechanisms of drug resistance have been developed into practical diagnostic tests, evaluated in multicenter trials and implemented into NHS and clinical practice. These have involved utlising multiple approaches including social and behavioural ones to address clinical problems and achieve desired goals. These have been funded principally through a series of EU Framework grants including Horizon Europe as well as NIHR, Wellcome Trust, DFID, MRC, FIND, Innovate etc.

TB and COVID-19 provide excellent models for public health and the development of national and international health and social policy issues including vaccine hesitancy.

Similarly the patients we typically deal with (eg TB, HIV, multi-cultural, ethnic and linguistic, frequently with major social problems including alcoholism, intra-venous drug abuse, homeless ness, prior imprisonment) require a multi-disciplinary scientific and clinical approach to address complex needs and perceptions about their illness.

Specifically our group focuses on:

--all aspects of tuberculosis (TB) (and its interaction with HIV) locally, nationally and internationally. You cannot address the UK dimension without thinking internationally.

--evaluation of new diagnostics including experience working with industry on joint projects; creation of Diagnostic and Clinical Trial Network in Eastern Europe with partners to facilitate this;

--the diagnosis of bacterial and viral diseases especially TB and other respiratory diseases

--identifying host and pathogen biomarkers for diagnosis and cure in drug resistant and other complex cases of TB;

--understanding the molecular epidemiology and global evolution/phylogeny of tuberculosis and other mycobacteria

--broader public health problems posed by TB, HIV, COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases both in the UK and overseas including vaccine hesitancy

--understanding therapy, causes and identifying drug resistance in TB and other mycobacteria including the fitness of drug resistant TB stains

--analysis of our banks of stored sera/plasma, urine and human DNA, and pathogen DNA from our longitudinal and cross-sectional patient cohorts from Eastern Europe with our partners. We completed population-based bacterial genoming sequencing studies, and are analysing biomarkers of cure and diagnosis within our longitudinal field cohorts together with the role of strain variation in infectivity and pathogenesis.

We want to interact with groups at Imperial and Europe more widely by exploring the effects of climate range on infectious diseases particularly in northern and eastern Europe and the Arctic collaborating with those in Europe.

Finally, understanding patient needs and perceptions about their health and the utlity of drugs and vaccines where available, and health economic aspects of therapeutics (eg NICE TAC). These lessons can be applied to a wide range of different patient groups.