PhD students & supervisors

I have always felt passionate about addressing the socioeconomic inequalities I see in my clinical practice. I want to use my skills to contribute to developing new knowledge around how we can adapt clinical services to address the social determinants of health for young children.

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Programme Theme(s): Describe

Project title: Linking socioeconomic exposures associated with deprivation to early years respiratory outcomes using existing and routinely collected health and non-health data.

Dr Alice Lee is an Inflammation and Immunity PhD student based at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Trust.

Alice’s PhD project aims to use linked health and non-health data to better understand the drivers of early years respiratory health inequalities across Cheshire & Mersey.  This includes:

• Assessing the impact of socioeconomic deprivation on bronchiolitis and wheeze for 0-3 year olds;
• Identifying which socioeconomic risk factors have the largest population-level impacts in different communities;
• Identifying opportunities for community-level primary and secondary care prevention

Outside of the programme Alice is a paediatric trainee currently working as a clinical research and innovation fellow at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. Her research interests lie in health inequalities and paediatric respiratory health, which she’s pursued throughout her training. This includes completing an MA in Humanitarianism and Conflict Response, undertaking a population health fellowship with Health Education England. After completing her PhD, Alice plans to complete her training in paediatric respiratory medicine.

Supervisor(s):

• Dr Dan Hawcutt, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Trust, University of Liverpool
• Professor Ian Sinha, Inflammation and Immunity Steering Group member; Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Trust, University of Liverpool

I hope to refine my programming abilities so I can become a more efficient researcher who can contribute to more intricate projects... [and] to learn more about the impact that health data research has on the healthcare system and patients. This will enable me to tailor the research I complete, ensuring it is not only informative but also beneficial to patients.”

Programme Theme(s): Describe 

Project title: Exploring the Correlates and Benefits of Specialist Referral in Asthma: an Analysis of Routine Datasets 

Miss Amy Shackleford is an Inflammation and Immunity PhD student based at Queen’s University Belfast.  

Her PhD project focuses on new biologic treatments for severe asthma. Using a range of data sources, Amy will explore what factors – geographic, socioeconomic, and clinical – influence the likelihood of patients with severe asthma being prescribed these medications. She will also investigate the benefits of early access to these drugs, including the impact of trajectory on corticosteroid toxicity. 

Biologics are effective at improving symptoms, reducing the number of exacerbations experienced and maintenance oral corticosteroid usage. In fact, these new treatments have been so effective has been so prominent it has enabled a new treatment goal of “remission” for individuals with severe asthma. These improvements are beginning to lower the burden of severe asthma on both patients and healthcare systems. 

Supervisor(s): 

• Professor Liam Heaney, Northern Ireland Lead (Queen’s University Belfast) 

• Dr John Busby, Deputy Northern Ireland Lead (Queen’s University Belfast) 

Programme Theme(s): Describe 

Project title: An investigation of the socioeconomic drivers of inequalities in asthma in Wales with a focus on young people 

Cedric Burden is an Inflammation and Immunity PhD student based at Swansea University; he also acts as the programme’s PhD Representative. 

Cedric’s PhD project explores how socioeconomic factors may drive inequalities in asthma care in Wales, specifically among young people. The aim is to generate the information required to better understand and predict severe asthma outcomes, allowing for more targeted, individual-level interventions to be planned. 

He has a background in Physics, Theoretical Physics and secondary education, with a particular interest in using data interrogation and modelling to improve public health. 

Supervisor(s):  

• Professor Gwyneth Davies, Wales Lead (Swansea University) 

• Professor Rich Fry (Swansea University) 

• Dr Mohammad Al Sallakh, Research Fellow (Swansea University) 

• Professor Jennu Quint, Co-Lead Investigator (Imperial College London) 

I am interested in conducting research that identifies the underlying disparities in access and provision of health care, so that tailored interventions can be developed, and health outcomes improved for underserved communities.

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Programme Theme(s): Describe 

Project title: Characterising RSV infection in electronic health records & investigating the association between RSV infection and asthma in children 

Ms Daira Trusinska is an Inflammation and Immunity PhD student based at The University of Edinburgh. She is supervised by affiliate member Dr Ting Shi. 

By using electronic health records, Daira aims to: 

1. Describe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in young children; 

2. Explore the relationship between RSV infection in early childhood and the development of asthma or recurrent wheezing in later childhood 

RSV is a prevalent cause of acute respiratory infections in children aged five and under. Although for most children RSV infection is mild and self-limiting, the global impact remains substantial, with an estimated 3.6 million hospital admissions and 26,300 in-hospital deaths in this age group in 2019 alone. Furthermore, numerous studies have found a link between RSV infection in early childhood and the development of asthma or recurrent wheezing in later childhood. 

Investigating the association between RSV infection in childhood and the development of asthma is of interest in relation to the use of RSV preventive interventions, which could potentially contribute to a reduction in asthma morbidity in children. 

By identifying potential risk factors for serious RSV, this study’s findings have the potential to help inform which groups of children would benefit most from preventative interventions and early treatment. 

Supervisor(s): 

• Dr Ting Shi, (primary; The University of Edinburgh) 

• Professor Aziz Sheikh, Co-Lead Investigator (secondary; The University of Edinburgh 

• Professor Jurgen Schwarze, (tertiary; Centre for Inflammation Research, The University of Edinburgh) 

• Dr John Busby, Deputy Northern Ireland Lead (external; Centre for Public Health Queen’s University Belfast) 

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Programme Theme(s): Describe 

Project Title: Exploring and characterising long-term health impacts of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and associations with COPD treatment among different COPD phenotypes: an analysis of electronic health records in the United Kingdom 

Miss Harley Kwok is an Inflammation and Immunity PhD student based at Imperial College London. She is supervised by Professor Jennifer Quint, Co-Lead Investigator of our programme. Her research interest is on respiratory disease epidemiology, with a background in epidemiology, public and global health. 

In her PhD project, Harley aims to explore the: 

1. Progression and long-term health impacts of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); 

2. Relationship between different COPD phentoypes and treatments 

She hopes that her project will bring new understanding about the best possible definition of COPD phenotypes and phenotype-specific medication impacts. 

Read Harley’s professional profile 

I saw this as a fantastic opportunity to improve my research skills by being able to undertake a PhD exploring a public health level national intervention, aiming to improve outcomes for CYP with asthma and reduce inequalities in asthma.

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Programme Theme(s): Describe, Intervene & Evaluate

Project title: System-wide and data-driven approaches to improving asthma outcomes in children and young people. 

Dr Karl Holden is one of our programme’s PhD students, based at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. He is also a qualified doctor and pediatric registrar, having undertaken integrated clinical and academic training. 

The aim of Karl’s PhD project is to assess if system-wide (pilot programme in 8 ICBs in England) and data-driven approaches (use of risk stratification in primary care records) have been successful in: 

1. Improving clinical outcomes of asthma in Children and Young People (CYP); 
2. Reducing inequalities in these clinical outcomes 

What are ICBs?

Integrated Care Boards are NHS organisations responsible for:  

• Planning health services for their local population; 

• Managing the NHS budget; 

• Arranging for the provision of health services in a geographic area; 

There are 42 ICBs in England. Rather than ICBs, Scotland and Wales instead have regional heath boards. There are 14 health boards in Scotland and 7 in Wales. 

Find out more about ICBs 

Find out more about regional health boards in Scotland 

Find our more about health boards in Wales 

In the UK, most CYP living with asthma are treated in a primary care setting (seeing GPs and asthma nurses). This approach has been described as “fragmented and fatally fallible”, with the UK having the worst CYP asthma outcomes in Europe. Significant socioeconomic inequalities also exist. Even when national CYP asthma admission rates fall, the gaps between the least and most deprived areas increases. 

In 2021, NHS England published the National Bundle of Care for Asthma. This document outlined system-wide infrastructure and pathways to improve asthma outcomes, with themes including data and digital (e.g. being able to use data to create at-risk registers). As a result, a national, pilot scheme is being undertaken where 8 ICBs have received funding to recruit CYP asthma practitioners to facilitate: 

1. Work across the ICB and deliver key elements of the bundle; 
2. The use of risk stratification in primary care electronic health records to target intervention towards CYP at highest risk of poor outcomes 

It is these interventions that Karl will be evaluating. 

Alongside his PhD, Karl is also an associate Principal Investigator in a paediatric drug randomised control trial for severe asthma (The TREAT trial). Previous areas of research include: 

• Biomarkers of disease activity in preschool wheeze, fungal sensitatisation and disease activity in childhood asthma; 

• Involved with developing clinical characterisation protocol study for COVID-19 in adults, then children (Co-Investigator with the ISARIC programme) 

• Effect of air quality (housing, indoor and outdoor) on respiratory health in children 

Supervisor(s): 

• Professor Ian Sinha, Steering Group member (Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Trust, University of Liverpool) 

• Dr. Dan Hawcutt (Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, University of Liverpool) 

Programme Theme(s): Describe

Project title: Influence of smoking status or vaping on severity of COPD at diagnosis, COPD management, and comorbidity diagnosis and management 

Miss Rong Ding is an affiliated PhD student based at Imperial College London. She has a background in psychology and finance. Her PhD supervisor is Inflammation and Immunity Co-lead, Professor Jenni Quint.

Rong’s PhD project investigates how smoking and vaping impacts the management and treatment outcomes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

I want to continue to develop my expertise on inequalities in asthma outcomes by understanding linked data and exchanging knowledge with academics, asthma patients and clinicians.

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Programme themes: Describe

Project title: Exploring the role of health inequalities as determined by socioeconomic status in the diagnosis, management and outcomes of adults with asthma in England

Zakariah Gassesse is one of Inflammation and Immunity’s PhD students, based at the School of Public Health, Imperial College London.

Zak’s PhD project explores the relationship between a person’s socioeconomic status and their asthma care pathway (diagnosis, management and outcomes). More specifically, he will investigate whether socioeconomic status can lead to inequalities in asthma care. He will also evaluate how important the different factors used to calculate socioeconomic status (e.g. Education, wealth, proximity to green spaces) are in explaining identified patterns.

Despite the UK having one of the highest asthma rates in the world, little is currently known about the impact of societal inequalities on asthma care. Zak hopes that his project will generate the results necessary to begin filling in the gaps, providing a better understanding of the extent to which these inequalities affect asthma treatment over time. Decision-makers could then use such findings in policy and practice to develop and implement interventions to address healthcare needs.

Supervisor(s):

• Professor Jenni Quint, Co-Lead Investigator (primary; Imperial College London)
• Dr Hannah Whittaker, Reasearch Fellow & ECR Representative (secondary; Imperial College London)
• Dr Constantinos Kallis, Research Fellow (tertiary; Imperial College London)

Read Zak’s professional profile

The new research program on inflammation and immunity is truly groundbreaking, uniting efforts across the four UK nations and exploring these critical health areas throughout the lifecourse. This initiative is not only set to advance our understanding but also promises to build significant capacity with numerous PhD studentships and internships, fostering the next generation of scientific leaders.

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Programme Theme(s): Describe, Intervene & Evaluate

Dr Ian Sinha is Inflammation and Immunity’s Lead researcher for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

A Consultant Respiratory Paediatrician at Alder Hey and an Honorary Associate Professor in Child Health at the University of Liverpool, Ian’s expertise and areas of interest focus on paediatric asthma, neonatal lung diseases, and the social determinants of respiratory health, particularly the impact of poverty on child health.

Ian has substantial experience in understanding and addressing health inequalities, including developing frameworks to address these issues in children and supporting ongoing advocacy work at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. 

Ian is dedicated to improving child health outcomes and holds several prominent national roles, including serving as the clinical lead for the Children and Young People's Workstream of the National Asthma and COPD Audit Programme and as a specialty advisor for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on asthma guidelines. Leveraging these networks and his experience, Ian is working closely with the Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) team within Inflammation and Immunity, to develop a 4-nation paediatric PPI working group which will help inform project development and ensure health data are used appropriately to improve health outcomes for young people and their families.

Respiratory conditions are sadly very common in Wales and the wider UK. This is a great opportunity to harness the full potential of the UK’s extensive health data. This will allow us to learn who is most at risk and how environmental factors impact on people. We can use health data to target and test interventions to improve respiratory health initially and reduce inequalities in care.

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Programme Theme(s): Describe, Training & Capacity Building

Professor Gwyneth Davies is both Inflammation and Immunity’s Lead researcher for Wales and  Training & Capacity Building theme lead. 

A Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Swansea University Medical School, Gwyn’s expertise lies in understanding the epidemiology, underlying ‘omics’ and health inequalities of respiratory diseases – particularly Asthma. She has substantial experience collaborating with a range of UK-based and international partners.

Her research currently focuses on improving respiratory health to reduce inequalities in care, by using health data to target and evaluate health interventions. Her work

Outside of the programme, Gwyn is also the founding Director of the Wales Asthma Observatory within the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank. In 2020, Gwyn was recognised for her contributions towards improving NHS care and services when she received the Bronze Clinical Excellence Award from the Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards (2019-2024).

Read Gwyn's professional profile

Read Gwyn's ResearchGate profile

Relevant links

Find out more about  SAIL Databank

Find out more about Wales Asthma Observatory

Definitions

Epidemiology

• The branch of medicine which focuses on the occurrence, distribution and possible control of diseases other factors relating to health

Omics

• A term used to reference several fields of biology which aim to identify, describe and quantify specific biomolecules and molecular processes involved in the formation and function of cells and tissues. For example, genomics focuses on the structure and function of an organism’s genome – it's entire set of genes.

Find out more about omics

Inflammation and Immunity is a fantastic opportunity to improve the quality of data recording and the use of data to better respiratory outcomes for people in the UK. We will then expand our learning to other diseases.

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Programme Theme(s): Describe, Predict, Intervene & Evaluate

Professor Jenni Quint is one of Inflammation and Immunity’s Co-lead investigators, leading our programme alongside Professor Sir Aziz Sheikh.  

A Professor of Respiratory Epidemiology at Imperial College London, Jenni’s goal is to enable better and more timely data linkage to answer important questions around respiratory disease. 

She has unparalleled, specialist knowledge on using various sources of de-identified, routinely collected electronic healthcare records (EHRs) data in England to support research into the UK’s most common respiratory diseases. This includes COPD, asthma, interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis and COVID-19. 

Jenni’s ambition and vision are vital to our success. She recognises that whilst data curation and accessibility is fundamental to achieving our aims, maximising the quality, inclusivity and usage of these data is key to driving further innovation and development. 

Jenni also leads the Respiratory EHR group which has developed a robust understanding of the strengths and limitations of using routinely collected health data for research purposes, particularly diagnostic coding practices in clinical settings and how these might then affect research outcomes. 

She is also the primary supervisor to two of our PhD students, Zak Gassasse and Harley Kwok, as well as affiliated PhD student Rong Ding. 

Read Jenni's professional profile 

Relevant links

Find out more about the Respiratory EHR group 

The UK is already a global leader in the use of routine clinical data sources to deliver patient benefit – this programme provides a unique opportunity to further enhance that capability in respiratory and other inflammatory diseases to address future critical research questions.

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Programme Theme(s): Predict 

A Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast, Liam’s expertise lies in the clinical assessment and characteristics of “difficult asthma”- asthma that is difficult to control with standard of care treatments. This includes identifying and managing poor adherence to therapy, treatment resistant disease and often other comorbid disease which can make clinical assessment challenging. 

Liam is particularly interested in using disease stratification - separating a patient population into distinct groups based on the different disease characteristics they possess - to come up with personalised treatment approaches and interventions for individuals with severe asthma 

He hopes that by facilitating the widespread linkage of secondary and tertiary care datasets to primary care records across the UK, our programme will make it easier for researchers to gain a better understanding of: 

• Disease trajectory - how a condition, disease or illness changes over time; 

• Comorbid disease - conditions, diseases or illnesses that occur at the same time; 

• Benefits of early intervention with target-specific therapies; 

• Predictors of treatment response; and 

• Barriers that delay or prevent access to healthcare 

Liam is also the primary supervisor of Inflammation and Immunity PhD student, Amy Shackleford.

Outside of Inflammation and Immunity, Liam also leads RASP-UK (the Medical Research Council’s Medical Research Council UK Refractory Stratification Programme) who have substantial experience in developing both Phase II and Phase III clinical trials, from concept and design through to data analysis. 

Read Liam Heaney’s professional profile 

Relevant links

Find out more about RASP-UK 

Find out more about the levels of healthcare in the NHS

Definitions

Phase II clinical trials

• Studies that investigate the effectiveness of an experimental drug or treatment on a particular disease or condition. It usually involves 100+ volunteers and can last from several months to a couple of years. 

Phase III clinical trials 

• Studies that compare the safety and effectiveness of a treatment to the one(s) that are currently available (the standard treatment). It usually involves hundreds or thousands of volunteers over 1 – 4 years. 

Primary care

• A patient receives care from their GP, community pharmacy, dentist or eye doctor 

Secondary care

• A patient’s primary care provider refers them for specialist care for someone with more specific expertise in whatever health issue you are experiencing. For example, a cardiologist  or oncologist. 

Tertiary care 

• A higher level of care that requires highly specialized equipment and expertise, including complex treatments and surgeries. For example, dialysis for kidney disease and neurosurgery. 

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Programme Theme(s): Predict 

Dr Ting Shi is an Inflammation and Immunity’s affiliate member, and is the primary supervisor of Daira Trusinska, one of our programme’s PhD students. 

A Chancellor’s Fellow at the Usher Institute, the University of Edinburgh, Ting is an Epidemiologist with expertise in infectious diseases and global health. She has a particular interest in viral respiratory infections such as Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and COVID-19.  

Ting’s current work focuses on: 

1. Understanding the short- and long-term impacts of RSV on: 

   • A person’s future health; and 

   • The delivery of health and care services; 

2. Developing risk prediction tools that can: 

   • Help identify which groups of people are most at risk of becoming seriously ill with respiratory infections during the winter months 

   • Help predict the extra demand experienced by health and care services due to these diseases 

These two areas are of considerable policy interest as an improved understanding of the risks and impacts of these diseases will underpin the development of future targeted and preventive intervention strategies (e.g. vaccination, monoclonal antibodies, antivirals/antibiotics, optimising care for at risk individuals).  

Ting hopes that the knowledge exchange gained through collaborating with our programme will facilitate and enhance her investigations, as well as assist in sharing her findings to the desired audiences. In return, Ting shares with us her expertise in:

• Infectious disease and global health 

• Statistical modeling and systematic approaches to epidemiological evidence; 

• Analysing national scale linked data 

Read Ting’s professional profile 

View Ting’s Google Scholar page