Meet the One Health Models of Disease students

Dominic is from the Gambia, and joins the programmes after completing a BSc in Immunology at the University of Edinburgh. 

He is now working with Ross Fitzgerald in the Roslin Institute carrying out project bioinformatic investigation into virulence-associated traits of Legionella pneumophila.

Aria is from the Philippines, where she completed a BSc in Physics at Ateneo de Manila University, before studying for a MSc in Engineering at Osaka University, Japan. 

She is now working with Christine Tait-Burkard in the Roslin Institute for her first rotation project  to investigate host-pathogen interactions of arteriviruses and coronaviruses.

Jelimo is Kenyan, and previously worked at  the KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya.  She has a BSc in Microbiology from Kenyatta University and an MSc in the Immunology of Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 

Jelimo is now working on her first rotation project with Nicki Lynskey at the Roslin Institute, applying a novel 3D model to characterise the role of M-like proteins in driving dairy niche adaptation of streptococcal pathogens.

Hamna is from Pakistan, and originally studied to be a vet.  She then took a more research focus to complete an MPhil inVeterinary Parasitology at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Lahore, and an MSc in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, before starting her PhD. 

She is currently working on a rotation project with Joe Rainger in the Roslin Institute to investigate the genetic mechanisms in disrupted eye development caused by Vitamin A deficiency.

Cait is South African, and started her career with a BSc in Genetics at the University of Cape Town, before switching focus to complete a MSc in Medical Law and Ethics at the University of Edinburgh. 

She is now working with Debby Bogaert in the Centre for Inflammation Research studying the lower respiratory tract microbiome in COPD patients.

Like Jelimo, Gideon is also from Kenya.  He completed a BSc in Biochemistry & Zoology and an MSc in Medical Biochemistry, both at Kenyatta University, before studying for an MSc in Healthcare Ethics at the University of Leeds.   He then worked at the Centre of Biomedical Ethics and Culture at the KEMRI Bioethics Training Initiative.

Although is primary interests lie with the ethical impacts of developing and using one health models, Gideon is currently working with Finn Grey at the Roslin Institute for his first rotation project to identify species-specific host-virus interactions through phenotypic screening. 

Andrew is from Forres, near Inverness, and completed a BSc in Medical Sciences and then an MSc in Infectious Diseases at the Univeristy of Edinburgh before joining the One Health Models of Disease programme. 

He is now working with Christine Tait-Burkard at the Roslin Institute, using functional genomics to investigate the host-pathogen interactions of porcine coronaviruses.

Tim is originally from Singapore.  He studied Biotechnology in a BSc at the University of Toronto and MSc at the University of Melbourne, and was then a research associate at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the National University of Singapore, before joining the One Health Models of Disease programme. 

His PhD project is with Ross Fitzgerald at the Roslin Institute.

Vesa is from London (with Kosovan-Albanian heritage) and studied for a BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Portsmouth before completing an MSc in Genetics at the University of Edinburgh.  She then worked for Vaccitech in Oxford as a study manager, before starting her PhD. 

She is working with David Gally at the Roslin Institute.

Dev joined the programme from Thailand.  A law graduate from Thammasat University, Thailand, and the University of Melbourne, Australian, he is now working with Martyn Pickersgill at the Usher Institute investigating the supervisor-supervisee relationships in labs carrying out high-risk studies.

Hamna studied biomedical engineering during a BSc at NED University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan and an MSc at Arizona State University.  She is now starting her PhD with Vicky Macrae at the Roslin Institute.

Swetha started her career with a BSC in Biomedical Science at Keele University, before continuing to a MSc in Neuroscience at Imperial College London. 

She is pursuing her interest in neuroscience through a PhD project with Tom Wishart at the Roslin Institute, investigating nervous system stability using a gene-edited ovine model of dementia.

Sara is Palestian, and did her undergraduate training Biology at the Univeristy of Qatar before carrying out an MSc in Cardiovascular Science at the University of Göttingen.

She is currently working on a project with Gillian Gray in the Centre for Cardiovascular Science on a project that seeks to understand if  targeting local steroid regeneration reduce cardiac remodelling and the development of heart failure after myocardial infarction.

Nikos is from Greece, where is completed a BSc in Molecular Biology and Genetics at the Democritus University of Thrace.  He joined the PhD programme fresh from an MSc in Quantitative Genetics and Genome Analysis at the University, so already knows Edinburgh well. 

He is working with Kenny Baillie at the Roslin Institute to explore the genetic architecture of critically ill Covid-19 patients.

Holly is from East Kilbride, near Glasgow.  She carried out her undergraduate degree in Genetics at the University of Glasgow. 

Her PhD project with Christine Tait-Burkard at the Roslin Institute investigates the human host factors involved in Coronavirus infection in the search for antivirals.

Sara is Italian, and joined the programme after completing an MSc in Pharmacy at the University of Ferrara Italy, and and MSc in Microbiology at the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena, Germany. 

Her project is with Jayne Hope at the Roslin Institute, developing bovine lung models for assessment host-pathogen interaction.

Emma is from the USA, and came to Edinburgh as an undergraduate, first completing an MA in English Literature and then an LLM in Medical law and Ethics. 

On the One Health Models of Disease PhD programme, she is working with Sarah Chan in the Centre for Medicine Self and Society and the Usher Institute on a project that takes interdisciplinary One Health approaches to investigate pandemic ethics and Global Health justice.

Following a degree in Biomedical Science at Bangor Univeristy, Emily started her career as a chemistry teacher before moving into research, first on the Infectious Diseases and One Health International MSc programme, and now on the One Health Models of Disease PhD programme. 

She is working with Mark Stevens for her PhD, analysing molecular mechanisms underlying systemic salmonellosis using One Health models.