Dr Paul Kirkham

Dr Paul Kirkham completed his first degree in Biochemistry at Leeds University. He then went on to receive a PhD in Biochemistry from Surrey University in 1989. Between 1989 and 1998 he joined the laboratories of Dr Michael Parkhouse as a postdoctoral staff scientist, working on mechanisms of B and T cell activation in the Department of Immunology at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research before moving to the BBSRC Institute for Animal Health. In 1998 he moved into industry and joined Novartis, where as a Lab Head he led a team undertaking drug discovery into respiratory diseases. He returned to academia in 2008 after being awarded a Royal Society Industry Fellowship and joined the staff at the National Heart and Lung Institute within Imperial College London, where he currently remains as a Senior Fellow. His research interests focus on unravelling the role oxidative stress plays in modulating cellular and immune responses in disease pathogenesis, particularly in relation to respiratory disease.