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Welcome to i-sense corner, where we share stories from our members, collaborators, and influential people within the i-sense community and the emerging field of infectious disease.  

From virologists to epidemiologists, and app developers to patient representatives, these stories show the unique interdisciplinary nature of the i-sense project, and the incredible work being done to tackle the increasing global health challenge of infectious disease.

Meet our researchers - Dounia Cherkaoui

Dounia Cherkaoui is a PhD student in the McKendry group at UCL. Currently working on a molecular test for COVID-19, Dounia's research interest includ molecular and antigen tests, point-of-care diagnostics, infectious diseases, and tropical diseases. In our short interview, Dounia shares her role within i-sense and how she quickly adapted her work to help with the response to COVID-19

Meet our researchers - interview with Da Huang

Da is a postdoc in the McKendry group at UCL. His research areas of interest include nano-sensing and molecular diagnostics. In our short interview, Da shares how his family inspired him to start his career in science and how the natural world has influenced his research.  

Meet our researchers - interview with Matthew Setterfield

Matthew is a PhD student at Newcastle University. His research areas of interest include diagnostic and translational therapies towards antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In our short catch up, Matthew shares with us what he has enjoyed about doing a PhD and his research into diagnostics for AMR.

Meet our researchers - interview with Dr Mengdie Zhuang 

Dr Mengdie Zhuang's research areas of interest include data visualisation, information retrieval, and human computer interaction. In our short catch up, Mengdie shares with us how data visualisation plays into infectious disease surveillance and why user enagement is so important when developing a dashboard. 

Meet our researchers - interview with Dr Leah Frenette 

Dr Leah Frenette's research area and insterests cover nanomaterials chemistry, developing new nanoparticles and investigating how they can be used in infectious disease diagnostics. In this short interview, Leah shares with us her career so far and how she's adapted her research during the COVID-19 lockdown period. 

Getting ready for a fellowship - interview with Dr Chris Wood

Dr Chris Wood started with i-sense as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Stevens group at Imperial College London in 2016. In 2018, Dr Wood was awarded a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Here he shares with us tips on preparing and applying for a fellowship, and perspective on what it has been like for him.

How public health is evolving - interview with Prof Dame Anne Johnson

Prof Dame Anne Johnson was working in the field of infectious disease epidemiology at the height of the emerging HIV epidemic. Here she shares with us how far the field has come since the 1980s and where she believes healthcare is headed, as well as her career highlights and the best career advice she has ever recieved. 

Filing patents and developing large research centres - interview with Prof Peter Dobson OBE

Prof Peter Dobson has had an exciting career working across both academic and industry. In this interview, Prof Dobson shares with us some his experience filing patents, developing large research centres, and what he sees for the future of nanotechnology.

Being a PhD student in an EPSRC IRC - interview with Colleen Loynachan

Colleen Loynachan has been a welcomed addition to the i-sense team since she joined us during the second year of her PhD with Prof Molly Stevens at Imperial College London. Today, Colleen shares with us her experience, tips, influences and achievements from when her interest in science was sparked, to the end of her PhD.

Witnessing the rapid growth of the mobile communications industry - interview with Dr Mike Short CBE

Dr Mike Short has had an exciting career in electronics and telecommunication. Over the last 30 years, he has witnessed and been actively involved in the rapid development of the mobile communication industry, which has grown to include nine billion people worldwide. In this interview, he shares with us his career highlights, his thoughts on the future of digital healthcare, and a glimpse into his new role.

Research during the early years of HIV - interview with Prof Robin Weiss

Professor Robin Weiss is a leading researcher whose discoveries transformed our understanding of HIV during its early years in the 1980s. This work paved the way for changes in HIV testing and treatment that saved lives. During this interview, Robin shares with us his remarkable career spanning 50 years; working on various retroviruses before applying his vast knowledge to HIV, and how his research is now being applied across several pathogenic infectious diseases like Ebola.

What it means to be a Patient Representative - interview with Chris Sandford

Chris Sandford is a Patient Representative at the Bloomsbury Clinic and part of a network offering support to HIV patients to help improve their confidence and enable them to live more positively with their diagnosis. In this interview, Chris chats with i-sense's Kailey Nolan about his work, why more needs to be done to support people diagnosed with HIV and what he thinks the future is for HIV testing.

Creating Plague Inc. - interview with James Vaughan

James Vaughan is creator of hugely popular strategic game Plague Inc., which exploded onto the gaming scene in 2012, becoming the number one paid for app just two weeks after its US launch. i-sense's Kailey Nolan caught up with James to discuss the inspiration behind Plague Inc. and future opportunities to contribute to the increasing challenge of infectious diseases.

Pioneering HIV Research - interview with Prof Deenan Pillay

Professor Deenan Pillay is a leading Clincal Virologist, Director of the Wellcome Trust funded Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies in South Africa and Deputy Director for Clinical Research at i-sense. Here, Deenan talks to i-sense's Kailey Nolan about his significant contributions to the field of HIV research, the ongoing challenges for HIV treatment and his role at the heart of this devastating disease.