Nick Eckersley

Email: m1805592@sgul.ac.uk 

After completing my BSc in Zoology at the University of Salford, I studied for an MSc in molecular parasitology at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Here, I developed my interest in tropical infectious diseases and their impact on human health. I was particularly interested in malaria and carried out a project looking at the role of cytokines on the interaction between host endothelial cells and Plasmodium infected red blood cells. After graduating, I spent a year working in industry at AstraZeneca. Here, I worked in a virology research team looking at how ferret models can help drive predictive seasonal influenza strains for their manufactured flu vaccine for children. I moved to London to carry out a PhD here at St. Georges. My project focuses on the development of novel molecular diagnostics for patients with acute febrile illness in resource-limited settings. Diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika cause a broad range of overlapping signs and symptoms which often get misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated. The project aims to capitalise on the use of point-of-care PCR diagnostics to accurately differentiate these infections in a timely manner and ensure patients are treated correctly and drug resistance is mitigated.