The group focuses on the following themes.
Advanced cell & tissue models
Group Lead: Dr. Nick Peake
This group focuses on the development and application of non-animal methods, including 3D cell culture, organoids, organ-on-chip systems, fluidics, barrier models and advanced analytical approaches. It provides a methodological home for staff and PGRs working with complex in vitro models across different biological and disease contexts.
The group is deliberately supportive and capability-focused, offering a forum to share SOPs, discuss project development, troubleshoot methods and engage with emerging advances in non-animal research. It will help staff make better use of existing facilities, including 3D modelling, 3D printing, analytical platforms, fluidics, hypoxia chambers and mechanical testing. The group also has strong potential to support collaborative grant development in areas aligned with NC3Rs, MRC, BBSRC, EPSRC and animal-free research funders.
Outward-facing website SHEBCOR
Stress pathways
Group Lead: Dr. Sue Campbell
This research group focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms by which cells respond to stress. The research interests centre on defining how cellular stress signals are detected, integrated, and translated into adaptive or maladaptive changes (including, programmed cell death, and other forms of stress-induced cytotoxicity). This work spans fundamental studies of signalling dynamics, protein complex assembly, and translational regulation, through to applied research in disease contexts including neurodegeneration, cancer, and metabolic disorders.
This group welcomes staff and PGRs with a shared interest in using biochemical, cell biological, and advanced imaging approaches, to dissect stress signalling pathways at both molecular and spatial resolution, linking translational control to decisions that determine cell survival or death.
Immunology
Group Lead: Dr. Shafqat Jaigirdar
The Immunology Research Group (IRG) brings together researchers across inflammation, tumour immunology, and host-pathogen interactions. Meeting every 2–3 weeks, the forum is open to all interested members and provides a collaborative space to share ideas, build partnerships, and discuss challenges in immunology research. Sessions will include informal discussions, research presentations, and opportunities for feedback across experience levels.
Air pollution and CO
Group Lead: Dr. Mari Herigstad
The focus of this group is on the impact of air pollutants, in particular carbon monoxide (CO), on health. Our research is multidisciplinary, spanning cell biology, developmental biology, physiology and neuroscience, and we welcome colleagues from all fields. The group is comprised of academics with a diverse range of research interests, from blood sciences to neurological disease and environmental physiology, brought together by a common interest in how air pollution can affect biology.
The group is collaborative and inclusive, and we are open to members at all career levels, from final year project students to postgraduate students and staff. Our aim is to support air pollution research across the BMRC, to improve our understanding of the risks of air pollution and how it affects health, and to translate our research to tangible change through policy and guideline changes. We meet every week to discuss ongoing research and have a monthly student-led journal club.
Outward-facing website: SCORe
