Prof Paul Kirkham, Editor-in-Chief
Prof Kirkham completed his first degree in Biochemistry at Leeds University in 1985 and went on to receive a PhD in Biochemistry from Surrey University. In 1989 he joined the Dept of Molecular and Cellular Immunology at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research as a postdoctoral fellow investigating mechanisms of B and T cell activation. Then in 1991, he moved to the BBSRC Institute for Animal Health to continue his research into molecular mechanisms regulating T cell activation and senescence. In 1998 he moved into industry and joined Novartis, where as a Lab Head in the Division of Immunology he led a team undertaking drug discovery research for respiratory disease. He returned to academia in 2008 following the award of a Royal Society Industry Fellowship and joined the staff at the National Heart and Lung Institute as a senior fellow within Imperial College London. Over the next 5 years he continued his research into the respiratory disease COPD and identified a novel mechanism that may explain the onset of lung destruction in COPD as well as discovering and patenting a biomarker to aid diagnosis and help patient stratification with this disease. In 2013 he moved to the University of Wolverhampton to take up a new post and in 2014 was made Professor of Cell biology within the School of Biomedical Sciences and a fellow of the HEA. His research interests focus on understanding the mechanisms of disease pathogenesis driven by oxidative stress and its impact on cell function and inflammation, particularly in relation to respiratory disease.