Research

Professor Konstantinos Gerasimidis

Professor of Clinical Nutrition

Professor Konstantinos Gerasimidis is professor Clinical Nutrition. He has graduated in Nutrition and Dietetics and completed his postgraduate studies in Clinical Nutrition.

During his doctoral research at the University of Glasgow, he explored the effect of exclusive enteral nutrition on the gut microbiota and nutritional status of children with Crohn’s disease. He holds an honorary contract as Clinical Paediatric Nutrition Scientist with the National Health Service at Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Affiliations and memberships: He is the Allied Health Professional (AHP) representative in the Nutrition Committee of the European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN).

Professor Simon Milling

Professor of Immunology (Immunology),
Associate - Life Sciences (School of Life Sciences)

My lab focuses on the immunology of the intestine and the skin, and on how immune cells respond to infectious or inflammatory stimuli. We study the functions of specific populations of immune cells in vivo, using samples from mice and from people. The aim of this work is to understand the vital roles that the immune system plays, both in the induction and polarisation of adaptive immune responses against pathogens, and in the pathology of inflammatory diseases. Our current translational studies are focussed on understanding the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases, alopecia areata, and axial spondyloarthropathy.

Read more about my work here.

Dr Umer Zeeshan Ijaz

Reader in Information Engineering (James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow)

My name is Umer Zeeshan Ijaz (http://userweb.eng.gla.ac.uk/umer.ijaz), and I am currently working as a Reader in Information Engineering at the University of Glasgow. Additionally, I hold several honorary positions at other universities in the UK and Ireland: Visiting Lecturer at University of Galway, Ireland; and Honorary Visiting Professor (Research Track), Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, University of Liverpool. I am also involved as an advisory committee member for several Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in Pakistan: International Advisory Committee Member, Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University, Islamabad, Pakistan; International Advisory Committee Member, KAM-School of Life Sciences, Forman Christian College (A Chartered University), Lahore, Pakistan; International Advisory Member, Poultry Diagnostic and Population Dynamics Advisory Committee, Poultry Research Institute, Government of Pakistan. In terms of leadership positions, I am currently serving as the Specialty Chief Editor for Frontiers in Systems Biology - Integrative Systems Microbiology leading a team of 27 editors as well as serving in the capacity of the Chairperson of Scottish Pakistani Association (Elected 2024).

I currently hold several prestigious fellowships as a demonstration of esteem: Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health (Elected 2024; Membership No: 137506); Fellow of the British Computing Society (Elected 2024; Membership No: 995153327); Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society (2024-; Membership No: 236289). Previously, I have held the prestigious NERC Independent Research Fellowship (2014-2019) (success rate 7%) as well as a Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Leadership Fellowship (2014-2019) by virtue of which I established my independent research career and the Environmental’Omics Lab with a high performance computing facility (Orion Cluster; 2nd biggest cluster at James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow).

The purpose of my research is to develop analytical strategies to process, integrate, and visualize different sources of 'omics data (metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metabolomics, and metaproteomics) in environmental and medical science. To date, my research activities are supported by £22M+ grant income as a PI/Co-I/International Participant that includes £10,577,785 funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through all major research councils: BBSRC, MRC, EPSRC, and NERC. These have resulted in 200+ research publications with 43 PhD students who have successfully defended their thesis under my guidance (total supervisory experience of 200+ staff/students).

Dr Nicholas J W Rattray

Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow

Nik is currently a Chancellor’s Fellow and Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Clinical Metabolomics at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. His research strategy currently focuses on using bio-molecular mass spectrometry and metabolomics alongside chemometrics and molecular biology techniques to establish an extensive research portfolio of biomarker detection. His lab contains a range of orbitrap and QQQ based LCMS instruments and using them his work has developed mechanistic understanding on how different energy mechanisms within our cells change and modulate their behaviour through stress.

He was awarded his PhD in 2012 for the development of a range of molecular probes to detect different bacterial species and has held postdoctoral positions within the School of Chemistry in the University of Manchester and the School of Public Health at Yale. He has published over 50 research papers in journals such as Nature, Nature Methods, Nature Communications and Trends in Biotechnology and is active within the Metabolomics Society (sat on BoD in 2015) and sits locally within the Scottish Metabolomics Network.

Professor Richard K. Russell

Honorary Professor and Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist

Professor Richard Russell is a Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist He is the former chair of Paediatric ECCO having been a committee member for the previous 3 years. He is a member of the ESPGHAN “Porto” IBD group and became the chair in 2020. He was chair of the UK paediatric IBD group until the start of 2017. He was the local organiser of the 2019 annual ESPGHAN meeting in Glasgow.

He was awarded a PhD for an investigation into the genetic determinants of PIBD in children in 2008. He has published around 140 research papers the vast majority in PIBD including all major GI journals which include previous and forthcoming ECCO/ESPGHAN PIBD guidelines. He is an active clinical researcher in PIBD with a strong interest especially in dietary treatment of Crohn’s disease. He was a co-applicant on the successful European Union horizon 20/20 award in conjunction with PIBDnet of which he was one of the founding members.

He says “I remain indebted to my Scottish colleagues and all friends within the PIBD community who support this work including the fantastic Catherine McEwan foundation charity and the BINGO group who make so much of our work possible”

Dr Richard Hansen

Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist

My main research interest is the gastrointestinal mucosal microbiota and its importance in paediatric disease, particularly inflammatory bowel disease. I am particularly interested in the molecular characterisation of the microbiota and its subsequent modification for the purposes of therapeutic effect.

This theme of microbial therapeutics fits nicely into the concept of stratified medicine since the microbiota is highly individualistic yet also modifiable. Being a paediatrician, I am naturally interested in how the gut microbiota develops as the child grows and matures, particularly at the earliest stages of microbial colonisation. This area of research is a natural extension of my CSO-funded PhD studies during which I was the first to catalogue and publish the colonic microbiota in paediatric IBD at the onset of disease.

I currently hold a competitive fellowship supporting the development of microbial therapeutic studies, awarded by NHS Research Scotland. In addition to my research interests, I have clinical interests in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease and Helicobacter pylori. I am clinical lead for paediatric hepatology and paediatric endoscopy training in the West of Scotland and am the Scottish endoscopy representative on British Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.

I helped co-host the 2017 meeting of British Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and the 2019 meeting of European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition in Glasgow.

Professor Daniel R Gaya

Consultant Gastroenterologist and Honorary Professor

 Professor Daniel Gaya is a consultant gastroenterologist at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow Medical School. He has received comprehensive training in Glasgow, Edinburgh, London & Chicago in acute and general medicine, luminal gastroenterology, hepatology and therapeutic endoscopy.

Professor Gaya's sub-specialist interest is inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and he receives tertiary referrals for the management of complex IBD cases and set up the transition clinic for adolescents with IBD with colleagues at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow. Prof Gaya is board member of the Scottish IBD charity C³ (www.curecrohnscolitis.org) and a member of the British Society of Gastroenterology IBD Committee.

Prof Gaya is in receipt of a research fellowship from the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of the Scottish Government to undertake a comprehensive IBD research programme in the West of Scotland. His main research interests include novel clinical trials in IBD, environmental/dietary factors in IBD management/pathogenesis and faecal biomarkers. Prof Gaya is the current lead for the NRS Gastroenterology Research Network within NHS Scotland

Dr John Paul Seenan

Consultant Gastroenterologist, Senior NRS Fellow and Honorary Clinical Associate Professor

Dr Seenan leads the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. He is also an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Glasgow, Treasurer of the Scottish Society of Gastroenterology and Colonoscopy Upskilling Lead for the Scottish National Endoscopy Training Programme (NETP).

He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate training in the West of Scotland during which he was awarded an MD for clinical research in luminal gastroenterology. He secured his NHS Research Scotland Fellowship in 2018 to help support his interest in clinical research. He currently acts as chief or principal investigator for several academic and commercial clinical trials in IBD and Endoscopy.

Dr Jonathan MacDonald

Consultant Gastroenterologist and Honorary Clinical Associate Professor

Dr Jonathan Macdonald is a consultant Gastroenterologist at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Glasgow. He holds an NRS research fellowship award and is departmental lead for research and innovation. His main areas of clinical and research interest are inflammatory bowel disease and endoscopy. He is clinical chief investigator for the BIOPIC study exploring the use of partial enteral nutrition in combination with biologic therapy in adults with active Crohn’s disease. He is principal investigator and trial steering committee member for the MARVEL study lead by the University of Edinburgh.

He leads a portfolio of commercial drug trials in his role as principal investigator at the Glasgow Clinical Research Facility. In 2017 he established a gastroenterology research biobank as a vehicle to support research opportunities with a range of stakeholders including NHS, Universities and SMEs. He was elected to the British Society of Gastroenterology IBD committee in 2019 and the IBD clinical research group in 2022. He sits on the Scottish Parliament Cross Party Working Group on IBD. He was recently appointed to the faculty of the NHS Scotland National Endoscopy Training Programme and is national lead for the “Train the Colonoscopy Trainer” course.

Dr Macdonald said “The BINGO group works as a brilliant platform to exchange ideas and develop collaborative research opportunities between clinicians and academics across a number of disciplines. It is an integral part of a blossoming IBD research community within Scotland. ”

Lisa Gervais

Paediatric IBD / Research Nurse Specialist

I qualified with a Bachelor of Child Nursing in 2008 and have since completed a Master's Degree in Nursing. I currently have a unique, joint role within NHS Greater Glasgow in Clyde where I work as both a Paediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (PIBD) Nurse Specialist as well as a Senior Research Nurse. I work closely with other members of the BINGO group to lead on, coordinate and recruit for the PIBD research studies.