Students

Sophie Morris

PhD Student

Sophie’s time as an acute dietitian encouraged a strong interest in advancing the development of new and better dietary therapies to help increase the quality of life of people living with inflammatory bowel disease. She is currently working towards a PhD with the BIOPIC-Kids study, a multicentre pragmatic randomised control trial. The study aims to investigate the short- and long-term effects of replacing the habitual diet with a liquid diet regime in children with active Crohn’s Disease receiving biologic therapy as their standard of care induction treatment. We will explore whether this treatment combination improve rates of clinical remission, normalisation of biomarkers of gut inflammation and reduce secondary loss of treatment response, and subsequent disease relapse. It will also examine the effects this intervention has on the gut and oral microbiome composition and function and host immune signatures.

Sophie holds a BSc (Hons) in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from Glasgow Caledonian University and is an HCPC registered dietitian.

Email

 

Human Nutrition 

School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing 

College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences 

University of Glasgow 

 

Room 2.65, Level 2 

New Lister Building 

Glasgow Royal infirmary 

10-16 Alexandra Parade 

G31 2ER 

Haneen Saleemani

PhD student

My research focuses on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), with a primary emphasis on body composition and response to treatment. I explore how changes in body composition—such as muscle mass and fat distribution—influence treatment outcomes in both children and adults with IBD. Additionally, I explore how IBD and its treatment influence nutritional and growth parameters.

Alongside my core research, I am working on the development of a nutrition risk score for children with IBD through the PIBD Nutrition Risk Score (PIBD-NUTS) project which is a project endorsed by the Porto IBD Club.

Email

Glasgow Royal Infirmary

Room 2.65, Level 2, New Lister Building

10-16 Alexandra Parade

Glasgow

G31 2ER

Raihana Halim

PhD Student

I am Raihana Halim, a 3rd year PhD student. My first supervisor is Dr Thanasis Koutsos and my second supervisor is Professor Konstantinos Gerasimidis. I am working on the impact of vitamins on gut microbiota composition and functionality.   

Email

Hanoof Alessa

PhD Student

My research explores how food additives and fibre influence the gut microbiome, particularly their effects on microbial composition, fermentation capacity, and host immune responses in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This work aims to deepen our understanding of dietary influences on gut health and potential therapeutic strategies for managing IBD.

Phoebe Crossley

PhD Student

I am a PhD student in Dr Conor Feehily's lab in the School of Infection and Immunity. I obtained a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Bath, where I completed a year-long research placement studying the vaginal microbiome and its role in women’s health. This experience sparked my interest in the field, leading me to pursue a microbiology PhD. My PhD research focuses on using genetic manipulation to explore the functional roles of Lactobacillus species in the vaginal microbiome and their potential impact on pregnancy outcomes.

 

Email

Google Scholar

Sir Graeme Davies Building

School of Infection and Immunity

University of Glasgow

Samaher Hakami

My research focuses on understanding how micronutrient levels influence disease outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Specifically, I am investigating whether micronutrient status can predict disease outcomes.