Jeremy Allen

Biography

I am currently a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science and Academic Lead for Biomedicine at the University of Salford, School of Environment & Life Sciences. Born in Lichfield, England I studied at the University of Keele, England, in two separate periods between 1982 and 1992, completing a BSc in Biology and a PhD investigating the pathophysiology of a pathogenic parasite.  In 1991 I received an MSc in Biotechnology from the University of Newcastle, England. I joined the School of Postgraduate Medicine at the University Hospitals of North Midlands (Royal Stoke University Hospital), England as an NHS Clinical Scientist and Research Fellow from 1992-2003. I was appointed in 2003 to Lecturer in Biosciences at the University of Salford, gaining a PgCert in Higher Education Practice & Research in 2006. In 2009 I was appointed to Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science and in 2011 was made a Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS).

Research Interest

I am an active member of the Biomedical Research Centre with research interests focused on investigating the cellular pathology and pathogenesis of host-pathogen interactions, inflammation and fibrosis (Fibrosis & Inflammation Research Group), primarily in collaboration with Dr Lucy Smyth also based at Salford. Findings from some of my studies were the first published to show alterations in connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) expression in human lung from patients with fibrosis and led to a successful funding bid from the British Lung Foundation. Antibody therapy against CTGF is now a realistic possibility. More recently, to extend the scope of the main research theme, studies have been carried out to examine the interaction between medically important parasites (eg. Schistosoma mansoni) and cells crucial to development of liver fibrosis. Currently, projects are underway to evaluate novel ‘nutriceutical’ (polyunsaturated fatty acids, eg omega-3) anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic therapeutics using in vitro models of skeletal muscle and lung fibrosis.