Background

I work as part of a team in the Flow Cytometry Core Facility where we help and train new users to the technology, help troubleshoot the flow cytometric part of the users experiments. It also involves keeping the machines in constant good working order for the busy facility. A large part of my core work is running the cell sorters, both the BD Aria family of sorters we have and the Beckman Coulter Astrios.

I specialize in working on projects to optimistise the sample preparation of collected clinical samples to run on our muti parameter fluorescent cytometers and mass cytometer

Qualifications: PhD in Immunology at Newcastle University

                        MSc Medical Biotechnology at Newcastle University

Research

Previously I have worked on a multi-centre Sepsis project. Co-ordinating samples with Sunderland hospital and the RVI in collaboration with St Thomas in London and Edinburgh University. This involved optimising the performance of the Flow Cytometers and several multi-colour immune-phenotyping panels.  I was also responsible for formulating significant parts of the shared analysis strategy and performed analysis for not just the Newcastle data but for the other centres involved in the Sepsis study.  The outcome of which was be a number of publications in good journals.

Currently I am working on two high profile clinical research projects (Genentech and Resolve) specifically optimising and performing sample processing (tissue digestion/PBMC extraction), storage, onward processing for analysis (staining, running the samples) as well as being involved in complex panel design and optimisation.  This spans the full breadth of the FCCF technologies (Mass, fluorescence, Imaging etc.)

Publications

• Datta D, Morris AC, Antonelli J, Warner N, Brown KA, Wright J, Simpson AJ, Rennie J, Hulme G, Lewis SM, Mare TA, Cookson S, Weir CJ, Dimmick I, Keenan J, Rossi AG, Shankar-Hari M, Walsh TS, ExPRES Sepsis Investigators. Early PREdiction of Severe Sepsis (ExPRES-Sepsis) study: protocol for an observational derivation study to discover potential leucocyte cell surface biomarkers. BMJ Open 2016, 6(8), e011335.
• Morris AC, Datta D, Shankar-Hari M, Weir CJ, Rennie J, Antonelli J, Rossi AG, Warner N, Keenan J, Wang A, Brown KA, Lewis S, Mare T, Simpson AJ, Hulme G, Dimmick I, Walsh TS. Predictive value of cell-surface markers in infections in critically ill patients: protocol for an observational study (ImmuNe FailurE in Critical Therapy (INFECT) Study). BMJ Open 2016, 6(7), e011326.
• Conway Morris A, Datta D, Shankar-Hari M, Stephen J, Weir CJ, Rennie J, Antonelli J, Bateman A, Warner N, Judge K, Keenan J, Wang A, Burpee T, Brown KA, Lewis SM, Mare T, Roy AI, Hulme G, Dimmick I, Rossi AG, Simpson AJ, Walsh TS. Cell-surface signatures of immune dysfunction risk-stratify critically ill patients: INFECT study. Intensive Care Medicine 2018, 44(5), 627-635.
• Shankar-Hari M, Datta D, Wilson J, Assi V, Stephen J, Weir CJ, Rennie J, Antonelli J, Bateman A, Felton J, Warner N, Judge K, Keenan J, Wang W, Burpee T, Brown AK, Lewis SM, Mare T, Roy AI, Wright J, Hulme G, Dimmick I, Gray A, Rossi AG, Simpson AJ, Conway Morris A, Walsh TS. Early PREdiction of Sepsis using leukocyte surfacebiomarkers: The ExPRES-Sepsis cohort study. Intensive Care Medicine 2018, 44(11), 1836-1848.