Of the most severely unwell patients, those who require support in intensive care, 80% survive to discharge home. Unfortunately they have significant and persistent excess morbidity and mortality. I am interested in the mechanisms that underlie the persistent epigenetic reprogramming driven by the stress response caused by severe illness and the process of intensive care.

I am also interested specifically in how glucocorticosteroids, key stress hormones, signal through their nuclear hormone receptor. Drugs that target glucocorticoid signalling are widely used but have significant cardio-metabolic side effects. Novel approaches to targeting this pathway have many potential therapeutic applications in inflammatory disease, cancer and beyond.