Students and Research Fellows

Breanna Dixon, PhD Student

Breanna is a final year PhD student at C-PACA and the University of Manchester. Her research centres around microbial metabolomics where she uses mass spectrometry for the prediction and modelling of antimicrobial resistance, and investigation of the mechanisms underlying the resistant phenotype.

Robin Curnow, PhD student

Robin’s research focuses on the collection and measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on breath. VOCs are low molecular weight metabolites that can be found in the gas phase at room temperature. It has been suggested that exhaled VOCs may be useful as biomarkers for almost all respiratory and many non-respiratory diseases, but a lack of standardisation in the way they are collected and analysed has impeded their introduction to clinical use. In his research, Robin aims to inform better sampling and analysis using a mixture of experimental approaches focused on mass spectrometry, and biophysical models of the lungs from which he aims to learn how the compounds behave as they are breathed in and out of the body.

Jan Hansel, Doctoral Fellow

Jan Hansel is an NIHR Doctoral Fellow in Intensive Care Medicine at The University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. His research focuses on precision methods in sepsis antimicrobial therapy.

James Orr, Senior Clinical Research Fellow

James joined C-PACA in November 2024, he is a Senior Clinical Research Fellow at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and a doctoral student at the University of Manchester. He works clinically as a registrar in anaesthetics and intensive care medicine. His research focuses on the human microbiome in health and disease and its relationship with dysregulated inflammation, particularly in asthma.