Speakers
Dr Sarah Essilfie-Quaye
Professor Jo Fothergill
Dr Sola Adeleke
Dr Faizan Sadiq
Panel Session
Not everyone takes the same path in science — and that’s exactly the point of this session. In this open and down-to-earth panel, you’ll hear from individuals working across clinical practice, biofilm research, vaccine development, diversity leadership, and biotech. Between them, they’ve faced the same questions many early career scientists do: when to specialise, how to move between institutions or sectors, how to handle knockbacks, and how to find mentors who actually help.
Whether you're aiming for a lectureship, exploring opportunities in industry, considering a clinical route, launching your own venture, or still figuring things out, this session offers space to ask your questions and hear from people who’ve made bold, sometimes unexpected choices. Expect practical advice, honest reflections, and a reminder that there’s no single right way to build a scientific career — only the one that works for you.
The session is chaired by Prof. Emmanuel Adukwu, Deputy Head of School & Professor of Applied Microbiology, School of Applied Sciences (SOAS), University of the West of England
Dr Sarah Essilfie-Quaye is the first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Research Fellow at Imperial College London's Faculty of Medicine, leading the EQuity Lab. Her research focuses on racial and gender inequalities in academic careers and their impacts on under-served groups in clinical research. Sarah has over twenty years at Imperial College, where she has been instrumental in leading diversity initiatives such as Imperial As One and the Race Equality Network. She has been recognised with the President's Medal for Excellence in Culture and Community among other awards for her contributions to improving academic culture and promoting diversity.
Starting her career as a Research Technician in the Asthma Lab in 2002, she later pursued a research career alongside a part-time PhD. Sarah co-chairs the Black Postdoctoral Network and has contributed significantly to committees across Imperial, including the Network of Excellence in Women’s Health. Holding a PhD in Pharmacology, she has extensive experience in managing complex biomedical research projects, organising conferences, and developing training programmes. Her work is driven by a commitment to create an inclusive academic environment where everyone can thrive.
Professor Jo Fothergill has been at the forefront of research into Gram-negative pathogens, particularly Pseudomonas aeruginosa, for over fifteen years, focusing on their role in chronic infections. Her work integrates genomics, molecular microbiology, and population studies with practical infection models to understand pathogen behaviour within polymicrobial biofilms and its implications for disease progression. Awarded the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship and a Medical Research Foundation fellowship, Professor Fothergill has developed significant insights into bacterial adaptation, diversity, and virulence. Her research utilises clinical samples, model systems, and advanced sequencing techniques to explore the interactions within polymicrobial infections.
Currently, she leads the Microbiome Innovation Centre at the University of Liverpool, where she focuses on the microbiome's role in health and disease, particularly how it influences bacterial virulence and the dynamics of mobile genetic elements like temperate phages. Her current interests include developing novel therapeutics for a range of P. aeruginosa-associated infections, including those affecting the lungs, urinary tract, eyes, and wounds.
Professor Fothergill is also dedicated to mentoring, overseeing a diverse group of postdocs, PhD students, and Masters students, fostering their growth in microbiology research. She is an active member on several advisory boards, including the CF Syndicate in AMR, the CF Trust Scientific Advisory Board, and the UK CF Infection Biorepository. She teaches various undergraduate and master's level modules centred on bacterial disease mechanisms, antimicrobial resistance, novel therapeutics, and microbiomes, contributing extensively to the academic and practical training of new scientists in the field of medical microbiology.
Dr Sola Adeleke is an oncology registrar at Guy’s Hospital and an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow at King’s College London. He is the founder and Chief Medical Officer of Curenetics, a medtech company using AI to improve immunotherapy treatment through personalised response prediction. Sola was inspired to start Curenetics after seeing first-hand how AI could enhance current approaches to cancer care. He completed a PhD in cancer magnetic resonance imaging at University College London, where his research focused on developing imaging-derived biomarkers for treatment response in prostate cancer. His work bridges clinical practice, academic research and innovation, offering a unique perspective on navigating complex career paths in science and medicine.
Dr Faizan Sadiq is a Lecturer in Microbial Biofilms at Cardiff University and a former Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow. His research investigates interspecies interactions in mixed-species biofilms across clinical and industrial environments, with a particular focus on how these interactions shape antibiotic responses, resistance evolution, and microbial virulence. His work aims to uncover the biological and chemical mechanisms that drive species coexistence, with a view to developing novel approaches for disrupting harmful biofilms and managing microbial communities. Faizan’s recent roles have taken him across Europe—from Jiangnan University in China to Massey University in New Zealand and research institutes in Belgium and Denmark—where he has built a multidisciplinary approach combining microbial ecology, food microbiology, and biofilm science. His current projects explore everything from chronic wounds and oral health to potential probiotic interventions and natural polymers.
Faizan is committed to supporting early career researchers and improving microbiology through collaboration, curiosity, and a healthy dose of scientific mischief. His international career journey and practical insights into applied microbiology make him a brilliant addition to our panel.
Hayley Lavender is a microbiologist whose research tackles some of the most challenging bacterial pathogens affecting human health. She began her academic career at the University of Bath with a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology, before moving to the University of Oxford to work on monoclonal antibody development for cancer therapies. It was at Oxford that she joined the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology and began her long-standing research into Neisseria meningitidis, a major cause of meningitis, contributing to vaccine development in partnership with the Serum Institute of India. Hayley completed her PhD at Oxford, focusing on the bacterial and genetic factors that influence whether people carry N. meningitidis harmlessly or develop life-threatening disease. Her postdoctoral work expanded to Neisseria gonorrhoeae, where she pioneered new monoclonal antibody therapies aimed at this antibiotic-resistant pathogen.
Now a Lecturer in Microbial Pathogenesis at the University of Liverpool, Hayley’s research continues to explore how N. gonorrhoeae evades the human immune system, particularly the complement pathway, and how this knowledge can support new treatment strategies. Her work blends fundamental microbiology with applied goals in vaccine and therapeutic design. She brings to the panel deep expertise in translational research, career transitions between lab roles and academia, and a clear passion for tackling pressing public health challenges through microbiological innovation.