Steve Busby is currently the Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Birmingham. After studying Biochemistry as an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge, Steve moved to Oxford for his doctoral studies, supervised by George Radda. Since his appointment in Birmingham, his research has focussed on the molecular mechanisms that control gene expression in bacteria, with particular attention to studying the regulation of transcript initiation in Escherichia coli. Recently, this work has concentrated on applications of bacterial regulatory circuits to biotechnology, and understanding the expression of virulence determinants in pathogenic strains. As well as running his research group in Birmingham, Steve has served as both Head of School and Dean of Science. Steve has had a long association with the Biochemical Society and was a trustee from 2011-2016, when he served as vice-Chair, and then Chair, of the Society. Steve was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2005, and he is also a Fellow of both the American and the European Academies of Microbiology. 

Nectarios Nicolaou is active in the field of Clinical Biosciences for over fifteen years. He began his studies at Intercollege, Nicosia, Cyprus and the University of Indianapolis, USA, achieving a Diploma in Pre-Medicine. Subsequently, he studied at Kingston University, London, UK and obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Biochemistry in 2006. Returning to Cyprus, he joined the newly established Aretaeio Hospital in Nicosia, as a member of the Clinical Laboratory department. While there, he was accepted as a postgraduate student in Immunology and Immunogenetics at the University of Manchester, UK. Focusing his research interest on the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, he investigated the changes of the levels of two adipokines, leptin and adiponectin, as well as their potential use as inflammatory markers in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. As of October 2019, he is a doctoral researcher at the Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, Frederick University, Nicosia, Cyprus, aiming to investigate and evaluate various biochemical and genetic parameters as potential diagnostic factors in young adolescents with delayed puberty. He is a Chartered Biologist (CBiol) and Member of the Royal Society of Biology (MRSB) as well as a member of the Biological Society of Cyprus where he sits on the Health Committee. In addition, he is a member of the Biochemical Society, participating in the Awards Committee and the Early Career Researcher (ECR) Taskforce. He is a registered member of the Institute of Biomedical Science (MIBMS), the British Society for Immunology, the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, the Hellenic Society of Immunology, the Society of Biological Sciences in Cyprus and the Cyprus Association of Clinical Laboratory Directors, Biomedical and Clinical Laboratory Scientists. As of October 2015, he collaborates with Frederick University in Nicosia as Special Teaching Staff for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes on the topics of Clinical Biochemistry and Immunology.

After graduating from the University of Manchester with a degree in Molecular Biology, Rachel went on to study for a PhD with David Lane at Imperial College London. Rachel's early career was in haemostasis (regulation of blood clotting), with a particular focus on the protein C anticoagulant pathway and endothelial cell biology. Rachel then joined the Macrophage Biology group at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology (Imperial College London), changing research field to study inflammatory signalling. In 2022, Rachel was promoted to Professor of Immunopathogenesis. 

Research in Rachel's group focusses on the mechanism of action of mycolactone, the lipid-like exotoxin of the Buruli ulcer infectious agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans. Mycolactone has many unusual and fascinating biological functions, and in 2014 they identified its mechanism of action - as an inhibitor of protein translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum. They are now applying this knowledge to understand more about Buruli ulcer, a neglected tropical disease, and basic cell biology. 

Keywords: infection, immunity, cell biology, autophagy, inflammation, mycobacteria, translational control