About

I completed a BSc in Biology from the University of Derby in 2011 before completing an MSc in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Sheffield Hallam University in 2013 and a PhD in Biomedical Science at Leeds Beckett University in 2018. I joined the University of Derby as a Lecturer in Biomedical Science in August 2018.

Teaching responsibilities

I am the Deputy programme lead for Biomedical Science, where my role is to support the programme leader in the day to day running of the programme. I teach on a wide variety of topics within our Biosciences programmes including cell biology, molecular biology, cancer biology, biochemistry, bioinnovation and public health.

Research interests

My research interests stem from my undergraduate research project undertaken as part of my time here completing my BSc in Biology. The focus of that project was the role of complement regulatory proteins and their potential role in affecting prognosis in ovarian cancer patients. This core idea, coupled with an interest in aptamer technology and nanomaterials, was the basis for my PhD studies. Within this project, I made use of a number of cell and molecular biology techniques to determine the feasibility of using complement regulatory proteins as a target for nanomedicines.

Aptamer technology is a major focus of my research, and its potential to revolutionise the way in which we approach diagnosis and treatment of disease cannot be understated. This approach is both in the lab and in the computer lab, as a means of potentially streamlining the process of aptamer production. In addition to this, I am interested in the potential of computer aided drug design to help develop new chemotheraputics which could help patients live better and longer lives following a cancer diagnosis. I am keen to bring the computer designed compounds into the lab, and be the bridge between the computational world and the cell biology world.

In addition to my scientific interests, I am also involved in pedagogical research focusing on academic integrity and research ethics. The advent of artificial intelligence requires a change in approach concerning academic integrity, both from a policy perspective and from an end user perspective.

I am actively involved in a number of working groups, specifically the Human papillomaviruse research group here at the University of Derby headed by Dr Marsh and the Ethics and Integrity Advisory Group headed by Dr Shivadas Sivasubramaniam.

Membership of professional bodies

• Higher education Academy - Fellow
• Ethics and Integrity Advisory Group - Member

Qualifications

• University of Derby, BSc Biology (2011)
• Sheffield Hallam University, MSc Molecular and Cellular Biology (2013)
• Leeds Beckett University, PhD Biomedical Science (2019)
• University of Derby, Academic professional Apprenticeship (2023)

Recent conferences

June 2017: Nanoparticle technologies for membrane protein research. “Polyethylene glycol self-assembled monolayer coated gold nanoparticle spheroids targeted to CD59 as a targeted drug delivery system: impact on non-specific toxicity and CD59 expression” 

August 2018: International conference on Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology, Rome, Italy. “Anti-Human CD59 conjugated Gold nanoparticles for targeted induction of photo-hyperthermia in vitro”

Recent publications

Pipitò.L, Illingworth.T.A, and Deganutti.G Targeting hPKM2 in cancer: a bio isosteric approach for ligand design, Computers in Biology and Medicine – accepted 30/03/2023

Cussell, P.J., Howe, M.S., Illingworth, T.A., Gomez Escalada, M., Milton, N.G. and Paterson, A.W., 2019. The formyl peptide receptor agonist FPRa14 induces differentiation of Neuro2a mouse neuroblastoma cells into multiple distinct morphologies which can be specifically inhibited with FPR antagonists and FPR knockdown using siRNA. PloS one, 14(6), p.e0217815.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217815  

Rock, M., Zouganelis, G.D., de Andrade, A.F.B., Drake, S.J., Alexiou, A., Albrakati, A., Batiha, G.E.S. and Illingworth, T.A., 2022. Development and validation of anti-human Alpha synuclein DNA aptamer using computer modelling techniques—an in silico study. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience, 21(1), p.5. http://dx.doi.org/10.31083/j.jin2101005 

Chambers, J.M and Illingworth, T. 2023. Bacterial Interactions Affecting Chemotherapy Effectiveness. McGill Science Undergraduate Research Journal. 18 (1), pp. 15 - 18. https://doi.org/10.26443/msurj.v18i1.190