Meet the Team

Dr. IS Farooqi
Professor of Metabolism and Medicine

I qualified with Honours and the Queen’s Scholarship in Medicine from the University of Birmingham. After hospital posts in Birmingham and Oxford, I moved to Cambridge to undertake a PhD with Professor Stephen O’Rahilly. During this time, we identified the first genes to cause obesity and established the GOOS cohort, with the help of many colleagues worldwide. We have received a number of awards in recognition of our work which has been published in high impact journals. As a Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Fellow, I co-ordinate a multi-disciplinary team of people working on a programme of research in obesity.
I am also an Honorary Consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.
Dr. IS Farooqi

Professor of Metabolism
and Medicine

Julia Keogh
Principal Research Nurse

After my BSc, I worked as a Research Technician for the MRC before training as a Paediatric Nurse. In 1998, I was given a 1 year secondment from the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Addenbrooke’s Hospital to join a group developing research interests in childhood obesity. During this time, I established and developed my role as Co-ordinator of GOOS and was involved in the first clinical trial of leptin therapy. I have since been involved in many clinical studies and have responsibility for linking our co-ordination work, with the lab and clinical teams. I have established systems for collating our clinical research findings so that we can use the information to learn new things about genetic forms of obesity. I plan to follow-up our patients over time, so important for future research, and will work closely with them to communicate our research findings and provide support, the first step being the development of this website! Outside of work, I support Portsmouth FC, but my greatest pleasure is playing with my grandchildren.
Julia Keogh

Principal Research Nurse

Elana Henning
Senior Research Nurse

I have worked at Addenbrooke’s Hospital as a Registered General Nurse since 1999 after completing my nursing training in South Africa. Before joining the team in 2005, I worked in Renal Medicine and Endocrinology. My current role involves co-ordination of our clinical studies with patients and families. I am involved in performing many of the tests we do, work closely with colleagues in other departments to apply new techniques to our research and also look after and co-ordinate the treatment of patients with leptin deficiency from around the world. In addition, I co-ordinate the recruitment of volunteers for a range of clinical studies in both children and adults who are both normal weight and overweight.
Elana Henning

Senior Research Nurse

Rachel Ahmed
Research Nurse

I completed my BSc Hons in Children's and General Nursing in Cork, Ireland. I then moved to London and began working in Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. During my time there I worked on an Investigation Unit for Gastroenterology, Endocrine and Metabolic conditions. I then moved to the Clinical Research Network (Eastern) in Addenbrooke's Hospital where I worked on both adult and children's studies for a variety of conditions. I joined the GOOS team in October 2017 and as a Research Nurse my role includes co-ordination and direct involvement in clinical studies. Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my family and my two dogs, I also love practising Krav Maga and watching movies.
Rachel Ahmed

Research Nurse

Eleonora Seelig
Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow

I joined the team as a Clinical Research Fellow in September 2016. I have a special interest in understanding the biology of obesity and diabetes. My previous work at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland and the Diabetes and Inflammation Laboratory, Cambridge, focused on new treatments in diabetes. Currently, I am investigating the physiological response to overeating. I hold a fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Eleonora Seelig

Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow

Dr Agatha van der Klaauw
Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow

I undertook my clinical and research training in neuroendocrinology at the Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. I joined the team as a clinical research fellow in 2007 for a year and, after returning to clinical training, rejoined the team in 2011 working with Professors Fletcher and Farooqi. Currently, I focus on a number of studies relating to the neuroendocrine consequences of obesity linking genetic findings to physiology.
Dr Agatha
van der Klaauw

Wellcome Trust Post Doctoral Clinical Fellow

Tessa Cacciottolo
Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellow

I joined the team in January 2016 as a Clinical Research Fellow. I completed my medical training in Malta, and moved to Cambridge shortly after to further my training in internal medicine, gastroenterology and hepatology. I am interested in the link between liver and metabolic diseases, and for this reason chose to undertake my PhD in Professor Farooqi's lab. In my free time I enjoy spending time with my family, getting outdoors and travelling.
Tessa Cacciottolo

Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellow

Fleur Talbot
Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellow

I completed my undergraduate degree in cell biology, and my medical degree at University College London. My post-graduate training has mainly been at Addenbrooke's Hospital, and I am a specialist registrar here in diabetes and endocrinology. I joined the Farooqi team in October 2014, and am undertaking a PhD focusing on understanding the molecular mechanisms that result in obesity, and relating these to the problems our patients face. In particular, I am looking at mutations in G-protein coupled receptors, and their effects on intracellular signalling and cell function, and the way this translates to metabolic disease. I enjoy spending my spare time looking after my two small children, gardening and cooking. I am also passionate about art and travel.
Fleur Talbot

Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellow

Katherine Lawler
Postdoctoral Research Associate

I joined the team in Oct 2016 as a Post Doctoral Research Associate in Computational Genomics. After a Mathematics degree and Masters, I completed my PhD in the Functional Genomics group at EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute. I took a post-doctoral position in cancer research at King's College London with a particular interest in disease progression. As a GOOS team member, I work on the genomics of obesity/thinness and rare diseases. An over-arching aim of this work is to uncover new hypotheses which can be followed up and characterized by the GOOS lab team. Outside of work I enjoy playing the piano or taking a walk.
Katherine Lawler

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Edson Mendes de Oliveira
Post Doctoral Research Associate

I joined the lab team in July 2015 as a Post Doctoral Research Associate. After a Pharmacy degree obtained in 2008 I chose to pursue an academic career, heading for a Master and a PhD in Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, revealing new insights into the role of the inflammatory protein serum amyloid A (SAA) in obesity and insulin resistance. As a GOOS team member I am currently working on a number of projects related to the functional characterization of novel variants in obesity-associated genes. In my spare time my interests are playing volleyball, watching movies and spending time with friends and family.
Edson Mendes
de Oliveira

Post Doctoral
Research Associate

Aliki Perdikari
Post Doctoral Research Associate

I joined the group in September 2017 as a Post Doctoral Research Associate. After completing my Master's degree in Cell Biology at ETH Zurich and in 2012, I joined the Laboratory of Translational Nutrition Biology at ETH Zurich where I obtained my PhD in 2016, studying the molecular signature and function of brown adipose tissue in mammals and humans. As a GOOS team member, I am involved in the functional characterization of mutations in obesity-associated genes and in the characterization of thinness-associated loci. Outside work I like reading, shopping, watching movies and baking.
Aliki Perdikari

Post Doctoral
Research Associate

Natalia Wasiluk
Senior Research Assistant

I joined the team in January 2017 as a Senior Research Assistant. Here, I work on the identification of mutations related to obesity and the characterisation of novel variants associated with weight gain. Previously I worked at TwistDX on the development of molecular diagnostic tests for infectious diseases. Before that, I obtained an MSc in Biotechnology at the West Pomeranian University of Technology. Outside of work I like to stay active by practicing fencing, go mountain climbing and, when the weather is bad, caving. I also enjoy painting and photography.
Natalia Wasiluk

Senior Research
Assistant

Vikram Ayinampudi
Research Assistant

I joined the team in June 2016 as a Research Assistant in the lab. I will be supporting the work of the Post Docs in the team, focusing on the signalling pathways of genes of particular interest. After graduating from the University of Edinburgh, I have worked in various labs, working on protein biochemistry and structural biology. Outside of work I like cricket, running, fiction, watching movies, and volunteering.
Vikram Ayinampudi

Research Assistant

Hannah Thomas
Senior Research Lab Technician

I joined the team in May 2014 as a Senior Research Laboratory Technician. Previously I worked in the private sector as a Lab Technician at Fisher BioServices, mainly doing high-throughput DNA and RNA extractions and sub-aliquoting. My current role involves technical support for the smooth running of the lab in co-operation with other members of the team. My hobbies are collecting fluffy microbes, Scouting, walking, horse-riding, reading, and knitting.
Hannah Thomas

Senior Research
Lab Technician

David Clarke
Research Assistant

After studying for a BSc(Hons) at the University of Warwick I was employed as an NHS medical laboratory assistant within blood sciences. While working here I realised that my calling lay within genetic disease research. I left my job to study a masters' degree in molecular genetics and diagnostics at the University of Nottingham, graduating in 2017. I then joined the GOOS team as a research assistant where I work on the identification of protein coding variants within patient cohorts relating to obesity, and supporting the work of senior scientists in the lab. In my spare time I like to play video/board games, watch motorsport, bake, watch quiz shows, and go to the gym.
David Clarke

Research Assistant