Dr Alison Dicker

Dr Dicker obtained her BSc (Hons) in Bioveterinary Science from the University of Liverpool in 2004, including being awarded the 2002 Ellis Prize for achievement in Reproduction, Development and Ageing. She then obtained her MSc (Distinction) in Veterinary Parasitology the following year from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Dr Dicker joined the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in 2006, working for 18 months as a scientific assistant in the Rabies and Wildlife Zoonoses Group involved in both research and diagnostic testing on rabies and other lyssaviruses and flaviviruses.

In 2007, Dr Dicker moved to Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh to undertake her doctoral studies on the role of gene expression, particularly P-glycoproteins, in the anthelmintic resistance phenotype of the parasitic nematode, Teladorsagia circumcincta; obtaining her doctorate from the University of Glasgow in 2010. An international 3 year, DfID- CIDLID funded postdoctoral researcher post at Moredun followed, collaborating with researchers in Madras Veterinary College (India), University of Pretoria (South Africa), University of Calgary (Canada) and the University of Bristol to investigate novel methods, including vaccination, to control parasitic nematodes in livestock in developing countries.

In July 2013, Dr Dicker joined the group of Prof. Colin Palmer to work on a translational research project examining the genetic modifiers of disease severity in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, funded by the Chief Scientists Office.