Richard leads the TB Drug Discovery Group at LSHTM, an interdisciplinary team including experts in target deconvolution, genetic manipulation, zebrafish infection models and metabolomics. Our group supports the development of new treatments for tuberculosis (TB), investigates the mode of action of novel compounds and explores the underlying biology of emerging therapeutic targets.

Richard completed his PhD at the University of Nottingham (2012) before joining Prof Rita Tewari’s group, where he studied parasite motility and cell division in the malaria model Plasmodium berghei. He then moved to the University of Dundee (2015) to work with Dr Susan Wyllie on mode of action studies for antiparasitic compounds. There, he used a combination of genetic, proteomic, and bioinformatic tools to identify drug targets for diseases including Chagas’ disease, Leishmaniasis, Sleeping Sickness, and Malaria.

He now applies many of these same skills and methodologies to TB research. After joining the lab of Prof Anil Koul at LSHTM (2022), he began contributing to early-stage TB drug discovery, in close collaboration with our industrial partner, and now leads the programme. His group's goal is to advance the development of shorter, safer, and more effective treatments for TB by identifying new drug targets and supporting the progression of promising compounds. He currently co-supervises two PhD students.

He currently holds a dual affiliation with LSHTM and the Ineos Oxford Institute at the University of Oxford.