Elise Needham

Elise Needham is a Research Fellow at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, affiliated with the Department of Public Health and Primary Care and the Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology under Professor Adam Butterworth. Her research bridges molecular biology and population health to investigate how genetic variation influences protein regulation and disease risk.

• Academic Background: PhD in Biochemistry (University of Sydney), focused on exercise and insulin resistance in skeletal muscle.
• Research Interests: Genetic variants linked to complex diseases, phosphoproteomics, insulin signaling, mitochondrial regulation, and interdisciplinary approaches to metabolic disorders.

Her recent publications focus on phosphoproteomic mapping of insulin resistance, mitochondrial mRNA stabilization mechanisms, SARS-CoV-2 tissue modeling, and inflammatory protein genetics, demonstrating a strong emphasis on molecular epidemiology and metabolic diseases.

• Awards: Schmidt Science Fellowship (2022), Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellowship (2024).
• Affiliations: Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit (University of Cambridge), Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology.