Our people

Consultant Physician in Acute Medicine 

Dr Chris Adcock is a Consultant Physician in Acute Medicine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, as well as Training Programme Director for Acute Internal Medicine higher specialty training in the East of England. He has clinical experience of providing healthcare on aircraft and in austere environments as an NHS and RAF Consultant. He teaches on Preparing for Patients B, Clinical Reasoning, and Clinical Communication Skills.

Chris is a clinician and educator with a keen focus on effective communication, collaboration, and partnership with patients and learners alike. Chris believes that accessibility and security are fundamental to this; as Training Programme Director he has championed enhanced induction for International Medical Graduates, organised rotations to minimise geographical disruption across the training programme, and supported less than full-time training and professional support and wellbeing initiatives.

His teaching encompasses communication skills, professionalism, clinical reasoning, and simulation for medical emergencies and cardiac arrest. Chris is always happy to talk to students in College about careers in medicine or the health professions, and is pleased to be part of the College tutor team.

Chris is a Research Associate in the Centre for Photonic Devices and Sensors specialising in liquid crystal displays and scalable manufacturing processes. He completed his PhD in electronic engineering at St. Edmund’s College.

He has developed an electrically switchable window capable of reflecting heat, controlling privacy, and displaying images while using no continuous power. To commercialise this innovation, he cofounded Flexypix in 2016 and was awarded an Enterprise Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering to pursue this venture.

His wider interests include playing the guitar, photography, and motorcycles.

Corinne is Director of Studies for our Archaeology degree

My research focuses on astrophysics, with a particular interest in planet formation. I am currently a Postdoctoral Associate at the Institute of Astronomy, and my work combines theoretical modelling, numerical simulations, and data analysis to explore the processes driving planet formation.

Dr. Cristiano Longarini is a postdoctoral associate at the Institute of Astronomy, specialising in planet formation and protoplanetary disc dynamics. His research explores the role of gravitational instabilities in shaping planetary systems, combining theoretical modelling, numerical simulations, and observational data analysis. He has contributed to large observational programs, and has expertise in interpreting high-resolution data from ALMA telescope.

Dr Alexander spent 40 years in the sciences, first in the field of neurochemistry, then human genetics, and finally in molecular immunology, spending 15 years helping to develop new science initiatives in the Middle East. Dr Alexander is also engaged in the academic field of science and religion.

Dr Alexander was an Open Scholar at Oxford University reading Biochemistry [1964-1968] before a PhD in Neurochemistry at the Institute of Psychiatry, London University [1968-1971]. This was followed by a period of 15 years helping to develop scientific research in the Middle East [1971 – 1986], first in Ankara, Turkey, at Hacettepe University and the Middle East Technical University, and then as Associate Professor of Biochemistry on the medical faculty of the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, where he helped to establish the National Unit of Human Genetics in the Department of Pediatrics. Working in Beirut [1981-1986] involved three evacuations due to political violence. After the third and final evacuation Dr Alexander returned to the UK to take up a position as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund [now Cancer Research UK] in London [1986 – 1989], before becoming a Project Leader at The Babraham Institute, and establishing a new research laboratory in molecular immunology, initially entitled the ‘T Cell Laboratory’. Dr Alexander eventually became Head of this expanded laboratory, incorporating the research teams of five Project Leaders, re-named as the Laboratory of Lymphocyte Signalling and Development, also becoming Chair of the Programme of Molecular Immunology. During this period Dr Alexander had consultancies with Biogen and GenMab; served on the Babraham Executive Committee and on the BBSRC Biochemistry and Cell Biology Grants Committee; and became a Fellow of St. Edmund’s College in 1997. During his final two years at The Babraham Institute [2006 – 2008], Dr Alexander worked as a part-time Senior Affiliated Scientist.

Upon retirement from active science, Dr Alexander further developed his interests in the academic field of science and religion, co-founding The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion as part of St. Edmund’s College in 2006, and becoming the Institute’s first director from 2006 – 2012. He became a Founding Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion in 2001, serving on its Executive Committee; Editor of the Journal Science and Christian Belief, 1992-2013; and served from 2008 - 2014 as a Trustee of the John Templeton Foundation and the Templeton World Charity Foundation, and on the Steering Committee of the Templeton Religion Trust. Having given the Gifford Lectures at St. Andrews University in 2012, these lectures were published by CUP under the title Genes, Determinism and God. By 2017 The Faraday Institute had become too large to stay in College and so moved to become a tenant of the Woolf Building on the grounds of Westminster College, signing an academic agreement with St. Edmund’s College and becoming a member of the Cambridge Theological Federation. Dr Alexander was Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Faraday Institute from 2017 – 2024. Dr Alexander continues to publish and speak widely in the UK and internationally in the field of science and religion.

Publications

• Denis Alexander, Are We Slaves to Our Genes? 2023. Cambridge University Press.
• Zhao, R., Follows, G.A., Beer, P.A., Scott, L.M., Huntly, B.J.P, Green, A.R. and Alexander, D.R. ‘Inhibition of the Bcl-xL deamidation pathway in myeloproliferative disorders’ (2008). New England J. Medicine, 359: 2778-2789.
• McNeill, L. Salmond, R.J. Cooper, J.C., Carret, C.K., Cassady-Cain, R.L., Roche-Molina, M., Tandon, P., Holmes, N. and Alexander, D.R. ‘The differential regulation by CD45 of Lck kinase phosphorylation sites is critical for TCR signaling thresholds’ (2007). Immunity 27: 425-437.
• Zhao, R., Yang, F.-T., and Alexander, D.R. ‘An oncogenic tyrosine kinase inhibits DNA repair and DNA damage-induced Bcl-xL deamidation in T cell transformation’ (2004). Cancer Cell, 5: 37-49.
• Denis Alexander, Rebuilding the Matrix - Science and Faith in the 21st Century, 2001. Oxford: Lion.

I research into interfaith relations, primarily between Jews, Christians and Muslims. Much of my academic work explores the significance of sharing sacred texts and narratives. I also work with local actors in the Middle East to agree measures to safeguard Jerusalem's holy places.

Dr Edward Kessler, MBE is Founder President of the Woolf Institute and a leading thinker in interfaith relations, primarily, Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations.
He was described by The Times Higher Education Supplement as 'probably the most prolific interfaith figure in British academia' and was awarded an MBE for services to interfaith relations. He has written or edited 13 books, including An Introduction to Jewish-Christian Relations (Cambridge, 2010), Jews, Christians and Muslims in Encounter (SCM, 2013) and Jesus (The History Press, 2016). His Documentary History of Jewish-Christian Relations was published by Cambridge in 2024. In 2024 he was awarded the Seelisberg Prize for his contribution to fostering Jewish-Christian relations. He was Vice-Chair of the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life (2013-15), Principal Investigator of the Woolf Diversity Study, a study of diversity in England and Wales (2017-19), and Chair of the Commission on the Integration of Refugees (2022-25). In 2023 he was appointed Chair of the Advisory Board overseeing the unification of Reform and Liberal Judaism. Kessler regularly appears in the media commenting on religion and belief issues of the day, such as the impact of October 7th 2023 attacks on Israel and the Gaza War on the Leading Podcast, and hosted the weekly podcast Naked Reflections (2020-23).

He also presented the series, Covid-19 Chronicles (2020), on the impact of the coronavirus on religion and belief. He wrote and presented two A-Z podcasts (2018-20), An A-Z of Believing: From Atheism to Zealotry and An A-Z of the Holy Land: From Arab to Zion. Much of his academic work has been examining Scripture and exploring the significance of sharing a sacred text. In recent writings, he has focused on the encounter with Islam and contemporary relations between the three Abrahamic faiths. Kessler proposes positive approaches for managing difference, which he argues, is vital in forming a constructive identity as well as for sustaining communities, in the UK and Overseas. Since 2015, he has been working with local actors in Israel, Palestine and Jordan to agree measures to safeguard Jerusalem's holy places.Kessler also explores the tensions, positive as well as negative, between religion and civil society.

At a lecture at the Brookings Institution in 2014, he argued that diplomats and policymakers need to be better trained in religion and belief, describing the contemporary religious landscape as a 'post-interfaith' world. In 2019, at an annual lecture for the Council for Religious and Life Stance Communities in Oslo, he argued that because religious monopolies are in decline, belonging to a minority is the norm. In his 2024 address upon receiving the Seelisberg Prize, he called for a redoubling of efforts to pursue genuine dialogue at a time of increasing polarisation.

Academic Profile

My research focuses on the genetic causes of susceptibility to infections and the adult presentations of immune deficiency as well as the determinants of vaccine responses.

Effrossyni Gkrania-Klotsas is a Consultant in infectious Diseases with an interest in primary and secondary immunodeficiencies and transplantation. She leads the Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial disease (MSMD) and other rare unexplained intracellular infections collaborative network. Effrossyni is also a Visiting Professor of University of Athens and University of Crete Medical Schools, Greece.

Academic Profile

Awards & Recognitions

• RCP London NIHR Consultant Research Award (shared with Prof A Comninos)/ RCP & NIHR, 2024
• Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, UK, 2023
• The Winston Churchill Memorial Foundation Award, 2019
• Excellent Teaching Award, University of Cambridge Clinical School Students Society, 2016 & 2018