Isobella Honeyborne's Biography

Isobella Honeyborne, Senior Research Associate, University College London

Isobella Honeyborne is a Senior Research Associate at University College London. Her current focus is on biomarkers of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. She earned her B.Sc (Hons) in Biology/Biochemistry at the University of Keele in 1999 and went on to develop interests in infectious disease. She spent time working on HIV-1 in South Africa and maintains strong links with groups in southern Africa. Her D.Phil, obtained in 2009, investigated CD8+ T cell responses to HIV-1 with particular interest in how particular HLA class I molecules are associated with failure or ability to contain the virus. A background in human immunology, in combination with study of prokaryotic biomarkers, allows a synergistic approach to developing molecular and other tools for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The Molecular Bacterial Load (MBL) assay is an example of a bacteria-specific biomarker. She is also currently working on human miRNA and small RNA as both diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of tuberculosis disease.