I received my undergraduate degree from University College, London and my Doctoral degree from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine UK, where I investigated the interaction between macrophages and protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. Moving to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, I expanded my investigation of leishmaniasis to include the T cell response of patients suffering from cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral forms of this disease. I then moved to the Mycobacterial Research Labs at Colorado State University and began studying the protective immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Prior to my move to the University of Leicester, I was at the Trudeau Institute, Inc. for 12 years, where I held the E.L. Trudeau Chair which allowed me to study the cellular immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.