Dr Elise Needham

Dr Elise Needham is a Research Fellow at Emmanuel College, which she joined in 2022. She is based in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge, working in the Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology with Professor Adam Butterworth.

Biography

Originally from Australia, Elise completed her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Sydney, where she studied how exercise and insulin resistance affect cellular signalling in muscle. Her work used mass spectrometry to measure molecular changes and revealed how individual variation in protein regulation may explain differences in metabolic health.

Elise moved to the UK in 2022 to join the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, working with Professor Adam Butterworth. She was awarded a Schmidt Science Fellowship in 2022 and, in 2024, a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellowship.

Research

Elise’s research investigates how genetic differences between individuals affect protein regulation and disease risk. She is particularly interested in the thousands of genetic variants associated with complex diseases. Her work involves measuring the levels of thousands of proteins in human tissues and blood, and using these data to identify how genetic variants influence key signalling pathways.

By linking molecular biology with large-scale human genetic studies, Elise aims to uncover the mechanisms that contribute to complex conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. She is committed to building interdisciplinary approaches that connect experimental science with population health.