Staff Profile

Current Position

Senior Research Technician/ Lab Manager – Genomics Core Facility

Experience

I have been delivering genomic services to research and commercial settings since 2003. Did a lot of Sanger sequencing and then began Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) on Illumina’s first instrument, the Genome Analyzer IIx, which the University had from 2008 to 2013. For NGS I now use Illumina’s MiSeq, NextSeq, and the NovaSeq. I have been at the Genomics Core Facility from the beginning (2015/2016) and I am qualified on all our instrumentation. I provide specific training on the 10X Genomics platform and Laser Microdissection (LMD).

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science, University of Sunderland 2000 (including one year’s work placement at MRC Building, Institute for the Health of the Elderly, Newcastle General Hospital, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK).

Previous roles

Research Technician – Mitochondrial Group of Professor Patrick Chinnery: 2014 - 2015

Senior Research Technician – BHF group of Professor Bernard Keavney: 2006 - 2013

Molecular Biology Technician – Complement Genomics: 2003 - 2005

Other interests

Active member of NU TechNet and Race Equality Charter Self Assessment Team

Key Words

Genomics / Next-Generation sequencing / 10X/ Single-cell / Transcriptomics / Spatial Gene Expression / DNA / RNA / ddPCR/ Laser Microscopy/ Whole Genomes/ Exomes/ NU TechNet/ REC SAT/

• Articles

  • Baker KF, McDonald D, Hulme G, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Swan D, Schulz AR, Mei HE, MacDonald L, Pratt AG, Filby A, Anderson AE, Isaacs JD. Single-cell insights into immune dysregulation in rheumatoid arthritis flare versus drug-free remission. Nature Communications 2024, 15, 1063.
  • Dorgau B, Collin J, Rozanska A, Zerti D, Unsworth A, Crosier M, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Dhanaseelan T, Patel A, Sowden JC, FitzPatrick DR, Queen R, Lako M. Single-cell analyses reveal transient retinal progenitor cells in the ciliary margin of developing human retina. Nature Communications 2024, 15, 3567.
  • Dorgau B, Collin J, Rozanska A, boczonadi V, Molina MM, Unsworth A, Hussain r, Coxhead J, Dhanaseelan T, Armstrong L, Queen R, Lako M. Deciphering the spatio-temporal transcriptional and chromatin accessibility of human retinal organoid development at the single cell level. iScience 2024, 27(4), 109397.
  • Collin J, Hasoon MSR, Zerti D, Hammadi S, Dorgau B, Clarke L, Steel D, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Lisgo S, Queen R, Lako M. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals transcriptional changes of human choroidal and retinal pigment epithelium cells during fetal development, in healthy adult and intermediate age-related macular degeneration. Human Molecular Genetics 2023, 32(10), 1698-1710.
  • Danilenko M, Zaka M, Keeling C, Crosier S, Lyman S, Finetti M, Williamson D, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Zhou P, Hill RM, Hicks D, Rand V, Joshi A, Schwalbe EC, Bailey S, Clifford SC. Single-cell DNA sequencing identifies risk-associated clonal complexity and evolutionary trajectories in childhood medulloblastoma development. Acta Neuropathologica 2022, 144, 565–578.
  • Rozanska A, Cerna R, Queen R, Collin J, Zerti D, Dorgau B, Beh C, Davey T, Coxhead J, Hussain R, Alaama J, Steel D, Benvenisty N, Armstrong L, Parulekar M, Lako M. pRB-depleted pluripotent stem cell retinal organoids recapitulate cell state transitions of retinoblastoma development and suggest an important role for pRB in retinal cell differentiation. Stem Cell Translational Medicine 2022, 11(4), 415-433.
  • Calabrese C, Pyle A, Griffin H, Coxhead J, Hussain R, Braund PS, Li L, Burgess A, Munroe PB, Little L, Warren HR, Cabrera C, Hall A, Caulfield MJ, Rothwell PM, Samani NJ, Hudson G, Chinnery PF. Heteroplasmic mitochondrial DNA variants in cardiovascular diseases. PLoS Genetics 2022, 18(4), e1010068.
  • Jackson RM, Hatton CF, Spegarova JS, Georgiou M, Collin J, Stephenson E, Verdon B, Haq IJ, Hussain R, Coxhead JM, Mudhar H-S, Wagner B, Hasoon M, Davey T, Rooney P, Khan A, Ward C, Brodlie M, Haniffa M, Hambleton S, Armstrong L, Figueiredo F, Queen R, Duncan CJ, Lako M. Conjunctival epithelial cells resist productive SARS-CoV-2 infection. Stem Cell Reports 2022, 17(7), 1699-1713.
  • Hatton CF, Botting RA, Duenas ME, Haq IJ, Verdon B, Thompson BJ, Spegarova JS, Gothe F, Stephenson E, Gardner AI, Murphy S, Scott J, Garnett JP, Carrie S, Powell J, Khan CMA, Huang L, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Davey T, Simpson AJ, Haniffa M, Hambleton S, Brodlie M, Ward C, Trost M, Reynolds G, Duncan CJA. Delayed induction of type I and III interferons mediates nasal epithelial cell permissiveness to SARS-CoV-2. Nature Communications 2021, 12(1), 7092.
  • Jardine L, Webb S, Goh I, Quiroga Londono M, Reynolds G, Mather M, Olabi B, Stephenson E, Botting RA, Horsfall D, Engelbert J, Maunder D, Mende N, Murnane C, Dann E, McGrath J, King H, Kucinski I, Queen R, Carey CD, Shrubsole C, Poyner E, Acres M, Jones C, Ness T, Coulthard R, Elliott N, O'Byrne S, Haltalli MLR, Lawrence JE, Lisgo S, Balogh P, Meyer KB, Prigmore E, Ambridge K, Jain MS, Efremova M, Pickard K, Creasey T, Bacardit J, Henderson D, Coxhead J, Filby A, Hussain R, Dixon D, McDonald D, Popescu D-M, Kowalczyk MS, Li B, Ashenberg O, Tabaka M, Dionne D, Tickle TL, Slyper M, Rozenblatt-Rosen O, Regev A, Behjati S, Laurenti E, Wilson NK, Roy A, Gottgens B, Roberts I, Teichmann SA, Haniffa M. Blood and immune development in human fetal bone marrow and Down syndrome. Nature 2021, 598, 327-331.
  • Collin J, Queen R, Darin Zerti D, Bojic S, Dorgau B, Moyse N, Molina MM, Yang C, Dey S, Reynolds G, Hussain R, Coxhead JM, Lisgo S, Henderson D, Joseph A, Rooney P, Ghosh S, Clarke L, Connon CJ, Haniffa M, Figueiredo F, Armstrong L, Lako M. A single cell atlas of human cornea that defines its development, limbal progenitor cells and their interactions with the immune cells. The Ocular Surface 2021, 21, 279-298.
  • Khasawneh RR, Kist R, Queen R, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Schneider JE, Mohun TJ, Zaffran S, Peters H, Phillips HM, Bamforth SD. Msx1 haploinsufficiency modifies the Pax9-deficient cardiovascular phenotype. BMC Developmental Biology 2021, 21, 14.
  • Collin J, Queen R, Zerti D, Dorgau B, Georgiou M, Djidrovski I, Hussain R, Coxhead JM, Joseph A, Rooney P, Lisgo S, Figueiredo FC, Armstrong L, Lako M. Co-expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry genes in the superficial adult human conjunctival, limbal and corneal epithelium suggests an additional route of entry via the ocular surface. The Ocular Surface 2020, 19, 190-200.
  • Collin J, Queen R, Zerti D, Dorgau B, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Cockell S, Lako M. Deconstructing Retinal Organoids: Single cell RNA-Seq reveals the cellular components of human pluripotent stem cell-derived retina. Stem Cells (Durham) 2019, 37(5), 593-598.
  • Hussain R, Steel DH, Sandinha T, Stappler T, Heimann H, Wong D. Cutting the Internal Limiting Membrane With Zero Aspiration Technique: A Clinical Audit. Retina 2019, 39, S133-S136.
  • Collin J, Zerti D, Queen R, SantoFerreira T, Bauer R, Coxhead J, Hussain R, Steel D, Mellough C, Ader M, Sernagor E, Armstrong L, Lako M. CRX Expression in Pluripotent Stem Cell‐Derived Photoreceptors Marks a Transplantable Subpopulation of Early Cones. Stem Cells (Durham) 2019, 37(5), 609-622.
  • Duncan CJA, Dinnigan E, Theobald R, Grainger A, Skelton AJ, Hussain R, Willet JDP, Swan DJ, Coxhead J, Thomas MF, Thomas J, Zamvar V, Slatter MA, Cant AJ, Engelhardt KR, Hambleton S. Early-onset autoimmune disease due to a heterozygous loss-of-function mutation in TNFAIP3 (A20). Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2018, 77(5), 783-786.
  • Coxhead J, Kurzawa-Akanbi M, Hussain R, Pyle A, Chinnery P, Hudson G. Somatic mtDNA variation is an important component of Parkinson's disease. Neurobiology of Aging 2016, 38, 217.e1-217.e6.
  • Keogh MJ, Steele H, Douroudis K, Pyle A, Duff J, Hussain R, Smertenko T, Griffin H, Santibanez-Koref M, Horvath R, Chinnery PF. Frequency of rare recessive mutations in unexplained late onset cerebellar ataxia. Journal of Neurology 2015, 262(8), 1822-1827.
  • Jiang Y, Habibollah S, Tilgner K, Collin J, Barta T, Al-Aama JY, Tesarov L, Hussain R, Trafford AW, Kirkwood G, Sernagor E, Eleftheriou CG, Przyborski S, Stojkovic M, Lako M, Keavney B, Armstrong L. An Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Model of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) Reveals Multiple Expression and Functional Differences in HLHS-Derived Cardiac Myocytes. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2014, 3(4), 416-423.
  • Dickinson RE, Griffin H, Bigley V, Reynard LN, Hussain R, Haniffa M, Lakey JH, Rahman T, Wang XN, McGovern N, Pagan S, Cookson S, McDonald D, Chua I, Wallis J, Cant A, Wright M, Keavney B, Chinnery PF, Loughlin J, Hambleton S, Santibanez-Koref M, Collin M. Exome sequencing identifies GATA-2 mutation as the cause of dendritic cell, monocyte, B and NK lymphoid deficiency. Blood 2011, 118(10), 2656-2658.
  • Seifer CM, Hussain R, Clarke M, Kenny RA. Cardiovascular effects of carteolol and timolol in the treatment of glaucoma. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 1999, 47, P321.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Bada WU, Miossec MJ, Hussain R, Rahman T, Topf A, Hall D, Santibanez-Koref M, Keavney B, Goodship J. Investigating the cause of transposition of great arteries; exome sequencing analysis. In: ESC Congress 2014. 2014, Barcelona, Spain: Oxford University Press.
  • Bada WU, Miossec MJ, Hussain R, Goodship J, Keavney B. Investigating the cause of transposition of great arteries. In: Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology 2014: Third Congress of the ESC Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science. 2014, Barcelona: Oxford University Press.
  • Griffin H, McDonald DO, Singh-Dang T, Dickinson R, Grainger A, Reynard L, Hussain R, Cant AJ, Gennery AR, Abinun M, Flood TJ, Collin MP, Loughlin J, Morgan NV, Santibanez-Koref M, Hambleton S. Whole exome sequencing as a diagnostic tool in primary immunodeficiency. In: 15th Biennial Meeting European Society for Immunodeficiency (ESID). 2012, Florence, Italy: Springer.
  • Tan HL, Topf A, Griffin H, Doza JP, Hall D, Hussain R, Eden J, Rahman T, Cunnington M, Goodship J, Keavney B. Role of Genetic Variation in the Transcriptional Inhibitor Protein SMAD6 in the Predispoition to Congenital Cardiovascular Malformation. In: British Cardiovascular Society Annual Conference and Exhibition. 2009, London, UK: BMJ Publishing Group.
  • Seifer CM, Brennan R, Hussain R, Clarke M, Kenny RA. Comparison of response to carotid sinus massage in elderly persons with and without raised intraocular pressure. In: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 1999, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

• Letter

  • Lowes H, Robertson F, Pyle A, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Yarnall AJ, Burn D, Payne BAI, Santibanez-Koref M, Hudson G. The Human Coronavirus Receptor ANPEP (CD13) Is Overexpressed in Parkinson's Disease. Movement Disorders 2020, 35(12), 2134-2136.