STEM Faculty

Rachel McMullan

Senior Lecturer In Health Sciences

Professional biography

I completed my PhD in Biosciences at The University of Birmingham in 2003, studying the role of Rho small GTPases in keratinocyte function. Following this I undertook a postdoc at the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology investigating the function of Rho family small GTPases during neurotransmitter release in Caenorhabditis elegans.

In 2010 I became a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow at Imperial College using C. elegans to study the relationships between the nervous and immune systems the mediate responses to infection.

I joined the School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences in 2015 as a lecturer and am now a Senior Lecturer in Health Sciences.

1999 BSc Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology The University of Birmingham

2003 PhD Biosciences The University of Birmingham

Research interests

Disgust and pathogen avoidance

The persistent threat posed by pathogens has driven the evolution of behavioural strategies that help free-living animals to reduce contact with infectious agents. These pathogen-avoidance behaviours are widespread across Animalia. In humans, the emotion that serves this function is disgust and strong associations between disgust elicitors and pathogen sources support the pathogen avoidance theory of disgust.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans provides a powerful genetic model for understanding the biological basis of disgust-like behaviour. We and others have established C. elegans as system in which specific genes underlying pathogen avoidance behaviours can be identified and experimentally manipulated. This work opens the door to understanding the evolutionary role of disgust in host defence that may inform new approaches to conditions such as contamination-based OCD, specific phobias and other disgust-related pathologies.

Environmental Pollutants and Behaviour

My research examines how environmental pollutants—including agricultural chemicals and microplastics—affect behaviour, neural function and organismal health. Many of these pollutants occur at low but chronic levels in natural and occupational environments, yet their long‑term biological impact remains poorly characterised.

Using C. elegans as a tractable genetic and behavioural model, our work explores how different classes of pollutants influence avoidance behaviours, neural function and organismal health. This includes supervisory projects that investigate both chemical and particulate pollutants:

Neurotoxic Effects of Low‑level Organophosphate Exposure in C. elegans and UK Agricultural Workers (in collaboration with Dr Gini Harrison, Psychology) – examining how chronic, field‑relevant chemical exposures influence behavioural outcomes and neurobiological pathways relevant to stress and mood regulation.
A novel particulate‑avoidance behaviour and bacterial food availability reduce the risk of microplastic ingestion and retention in C. elegans (in collaboration with Dr Carl Boardman and Dr Simon Collinson) – characterising how nematodes detect and avoid microplastic particles, and how environmental context and food availability modify these avoidance strategies.

Tackling AMR through professional learning (Academic lead)

Understanding how healthcare professionals perceive, value and use antimicrobials, as well as the context in which they develop work practices related to AMR is central to research which centres on healthcare professionals involved in AMR-related activities and focuses on how they organise their work, how they adapt, change or develop new practices and how, through these processes, they may contribute to strengthening lab capacity, AMR stewardship and AMR surveillance systems to eventually reduce AMR.

In collaboration with the Fleming Fund the OU has designed flexible, contextually appropriate, technology-supported professional learning approaches that expand access to high quality digital education on AMR surveillance for professionals working low resource settings. The OU has produced high quality, interdisciplinary research on how technology - enhanced educational interventions can support learning across diverse healthcare related professional communities and geographies. A major outcome of this work is the Tackling AMR programme comprising a suite of freely accessible short online courses and an AMR practice toolkit hosted on OpenLearn Create, designed to strengthen AMR-related capabilities at scale.

Teaching interests

Currently teaching on the following modules:

S291 Clinical laboratory diagnostics

Previous teaching:

S285 Investigative approaches in biology and chemistry

SK298 Brain, mind and mental health

SK320 Infectious disease and public health

S350 Evaluating contemporary science

Impact and engagement

I actively engage the public and wider stakeholder communities through a broad range of outreach, engagement and knowledge‑exchange activities. I have been a competitor in “I’m a Scientist, Get Me Out of Here” (2015) and have presented at major science festivals, including the 2018 Northern Ireland Science Festival (“Yuck, That’s Disgusting”) and the 2016 Cheltenham Science Festival (“The Disgust Instinct” with Valerie Curtis, LSHTM). I also run hands‑on primary‑school outreach activities such as “How clean are your hands?” and “Yuck, that’s disgusting” to help introduce children to microbiology, infection and health‑protective behaviours.

My engagement work also includes national‑level scientific communication. I contributed to RSC Science and the Assembly 2017, and in 2017 I organised the Royal Society meeting on the Evolution of Pathogen and Parasite Avoidance, which resulted in a themed issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B in 2018.

Alongside public engagement, I contribute to institutional and societal impact through leadership roles. I have served as School Engagement and Enterprise Lead and as an Open Societal Challenges (OSC) Lead, supporting interdisciplinary work that translates research into societal benefit. I am currently the Impact Lead for REF UoA03, working to strengthen the visibility, quality and reach of impact arising from our research community.