Dr Coulter was appointed as a Lecturer in the School of Pharmacy in June 2012 and is establishing his own research programme around physical and molecular approaches to radio-sensitisation. Research interests include exploiting the physical properties of gold nanoparticles (i.e. their high atomic number and the differential absorption coefficient between high Z materials and soft tissue) to sensitise cells to radiation treatment. He has a particular interest in the biological factors that may influence the efficacy of these experimental therapeutics, including nanoparticle uptake, intracellular localisation, and their inherent redox activity. He is currently working on modifying the surface chemistry to manipulate these factors, in order to further enhance their therapeutic potential. Other ongoing research themes include the contribution of inflammatory signalling in regulating cancer cell sensitivity to ionising radiation in both autocrine and paracrine models, and the role of prostate tumour initiating cells in promoting resistance to conventional therapeutics.