Dr Andrew McDowell has a PhD in Biochemistry from Queen’s University, Belfast (QUB). After completing his doctorate, he held a number of positions including Senior Research Fellow in Molecular Microbiology within the Centre for Experimental Medicine QUB, and Visiting Scholar, Biological Research Centre, Szeged (European Centre for Excellence).  

Dr McDowell has a general interest in opportunistic human infections, and has developed a number of research themes related to the role played by our resident microbiota in conditions ranging from cystic fibrosis to prosthetic joint and bone infections, skin disease, mental health and cancer (prostate, skin & cervical). His microbiological studies in the latter has been greatly aided by completion of an MRes in Cancer Biology.  

His early work with The Freeman Hospital, Newcastle-upon Tyne and Newcastle University, on the role of Burkholderia cepacia complex pathogens in cystic fibrosis pulmonary transplant outcomes was a ‘game changer’ in terms of patient risk-stratification, directly resulting in changes to the International Society for Heart and Lung transplantation guidelines for CF patients.

He was also one of the first to describe the population structure and intra-species diversity of the important skin and acne-linked bacterium Cutibacterium acnes, and to identify distinct genetic groupings or phylotypes that differed in pathogenicity and disease associations. This opened up many new research opportunities, and a plethora of studies and publications influenced by his work subsequently followed. At Ulster, he has especially focused on the potential role of this bacterium in prostate cancer by leading an oncology work package within the Personalised Medicine Centre. This work, which brought together clinical and academic teams, has led to successful PhD completions and invention disclosures with publications pending. He is also interested in improving the detection and managment of HPV-positive woman with a number of papers in this area. 

Over his career, Dr McDowell has won a number of awards in recognition of his work, and been invited to speak at national and international conferences. His international reach is signifiant, with active, as well as previous, collaborations with world-renowned institutions. He has also carried out research with industry, acts as a consultant, and is on the advisory board of a number biotech companies. 

Dr McDowell joined Ulster as a Lecturer in Molecular Microbiology in 2013, where he is Principal Investigator within the School of Biomedical Sciences, Coleraine campus. On joining Ulster, he completed his PgCHEP and was awarded Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2016.

Current research:

1. PORE (Profiling Non-Antibiotic-based Treatments for Acne) project. 

2. MOOD (Microbiome Role in Schizophrenia and Depression) project.

National Charities and Reseach Council:

Garfield Weston Trust

Wellcome Trust

British Skin Foundation

Prostate Cancer, UK

Cystic Fibrosis Trust

Big Lottery Trust

Western Health & Social Care Trust R&D Discretionary Fund. 

Industry

GlaxoSmithKline

Galderma

Sanofi

Unilever

Medi-Shower^TM

Dr McDowell is the Course Director for MSc in Biotechnology Research, and was previously Associate Course Director for the BSc (Hon) degree programmes at Ulster. He teaches across on-campus and distance learning undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Biomedical Science and Biology. He is moudle corodinator for BIO708 (Industrial Biotechnology), BIO711 (Synthetic Biology) and BIO314 (Biotechnology).

Dr McDowell is a STEM ambassador and has been passionate about improving the public’s awareness of science, education and career opportunities through engagement with the NI Science Festival, as well as talks and workshops at schools and colleges. He is also founder of the Ulster Gene Editing Academy (UGenie) for year school pupils.