Members of BSIG:

Dr. Suneeta Soni, Co-Chair

Dr. Suneeta Soni is a Consultant in Sexual Health and HIV in Brighton, and an Honorary Associate Professor at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. For BASHH, she is co-Chair of the Bacterial Special Interest Group and is a member of the Clinical Effectiveness Group. Her interests are antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship and she has authored national guidelines including N. gonorrhoeae and M. genitalium.

Dr John Saunders, Co-Chair

Dr John Saunders is a consultant in genitourinary medicine with nearly 20 years of experience in the field. Currently based at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), John leads a team that supports the translation of data and evidence into practice with the aim of improving public health outcomes and reducing health inequalities in relation to blood borne and sexually transmitted infections (BBSTIs).

He is an honorary associate professor of sexual health at University College London (UCL) and the UKHSA lead for the National Institute for Health and Care Research Health Protection Research Unit in BBSTIs at UCL. His research has informed public health strategies across the UK and he has led or contributed to several national guidelines. John’s work bridges the gap between academia and practice, ensuring that scientific insights lead to measurable improvements in health outcomes.

Dr Soonita Oomeer

Dr Soonita Oomeer completed GUM & HIV specialist registrar training at St Mary’s Hospital, Central Middlesex Hospital and Northwick Park Hospital in London.  From 2016 she was a GUM & HIV consultant at St Ann’s Sexual Health Clinic, Haringey and Marlborough GUM clinic at the Royal Free Hospital in London. 

She works at Archway Sexual Health Centre, part of Central North West London NHS Trust (CNWL) as an integrated sexual health consultant.  She is the syphilis lead for CNWL Sexual Health services in North Central London.

She is a member of the NHS Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy (IDPS) congenital syphilis clinical expert review panel.She has been a member of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) Bacterial Special Interest Group since 2024.

Dr Kevin Martin

Dr Kevin Martin is an internal medicine trainee at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust and an honorary research fellow at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. His primary research interests are in curable sexually transmitted infections, diagnostic strategies, implementation science, and mixed methods research, with a focus on implementation of STI screening across different settings. He recently undertook a PhD investigating the integration of aetiological approaches to STI management into antenatal care services in Zimbabwe.

Dr Emma Harding-Esch

Emma Harding-Esch is Association Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Her work focuses on STI diagnostics, epidemiology and public health.

Dr Michelle Cole

Dr Michelle Cole is now a Principal STI Surveillance and Prevention Scientist in UKHSA’s STI Division, after previously heading up the STI reference laboratory. Michelle is a Clinical Scientist and Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, who has a wealth of experience in STI AMR, diagnostics and surveillance. Michelle works closely with UKHSA colleagues to deliver the M. genitalium antimicrobial resistance surveillance (MARS) programme and the gonococcal resistance to antimicrobial surveillance programme (GRASP) and is also co-ordinating the update of UKHSA’s syphilis response plan. She has worked on a number of international surveillances activities, and still co-leads Euro-GASP with colleagues from Örebro University Hospital.

Dr Sarah Alexander

Dr Sarah Alexander is the Unit Head of the STI Reference Laboratory (STIRL) at the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA). She has research interests in STI diagnostics and antimicrobial resistance. She is an associate editor of the STI Journal.  

Sara Strodtbeck

Sara Strodtbeck is a Nurse Consultant in Sexual Health working in Axess Liverpool. Her key areas of work are leading on Clinical Governance, training and career development of non-medical staff, and implementation and oversight of PGDs and PSDs.   

Dr Himani Jayasinghe

Himani is an ST1 Public Health Registrar based in the South West with a keen interest in health protection and reducing health inequalities. Her interest in bacterial STI first began when she worked in a sexual health clinic as a foundation doctor in Bradford.

Dr Samindra Ranasinghe 

Dr Samindra Ranasinghe is a Locum Consultant in the Hillingdon Integrated Sexual Health Services at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust. She is a dedicated clinician with expertise in HIV, genitourinary medicine, and sexual and reproductive healthcare, committed to meeting the diverse needs of the community. In addition to her clinical work, she is actively involved in medical education, serving as a teacher and trainer for both undergraduate students and postgraduate trainees.

Dr Charlotte Short

Dr Charlotte Short is a Clinical Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant in Genitourinary and HIV medicine working at Imperial College Healthcare and Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trusts. She leads the STI Microbiota group at Imperial College and her work focusses on the vaginal microbiome, vaginitis and STIs.

Dr Claire Dewsnap

Dr Claire Dewsnap is a Consultant Physician in Genitourinary Medicine at Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Claires special interests are HIV PrEP and STI prevention and implementation. She was BASHH President from 2022-2024.

Clare Lewandowski-Fowler-Porter

Clare Lewandowski-Fowler-Porter is a Sexual Health and Contraception Nurse who joined Brighton Sexual Health Services in 2023. She is currently the HIV Screening Coordinator for opt-out blood-borne virus (BBV) testing in Emergency Departments, based in Worthing.

Clare is currently undertaking a funded MRes in Healthcare Research as part of the INSIGHT NIHR Programme. Her research and professional interests focus on STI and HIV prevention, health inequalities and improving access to testing and prevention, particularly among women and underserved populations. She is interested in the implementation of evidence-based approaches to STI and HIV prevention across healthcare settings.    

Taiana Silva Caravalho

Taiana Silva Carvalho is a Specialty doctor in GUM/HIV at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, with a special interest in Public Health and Health Inequalities. She holds an MSc in Reproductive and Sexual Health Research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and has previously worked as a Clinical Fellow with the Public Health team at Hammersmith and Fulham Council. Her research interests include STI prevention, Latin American sexual health needs and health inequalities.

Rachel Pitt-Kendall

Dr Rachel Pitt-Kendall is the lead for the Reference Section of the STI Reference Laboratory (STIRL) at the UK Health Security Agency. She has research interests in STI diagnostics and antimicrobial resistance.

Helen Fifer

Dr Helen Fifer is a Consultant Medical Microbiologist at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). She has a particular focus on antimicrobial resistance in bacterial STIs, including Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Mycoplasma genitalium, and provides specialist laboratory and epidemiological expertise for outbreak investigations and public health responses. She also leads the UKHSA Syphilis Task Force and advises the NHS Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Screening Programme. She contributes to several BASHH STI management guidelines. Internationally, she has contributed to WHO and US CDC guideline development and serves as an Editor of the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Achuta Nori

Amanda Samarawickrama

Selena Singh

Muhammad Azam Ismail