Dr Carolann McGuire

Dr Carolann McGuire is Technical Manager of the Flow Cytometry Core Facility within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton. She provides specialist expertise in flow cytometry and cell sorting, supporting researchers across a broad range of biomedical disciplines. Her work encompasses researcher training, experimental design, assay development, quality assurance and the delivery of robust, reproducible approaches to cellular analysis.

Carolann graduated from the University of Strathclyde with a First-Class Honours degree in Immunology and Pharmacology in 1995. As part of her degree programme, she completed a one year industrial traineeship with the Glaxo Institute of Applied Pharmacology within the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge, where she worked on purinergic receptor pharmacology and the characterisation of P2X receptor binding sites in a range of tissues.

She subsequently undertook a PhD in Parasite Immunology at the University of Nottingham, investigating mucosal vaccination strategies against Trichinella spiralis. This was followed by postdoctoral research at the University of York, where she contributed to research on an anti-fecundity vaccine against Schistosoma haematobium.

In 1999, Carolann joined the University of Southampton as Laboratory Manager within the Dermatopharmacology Unit under the leadership of Professor Peter Friedmann. In this role she supported research into allergic and inflammatory skin diseases, providing laboratory management and technical support for studies investigating immune responses in the skin.

In 2005, Carolann assumed responsibility for the school’s flow cytometry provision. As flow cytometry capabilities within the faculty developed, she expanded her expertise in instrument operation, researcher training and experimental support, including support for the introduction of cell-sorting technology through the BDFACSAria.

In 2018, Carolann was appointed Technical Manager of the Flow Cytometry Core Facility. Since then, she has overseen expansion of the facility's capabilities, including the introduction of a BDFortessa analyser, a BDAriaFusion cell sorter and a Bigfoot spectral cell sorter. Under her technical leadership, the flow cytometry facility has grown in both capacity and technical capability, providing advanced cytometry support to a diverse portfolio of biomedical and translational research projects.

In 2026, Carolann successfully secured BBSRC ALERT equipment funding to introduce an open-access full-spectrum flow cytometry analyser, further expanding access to advanced cytometry technologies for researchers at Southampton and across the wider region.

Her interests include spectral and high-parameter flow cytometry, research infrastructure development and technology evaluation She is committed to developing research capability through training, mentoring and the promotion of best practice in flow cytometry and experimental design.