Dr Dodgson is a graduate of the University of Manchester medical school. He trained as a registrar in Medical Microbiology with the Public Health Laboratory Service. During his time as a registrar he undertook a Wellcome Fellowship studying the epidemiology of Candida glabrata working at the University of Manchester and the University of Iowa. Since 2007 he has been a consultant microbiologist and infection control doctor at Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. More recently, he has continued this role whilst employed by Public Health England (PHE). His research interests are in novel diagnostics, infection control and microbial epidemiology, and he has sat on groups to establish guidelines for the control of Carbapenemase-producing organisms.