The monthly Faculty Research Seminar Series is open to all staff and students and offers an opportunity to celebrate FBMH’s research achievements.
Host: Infection, Immunity, Inflammation and Repair
Dr John Grainger, Division of Infection, Immunity and Respiratory Medicine: “Long-range training of monocytes following infection and injury”
Dr John Grainger obtained his BSc in Molecular Biology from University College London in 2004.
Following this, he undertook his MRes and PhD at the University of Edinburgh on the Wellcome Trust funded Molecular Basis of Disease programme. The focus of his PhD work was exploring mechanisms used by gastrointestinal worms to modulate the host's adaptive immune system in order to improve their own survival. As part of these studies he identified a novel mechanism by which helminths secrete TGF-? homologues to suppress the inflammatory response. After his PhD John moved in 2009 as a visiting research fellow to the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, where he developed an interest in novel functions of immune cell populations during infection. His recent studies have predominantly focused on understanding innate cell responses towards the commensal microbiota during acute pathogen infection.
Dr Sebastien Viatte, Lecturer in Genetics, Arthritis Research UK Centre for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Musculoskeletal and Dermatological Sciences: “Personalized genetic medicine in rheumatology: genetic associations with disease outcome”
Genome-wide association studies have been extremely successful in identifying genetic susceptibility factors to autoimmune diseases, but their use as genetic markers of disease severity or treatment response is controversial. Sebastien will present results from association studies of genetic markers located within and outside the HLA region with rheumatoid arthritis severity, mortality and treatment response.
Registration is recommended and can be made via Eventbrite https://fbmh-research-seminar-15feb2017.eventbrite.co.uk, or by contacting lorna.tittle@manchester.ac.uk.
About the Faculty Research Seminar Series:
The monthly lunchtime Faculty Research Seminar Series is open to all staff and students from across the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health and the University, offering an opportunity to celebrate the Faculty’s research achievement and stimulate scientific interaction. Each event focuses on one of the eight strategic research domains. Each month one of the Research Domain Directors selects two speakers from within the Faculty to highlight and showcase an area of research in their domain. There will usually be one senior speaker and one junior/early career researcher. Speakers include clinical, non-clinical and basic science researchers. Presentations are pitched at a non-specialist level, as the series aims to attract people from across the Faculty. Held on Wednesday lunchtimes each month, each meeting lasts an hour, comprising two 20 minute presentations, with each presentation being followed by 5-10 minutes questions and discussion.
Lunch is available 12.30-1pm; presentations run 1-2pm.
The series is led by Professor Nigel Hooper and administered from the Strategic Funding Team (by Lorna Tittle).
