Dr Gina Doody

Profile

I received my bachelor’s degree from Chestnut Hill College and PhD from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. During my PhD, I studied under Professor Douglas Fearon, first in Baltimore, USA, then completing my studies at the University of Cambridge where I examined the role of the B cell specific co-receptor, CD22, in antigen receptor signalling. Immediately following, I began my postdoctoral research in immunology at The Babraham Institute in Cambridge where I worked in the laboratory of Dr Martin Turner investigating the role of Vav-2 in B lymphocyte activation and development.

I joined the University of Leeds in 2001, when I was awarded an MRC Research Training Fellowship. In 2004 I was awarded a University Research Fellowship and joined the Section of Experimental Haematology as an independent investigator. I work in close collaboration with Professor Reuben Tooze, also in the Section of Experimental Haematology. Together, the laboratories share an interest in the regulation of terminal B cell differentiation.

I have been acting Chair of the Yorkshire Immunology Group, a regional subsidiary of the British Society for Immunology, since 2008.

Responsibilities

• Group Leader
• Postgraduate Research Tutor
• Flow Cytometry Facility Academic Lead

Research interests

During the humoral immune response, both short-lived and long-lived antibody-secreting plasma cells are made, reflecting both the nature of the responding B cell and the input stimulus driving differentiation. The signal transduction events that initiate differentiation converge on several pathways resulting in the activation of transcription factors and the resultant plasma cell gene expression program. Once generated, the survival of mature plasma cells requires external signals provided by a specialised niche microenvironment.

Our research uses a primary cell culture system to model this process and to investigate the dynamic regulatory circuits that drive plasma cell differentiation and survival. We are interested in how these circuits adjust in response to disease-associated genetic and environmental changes, and how these might be exploited for therapy.

Qualifications

• PhD Immunology (The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)
• BS Biochemistry (Chestnut Hill College)

Professional memberships

• The American Association of Immunologists (AAI)
• British Society for Immunology (BSI)

Student education

My core area of current teaching is the fundamental principles of stem cell biology using the haematopoietic system as a model.

Research groups and institutes

• Leeds Institute of Medical Research at St James's

Current postgraduate researchers

• Emily Robinson
• Kieran walker