Wright, Helen - University of Liverpool - Department of Biochemistry

个人简介

I am a Research Fellow working in the Department of Biochemistry. I am interested in the role of neutrophils in inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. I combine functional laboratory investigations with bioinformatics analysis of transcriptome (RNA-Seq) data from healthy and RA neutrophils to understand changes in neutrophil activation during inflammation. Alfred Garrod Prize 2017 (Prize, British Society for Rheumatology 2017) Career Development Fellowship (Competitive Fellowship, Arthritis Research UK 2017) The Anne Vaughen-Thomas prize for Best Oral Presentation (Prize, Institute of Ageing & Chronic Disease 2012) Foundation Fellowship (Competitive Fellowship, Arthritis Research UK 2010) School of Life Sciences Staff Student Liaison Committee

研究领域

The major theme of my research is investigating the role of neutrophils in the pathophysiology of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), including identification of neutrophil-derived molecular biomarkers of response to therapy and novel targets for the development of new therapies and understanding the molecular effects of therapeutics (anti-TNF therapy, anti-IL17A therapy, JAK inhibitors) on neutrophil function in inflammatory disease. My research combines functional laboratory assays on freshly-isolated peripheral blood neutrophils from patients and healthy controls stimulated in vitro with relevant agonists, and RNA-Seq to understand the phenotype of inflammatory neutrophils. As an Arthritis Research UK Foundation Fellow at the University of Liverpool I made a significant contribution to the understanding of neutrophil gene expression during inflammation, including publishing the first RNA-seq analysis of primary human neutrophils, cells which are notoriously difficult to work with in vitro, including making two datasets available to the public (GSE40548, GSE70068). I also published the first analysis of neutrophils from RA patients using RNA-Seq, identifying signalling pathways that correlate with disease activity. During my Fellowship I identified a panel of gene biomarkers of response and non-response to TNF inhibitors in RA. I have now secured the patent on these genes and am now in discussion with industrial partners to validate the panel as part of a multi-centre clinical trial, and develop a diagnostic assay. Recent funding has allowed me to extend my molecular study of RA neutrophils using quantitative proteomics (Wellcome Trust Seed Award) and 1H NMR metabolomics (Pfizer Aspire grant). As part of my wider interest in the role of neutrophils in inflammatory disease I have been part of collaborative teams of basic scientists and clinicians in both the UK and Thailand, working in areas such as gastroenterology, adult and juvenile rheumatology, and tropical diseases. I currently hold a British Council grant that will build institutional links with Khon Kaen University in Thailand in the area of cholangiocarcimona, which is caused by the opisthorchiasis liver fluke, and am supervising two PhD students as part of the joint program with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

近期论文

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The multifactorial role of neutrophils in rheumatoid arthritis (Journal article - 2014) Low-density granulocytes: functionally distinct, immature neutrophils in rheumatoid arthritis with altered properties and defective TNF signalling. (Journal article - 2016) Neutrophil biomarkers predict response to therapy with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis. (Journal article - 2016) Interferon gene expression signature in rheumatoid arthritis neutrophils correlates with a good response to TNFi therapy (Journal article - 2015) RNA-Seq Reveals Activation of Both Common and Cytokine-Specific Pathways following Neutrophil Priming (Journal article - 2013)