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Michelle Linterman receives Lister Prize

Dr Michelle Linterman, a group leader in the ̨��swag’s Immunology research programme, has received a prestigious Lister ̨��swag ̨��swag Prize Fellowship. The award, made by the , provides £250,000 in funding to support researchers who are in the early stages of running their own research group and aims to ensure that prize recipients have freedom to develop independent research careers. Prize Fellows also join the community of Lister Fellows, offering access to prominent immunology researchers from across the UK. The Prize is awarded annually after a competitive application process and five researchers have been named as .
 
Michelle joined the ̨��swag in 2013 as a tenure-track group leader. Michelle’s lab investigates the immune response to vaccination and infection, with a focus on the germinal centre response, where lifelong antibody-mediated immunity is generated. Because of the long-lasting nature of this immunity, it forms the basis of protection provided by vaccination. Therefore, the germinal centre response is a rational therapeutic target in situations where vaccine efficacy is poor, such as in older persons.
 
“I’m absolutely thrilled to receive a Lister Prize”, said Michelle following her notification of the award. “The award will allow to me fund an emerging area of research in my lab and provides flexible funding at a critical point in my career. I’m also looking forward to joining the community of Lister Fellows and the collaborative opportunities this will offer.” 
 
The research supported by the award will build on research published earlier this year in the Journal of Experimental Medicine on how non-immune tissue is remodelled by infection. The research uncovered how lung tissue in mice is remodelled (into specialised immune structures called germinal centres) to support an immune response to influenza. Very little is known about the formation and function of germinal centres in the lungs after infection. Understanding how they are formed and their role in protective immunity may support the development of vaccines that provide broader protection, for example in the development of novel influenza vaccinations that provide cross-strain protection.
 
̨��swag Director, Professor Michael Wakelam, said: “On behalf of the ̨��swag community, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate Michelle on this well-deserved award. Michelle has already established herself as a significant presence in her research field and the Lister Prize will be hugely beneficial in allowing Michelle to expand her networks while following some exciting research leads.”
 
Michelle has a degree in biomedical science from the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Following this, she completed a PhD with Professor Carola Vinuesa at the Australian National University on the germinal centre response in autoimmunity. After this, she joined the group of Professor Ken Smith, himself a Lister Fellow, as a postdoc at the University of Cambridge. Michelle has been a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, since 2010.
 
Michelle joins a developing community of ̨��swag-based Lister Fellows. Previous recipients are Professor Wolf Reik (1987) and Professor Phill Hawkins (1988), both of whom subsequently became Fellows of the Royal Society. Dr Rahul Roychoudhuri, also a group leader in the Immunology programme, received a Lister Prize in 2017.
 

Notes to Editors

Press contact
Dr Louisa Wood, ̨��swag ̨��swag Communications Manager, louisa.wood@babraham.ac.uk, 01223 496230
 
Additional/related resources:
Interview: Video ‘’: [from 2.14 - 3.29] Michelle Linterman talking about how her group's immunology research aims to support healthy ageing, including boosting the immune system in older people.
Press release: Rahul Roychoudhuri awarded prestigious Lister Prize
 
Recent research news from Michelle’s research group:
Press release: Could boosting the gut microbiome be the secret to healthier older age?
Press release: How lung tissue forms immune cell hubs in times of need
 
About the Lister Prize
The Lister Prize Fellowships have been awarded since the 1980s. They are intended to provide funding over five years to scientists with less than 10 years of postdoctoral experience. The Prizes help to enhance or expand an on-going research activity or enable a new area to be developed that will have a high impact for the recipient. Typically, the Prize is presented to five scientists each year and primarily supports work in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
 
About the ̨��swag ̨��swag
The ̨��swag ̨��swag undertakes world-class life sciences research to generate new knowledge of biological mechanisms underpinning ageing, development and the maintenance of health. Our research focuses on cellular signalling, gene regulation and the impact of epigenetic regulation at different stages of life. By determining how the body reacts to dietary and environmental stimuli and manages microbial and viral interactions, we aim to improve wellbeing and support healthier ageing. The ̨��swag is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences ̨��swag Council (BBSRC), part of UK ̨��swag and Innovation, through an ̨��swag Core Capability Grant and also receives funding from other UK research councils, charitable foundations, the EU and medical charities.