By Dr Helen Dooley is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, and was part of the 2015 cohort of Cruciblists.
For the past 10 years or so, Helen’s research has focused upon trying to understand how the adaptive immune system (AIS) and its component molecules evolved. To do this, she uses a comparative approach, examining a specific molecule or immune mechanism in different species across phylogeny to look for shared features and/or general rules governing their function. Key to this are their studies on the immune system of the cartilaginous fishes (sharks, skates, rays and chimera); this group, comprising over 700 living species, diverged from a common ancestor with other jawed vertebrates approximately 500 million years ago. They are the most ancient species to have a ‘mammalian-like’ adaptive immune system, with polymorphic and polygenic MHC and diverse repertoires of antibodies and T-cell receptors generated by somatic recombination.
Helen’s work in the nurse shark showed for the first time that following antigen encounter cartilaginous fish mount a highly complex, multi-layered serum antibody response complete with affinity maturation and immunological memory.
For more information on Helen, see her webpage at the University of Aberdeen.