Dr Michelle Linterman joins the GSK Immunology Network

Key points:

• Dr Michelle Linterman has been selected to join the GSK Immunology Network for two years, providing access to technologies and tools as well as fostering collaboration to advance immunological research.
• By joining the network, Dr Linterman will be uniting the lab’s knowledge about long-lived immunity, and GSK’s longstanding interest in understanding how to harness the power of the immune system to improve health.
• Working closely with pharmaceutical companies allows academic researchers to translate their expertise to the clinic and moves us a step closer to helping people live healthy lives for longer.

Dr Michelle Linterman, a group leader in the Immunology research programme, has joined the GSK Immunology Network. Made up of internationally recognised scientists, the programme bolsters connections between academic researchers and the pharmaceutical industry by embedding academics in GSK laboratories. Michelle will spend time in Stevenage at GSK’s R&D hub advising on the development of immunology programmes.

Speaking on her upcoming sabbatical, Michelle said: “I’m excited to add this dimension to our work and am really looking forward to a valuable exchange of ideas and knowledge with the specialists at GSK. This opportunity will nurture ideas of value both to the lab and to GSK, ultimately accelerating the application of our discovery research to support health”.  

Michelle’s research aims to understand how white blood cells get to the right place at the right time to ensure the body can make protective antibodies after vaccination, across the life-span. Her lab’s focus is to unravel the many interactions between different cells in germinal centres that lead to long-lived immunity. Recently, the team provided key insights into how the location of immune cells supports the germinal centre response and how this is altered in the later years of life, pointing to potential ways to boost protection by vaccination in older people.

Dr Carolina Arancibia, GSK Immunology Network Scientific Director, said: “We are very excited to welcome Michelle to the Immunology Network in GSK. Michelle will be spending 20% of her time at our global R&D hub in Stevenage in close collaboration with our researchers. She brings invaluable expertise on how the immune system responds after immunisation or infection. We look forward to exchange ideas and to expand our knowledge this key area of immunology with the goal of developing new medicines for patients.”

This sabbatical continues the Institute’s long history of academic-industry engagement. Several group leaders are part of long-standing collaborative partnerships with large global pharma companies while dynamic exploratory projects are a core part of the academic-commercial ecosystem on the Babraham Research Campus, which co-locates the Institute with over 60 bioscience companies. 

About the GSK Immunology Network

The Immunology Network started in 2015 and hosts global experts at the GSK facility in Stevenage, UK with a focus on fostering interactions to combine perspectives, inspire new science and drive immunological breakthroughs.  The academic immunologists, who are predominantly focused on basic science work alongside GSK’s scientists while pursuing their own independent research programmes. The academics have access to GSK’s technologies and research tools and, by working in a commercial setting, have the opportunity to expand their knowledge of drug discovery and translational research.

Michelle Linterman career snapshot

Dr Michelle Linterman is a group leader in the Immunology research programme at the Babraham Institute. She holds a degree in biomedical science from the Victoria University of Wellington - Te Herenga Waka, Aotearoa New Zealand and completed a PhD with Professor Carola Vinuesa at the Australian National University on the germinal centre response in autoimmunity. Following this Michelle joined the group of Professor Ken Smith as a postdoc at the University of Cambridge and became group leader at the Institute in 2013. Michelle is a Lister Institute Research Fellow, a EMBO Young Investigator and holds grants from the BBSRC and UKRI. Michelle has been a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, since 2010.

Notes

Press contact

Honor Pollard, Communications Officer, honor.pollard@babraham.ac.uk

Image description: Dr Michelle Linterman in the lab.

About the Babraham Institute

The Babraham Institute 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 Institute is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, through Institute Strategic Programme Grants and an Institute Core Capability Grant and also receives funding from other UK research councils, charitable foundations, the EU and medical charities.

About BBSRC

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government.

BBSRC invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.

Funded by government, BBSRC invested £451 million in world-class bioscience in 2019-20. We support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.