Taking immunology research to Canada

The 12th International Congress of Immunology in Montréal, Canada was the destination for Ph.D. student Melanie Lewis who earlier this year successfully competed for a travel grant from the Scottish International Education Trust (SIET).

Each year SIET provides financial help to up to fifteen promising students nominated by Scottish universities, to enable travel to international conferences and short-term visits to laboratories to learn new techniques.

Melanie's Ph.D. research, which has been conducted in Dr Jenny Woof's laboratory in the Division of Pathology and Neurosciences, is focused on the interaction of a specific class of antibody, immunoglobulin A (IgA), with a receptor known as the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor.  This receptor transports IgA onto the mucosal surfaces of the body, such as the linings of the gut and the airways. Here, IgA plays a vital role in front line defence against important infections such as AIDS, influenza and diarrhoeal diseases.

The trip to Canada provided Melanie with her first opportunity to present the findings of her PhD research at an international conference. Her work attracted considerable positive interest from a number of leaders within her specific field of immunology.

Jenny said, "Melanie found the conference invaluable for forging new contacts.  In particular, she met with immunologists from Cornell University and the University of Oslo with whom she is now collaborating in the Wellcome Trust-funded postdoctoral research she recently began in my laboratory".