Judi Allen

For The American actress, see Judith Allen.
Judi Allen
FRS FMedSci FRSE FRSB
Born
Judith Elizabeth Allen
Alma materBates College
University of California, Berkeley
AwardsEMBO Member (2018)[1]
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Manchester
Imperial College London
University of Edinburgh
ThesisThe cysteine-rich proteins of Chlamydia trachomatis in structure and immunity (1991)
Websiteresearch.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/judi.allen Edit this at Wikidata

Judith Elizabeth Allen FRS FMedSci FRSE FRSB is a British scientist who is Professor of Immunobiology at the University of Manchester.[2][3] She is an expert on macrophages activated during helminthiasis and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2023. She has also done extensive work into type 2 immunity and was awarded Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh in 2016.[4]

Early life and education

Allen earned her undergraduate degree at Bates College.[5] She was a doctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley,[5] where her PhD investigated cysteine-rich proteins of Chlamydia trachomatis.[6]

Research and career

Allen spent several years in the biotechnology sector before joining Imperial College London as a postdoctoral researcher.[5] In 1997, she was awarded a fellowship from the Medical Research Council and moved to the University of Edinburgh. She was made Professor of Immunobiology there in 2005.[7]

Allen studies helminthiasis, a disease caused by helminth (parasitic worm) infection. The infection is associated with the induction of a type 2 immune response in mammals. Allen has identified macrophages with a specific type 2 expression profile, which are found both at the site of the infection and in injured tissue. The macrophage phenotype is influenced by the genotype of the host and the infected site. Allen discovered a relationship between the chitinase-like protein 3 YM1 and Interleukin 17, an inflammatory cytokine associated with autoimmune disease.[8][9]

Judi Allen has also completed some research explaining the relationship between a type 2 cytokine Interleukin 13, IL-13, and SARS-Cov-2 infection, better known as COVID-19.  SARS-Cov-2 is a virus that affects the respiratory system and patients exhibit higher levels of inflammatory cytokines in response to infection. Allen helped discover that IL-13 encourages SARS-Cov-2 to progress in severity through the increased accumulation of hyaluronan polysaccharide (HA) in the lungs. In her study, Allen discovered Interleukin 13 neutralization resulted in a decrease in the amount of HA in the lungs and a decrease in the severity of the disease.[10]

Allen then went on to join the University of Manchester faculty in 2016.[11]

Allen also published a paper in 2023 concerning T helper 2 cells and nematode infection. Allen used mice with different immune genotypes to measure the different immune responses to Litomosoides sigmodontis, a nematode that infects the pleural cavity. Th2 cells, T helper 2, controlled the cell’s pathway of the tissue-resident macrophages from monocytes which affected the infection response. C57BL/6 mice had a strong conversion to large cavity macrophage from the monocyte while BALB/c mice had a weak conversion. Therefore, Allen has made an impact in the adaptive immune response component of cells in immunobiology.[12]

Judi Allen has helped to establish a relationship between the extracellular matrix in organisms and the immune system. The matrix and the immune system must work together to fight any infection or disease in organisms. There are many molecules and relationships that contribute to this working partnership. For example, the immune system will regulate the extracellular matrix through chemokines or cytokines, inflammatory signals, which will call for leukocyte extravasation to an injury site. Interleukin 13, a type 2 cytokine Allen has worked with previously, not only regulates hyaluronan polysaccharide but also mucus which is an important structure in the extracellular matrix as well. Allen has also emphasized the importance this relationship has for potential new immunotherapies.[13]

Awards and honours

Selected publications

  • Donlan, Alexandra N.; Sutherland, Tara E.; Marie, Chelsea; Preissner, Saskia; Bradley, Benjamin T.; Carpenter, Rebecca M.; Sturek, Jeffrey M.; Ma, Jennie Z.; Moreau, G. Brett; Donowitz, Jeffrey R.; Buck, Gregory A.; Serrano, Myrna G.; Burgess, Stacey L.; Abhyankar, Mayuresh M.; Mura, Cameron (2021-08-09). "IL-13 is a driver of COVID-19 severity". JCI Insight. 6 (15). doi:10.1172/jci.insight.150107. ISSN 0021-9738.
  • Finlay, Conor M.; Parkinson, James E.; Zhang, Lili; Chan, Brian H. K.; Ajendra, Jesuthas; Chenery, Alistair; Morrison, Anya; Kaymak, Irem; Houlder, Emma L.; Murtuza Baker, Syed; Dickie, Ben R.; Boon, Louis; Konkel, Joanne E.; Hepworth, Matthew R.; MacDonald, Andrew S. (2023-05-09). "T helper 2 cells control monocyte to tissue-resident macrophage differentiation during nematode infection of the pleural cavity". Immunity. 56 (5): 1064–1081.e10. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2023.02.016. ISSN 1074-7613.[12]
  • Luke C Davies; Stephen J Jenkins; Judith E Allen; Philip R Taylor (October 2013). "Tissue-resident macrophages". Nature Immunology. 14 (10): 986–95. doi:10.1038/NI.2705. ISSN 1529-2908. PMC 4045180. PMID 24048120. Wikidata Q26991488.
  • Peter J. Murray; Judith E. Allen; Subhra K. Biswas; et al. (August 2014). "Macrophage Activation and Polarization: Nomenclature and Experimental Guidelines". Immunity. 41 (2): 339–340. doi:10.1016/J.IMMUNI.2014.07.009. ISSN 1074-7613. Wikidata Q56942151.
  • Stephen J Jenkins; Dominik Ruckerl; Peter C Cook; Lucy H Jones; Fred D Finkelman; Nico van Rooijen; Andrew S MacDonald; Judith E Allen (12 May 2011). "Local macrophage proliferation, rather than recruitment from the blood, is a signature of TH2 inflammation". Science. 332 (6035): 1284–1288. doi:10.1126/SCIENCE.1204351. ISSN 0036-8075. PMC 3128495. PMID 21566158. Wikidata Q35083309.

References

  1. ^ a b "Find people in the EMBO Communities". people.embo.org. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  2. ^ Judi Allen publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
  3. ^ Judi Allen publications from Europe PubMed Central
  4. ^ a b "Honorary Professor, University of Edinburgh". Research Explorer The University of Manchester. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  5. ^ a b c "The DBM welcomes Prof. Judith E. Allen as new Scientific Advisory Board Member for the Immunology Focal Area". biomedizin.unibas.ch. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  6. ^ Allen, Judith (1991). The cysteine-rich proteins of Chlamydia trachomatis in structure and immunity. berkeley.edu (PhD thesis). University of California, Berkeley. OCLC 25765993.
  7. ^ "Judi Allen". Department of Molecular Biology. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  8. ^ Sutherland, Tara E.; Rückerl, Dominik; Logan, Nicola; Duncan, Sheelagh; Wynn, Thomas A.; Allen, Judith E. (2018-11-30). "Ym1 induces RELMα and rescues IL-4Rα deficiency in lung repair during nematode infection". PLOS Pathogens. 14 (11): e1007423. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1007423. ISSN 1553-7374. PMC 6291165. PMID 30500858.
  9. ^ "Judi Allen (Univ of Manchester, UK)". Department of Molecular Biology. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  10. ^ Donlan, Alexandra N.; Sutherland, Tara E.; Marie, Chelsea; Preissner, Saskia; Bradley, Benjamin T.; Carpenter, Rebecca M.; Sturek, Jeffrey M.; Ma, Jennie Z.; Moreau, G. Brett; Donowitz, Jeffrey R.; Buck, Gregory A.; Serrano, Myrna G.; Burgess, Stacey L.; Abhyankar, Mayuresh M.; Mura, Cameron (2021-08-09). "IL-13 is a driver of COVID-19 severity". JCI Insight. 6 (15). doi:10.1172/jci.insight.150107. hdl:2164/19241. ISSN 0021-9738.
  11. ^ research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/judi.allen Edit this at Wikidata
  12. ^ a b Finlay, Conor M.; Parkinson, James E.; Zhang, Lili; Chan, Brian H. K.; Ajendra, Jesuthas; Chenery, Alistair; Morrison, Anya; Kaymak, Irem; Houlder, Emma L.; Murtuza Baker, Syed; Dickie, Ben R.; Boon, Louis; Konkel, Joanne E.; Hepworth, Matthew R.; MacDonald, Andrew S. (2023-05-09). "T helper 2 cells control monocyte to tissue-resident macrophage differentiation during nematode infection of the pleural cavity". Immunity. 56 (5): 1064–1081.e10. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2023.02.016. hdl:20.500.11820/6377fd26-84f2-41a6-8c7a-7030a6d58793. ISSN 1074-7613.
  13. ^ Sutherland, Tara E.; Allen, Judith E. (17 Feb 2023). "The extracellular matrix and the immune system: A mutually dependent relationship". Science. 379 (6633).
  14. ^ "Professor Judith Allen". rse.org.uk. Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  15. ^ "Judith E Allen, FRSE, FRSB, FMedSci". International Cytokine & Interferon Society. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  16. ^ Anon (2023). "Professor Judith Allen FRS". royalsociety.org. London: Royal Society. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  17. ^ "Professor Judith Allen". acmedsci.ac.uk. Academy of Medical Sciences. Retrieved 2023-05-11.