Katherine A. Fitzgerald

Katherine Fitzgerald
Born
Katherine A. Fitzgerald

Ireland
CitizenshipUnited States of America
Alma materUniversity College Cork,
Trinity College Dublin
Scientific career
ThesisSignal transduction processes regulating CD44 expression and CD44-mediated changes in pro-inflammatory gene expression (1999)

Katherine A. Fitzgerald is an Irish-born American molecular biologist and virologist.[1] She is a professor of medicine currently working in the Division of Infectious Disease at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is also the director of the Program in Innate Immunity.[2]

Education

Fitzgerald received her B.Sc. degree in biochemistry in 1995 from University College Cork.[1] She received her Ph.D. in 1999 from Trinity College Dublin,[3] studying with Luke O'Neill.[1] Following her Ph.D., she was postdoc at Trinity College Dublin until 2004 when she moved to the University of Massachusetts Medical School.[4]

Research

Fitzgerald is known for her research in the field of innate immunity and the biology behind inflammatory responses in diseases.[5] She conducts research on many aspects of innate immunity such as the molecular basis of pathogen recognition,[6] the innate immunity to malaria,[7] and the impact with diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.[8] In 2021, Fitzgerald published results on an antiviral option to block replication in SARS-CoV-2, the viral agent responsible for COVID-19.[9]

Awards and honors

In 2011, Fitzgerald was a finalist for the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science.[10] In 2015, she was awarded the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) St. Patrick's Day Science Medal, and she is the first woman to win the award.[11] She has been recognized by Clarivate as a Highly Cited Researcher in the field of immunology by Clarivate every year from 2014 to 2021 for being in the top 1% of authors cited in her field.[12][13] In 2020, she was admitted into the Royal Irish Academy, one of Ireland's most prestigious academic bodies,[14][15] and was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology.[16] In 2021 she was elected to the United States' National Academy of Sciences[17] and the National Academy of Medicine.[18]

Selected publications

  • Fitzgerald, Katherine A.; Palsson-McDermott, Eva M.; Bowie, Andrew G.; Jefferies, Caroline A.; Mansell, Ashley S.; Brady, Gareth; Brint, Elizabeth; Dunne, Aisling; Gray, Pearl; Harte, Mary T.; McMurray, Diane (2001). "Mal (MyD88-adapter-like) is required for Toll-like receptor-4 signal transduction". Nature. 413 (6851): 78–83. Bibcode:2001Natur.413...78F. doi:10.1038/35092578. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 11544529. S2CID 4333764.
  • Fitzgerald, Katherine A.; Rowe, Daniel C.; Barnes, Betsy J.; Caffrey, Daniel R.; Visintin, Alberto; Latz, Eicke; Monks, Brian; Pitha, Paula M.; Golenbock, Douglas T. (6 October 2003). "LPS-TLR4 Signaling to IRF-3/7 and NF-κB Involves the Toll Adapters TRAM and TRIF". Journal of Experimental Medicine. 198 (7): 1043–1055. doi:10.1084/jem.20031023. ISSN 1540-9538. PMC 2194210. PMID 14517278.
  • Hornung, Veit; Ablasser, Andrea; Charrel-Dennis, Marie; Bauernfeind, Franz; Horvath, Gabor; Caffrey, Daniel. R.; Latz, Eicke; Fitzgerald, Katherine A. (2009). "AIM2 recognizes cytosolic dsDNA and forms a caspase-1-activating inflammasome with ASC". Nature. 458 (7237): 514–518. Bibcode:2009Natur.458..514H. doi:10.1038/nature07725. ISSN 0028-0836. PMC 2726264. PMID 19158675.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Dr. Katherine A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D." The Milstein Awards. 21 June 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Program in Innate Immunity". 22 October 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  3. ^ Fitzgerald, Katherine (1999). Signal transduction processes regulating CD44 expression and CD44-mediated changes in pro-inflammatory gene expression (Thesis). OCLC 842504391.
  4. ^ "Principal Investigator". UMass Chan Medical School. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Katherine Fitzgerald focuses on novel discoveries in innate immunity". University of Massachusetts Medical School. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  6. ^ Paludan, Søren R.; Bowie, Andrew G.; Horan, Kristy A.; Fitzgerald, Katherine A. (2011). "Recognition of herpesviruses by the innate immune system". Nature Reviews Immunology. 11 (2): 143–154. doi:10.1038/nri2937. ISSN 1474-1733. PMC 3686362. PMID 21267015.
  7. ^ Gazzinelli, Ricardo T.; Kalantari, Parisa; Fitzgerald, Katherine A.; Golenbock, Douglas T. (2014). "Innate sensing of malaria parasites". Nature Reviews Immunology. 14 (11): 744–757. doi:10.1038/nri3742. ISSN 1474-1733. PMID 25324127. S2CID 23050925.
  8. ^ "Richter, Fitzgerald named to newly endowed chairs". UMass Medical School. 2015.
  9. ^ Humphries, Fiachra; Shmuel-Galia, Liraz; Jiang, Zhaozhao; Wilson, Ruth; Landis, Philip; Ng, Sze-Ling; Parsi, Krishna Mohan; Maehr, Rene; Cruz, John; Morales, Angel; Ramanjulu, Joshi M. (18 May 2021). "A diamidobenzimidazole STING agonist protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection". Science Immunology. 6 (59): eabi9002. doi:10.1126/sciimmunol.abi9002. PMC 8158975. PMID 34010139.
  10. ^ "The Vilcek Foundation -". www.vilcek.org. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  11. ^ O’Connell, Claire (16 March 2015). "Irish researcher Katherine Fitzgerald receives St Patrick's Day Science Medal - Discovery | siliconrepublic.com - Ireland's Technology News Service". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  12. ^ Megan, Bard (4 February 2016). "Fitzgerald named again in Thomson Reuters Report on most influential scientific minds".
  13. ^ Pressestelle, BVDD (January 2022). "Prof. Dirk Schadendorf als "Highly Cited Researcher" ausgezeichnet". Der Deutsche Dermatologe. 70 (1): 71. doi:10.1007/s15011-022-4872-7. ISSN 0340-8078. S2CID 246155863.
  14. ^ "Royal Irish Academy - Katherine Fitzgerald". 7 January 2020.
  15. ^ Spencer, Susan (2020). "UMMS immunologist Katherine Fitzgerald admitted to Royal Irish Academy".
  16. ^ "Katherine Fitzgerald and Sanjay Ram elected to American Academy of Microbiology". UMass Chan Medical School. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  17. ^ "News from the National Academy of Sciences". 26 April 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021. Newly elected members and their affiliations at the time of election are: ... Fitzgerald, Katherine A.; professor, department of medicine, and Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester
  18. ^ "National Academy of Medicine Elects 100 New Members". National Academy of Medicine. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.