Julie obtained her BSc in Microbiology for University of Otaga (Dunedin, New Zealand), followed by an MSc in Microbiology from the same University before untertaking a PhD at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (Australia). After appointments at the St. George's Hospital Medical School, the Biomedical Science Division at Imperial College and the Brucella Research Group at the Veterinary Labaratory Agency, Julie joined the RVC beginning 2006.

Sadly, Julie, born 03.06.1967, passed away 05.08.06.

I started my Veterinary studies at the University of Veterinary Medecine in Zaragoza, Spain. The European Socrates-Erasmus Program lead me the opportunity to study my 4th and 5th year of Veterinary Medecine at Ecole Nationale Veterinaire d’Alfort in France. I graduated from the University of Veterinary Medecine in Zaragoza, Spain in 2001. I then undertook a Masters’ Degree and PhD in Immunology at the Pasteur Institute, on the signalling pathways activated in Theileria-transformed bovine B cells. I joined the RVC on November 2006. My research focuses on studying the role of Toll-like Receptors signalling in bovine innate immune response.

Publications

1. Lizundia, R., Chaussepied, M., Naissant, B., Masse, G.X., Quevillon, E., Michel, F., Monier, S., Weitzman, J.B., Langsley, G. (2007) The JNK/AP-1 pathway upregulates expression of the recycling endosome rab11a gene in B cells transformed by Theileria. Cell Microbiol 9, 1936-45.
2. Lizundia, R., Chaussepied, M., Huerre, M., Werling, D., Di Santo, J.P., Langsley, G. (2006) c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase/c-Jun signaling promotes survival and metastasis of B lymphocytes transformed by Theileria. Cancer Res 66, 6105-10.
3. Lizundia, R., Sengmanivong, L., Guergnon, J., Muller, T., Schnelle, T., Langsley, G., Shorte, S.L. (2005) Use of micro-rotation imaging to study JNK-mediated cell survival in Theileria parva-infected B-lymphocytes. Parasitology 130, 629-35.
4. Dessauge, F., Lizundia, R., Langsley, G. (2005) Constitutively activated CK2 potentially plays a pivotal role in Theileria-induced lymphocyte transformation. Parasitology 130, S37-44
5. Dessauge, F., Lizundia, R., Baumgartner, M., Chaussepied, M., Langsley, G. (2005) Taking the Myc is bad for Theileria. Trends Parasitol 21, 377-85.
6. Guergnon, J., Chaussepied, M., Sopp, P., Lizundia, R., Moreau, M.F., Blumen, B., Werling, D., Howard, C.J., Langsley, G. (2003) A tumour necrosis factor alpha autocrine loop contributes to proliferation and nuclear factor-kappaB activation of Theileria parva-transformed B cells. Cell Microbiol 5, 709-16.

I graduated from Imperial College, London with a BSc in Microbiology in 2002, before moving to University College London for a Masters in Clinical Tropical Microbiology. As part of my MSc project, I travelled to Northern Tanzania and worked in a regional hospital to identify strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis associated with relapse tuberculosis. I began my PhD at the Royal Veterinary College in 2004 and am working on characterising the bovine innate immune receptors, TLR2 and Dectin-1.

Sam is now working as a PostDoc with Prof. Ulrich Schaible at the London School of School Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Schaible Lab Webpage

Publications

1. Willcocks, S., Yamakawa, Y., Stalker, A., Coffey, T.J., Goldammer, T. and Werling, D., 2006. Identification and gene expression of the bovine C-type lectin Dectin-1. Vet. Immunol. Immunopathol., 113:234-42.
2. Yamakawa, Y., Pennelegion, C., Willcocks, S., Stalker, A., Machugh, N., Burt, D., Coffey, T.J., Werling, D. (2008) Identification and functional characterization of bovine orthologue to DC-SIGN. J Leukoc Biol.

I completed my veterinary medicine degree from Azabu University, Japan in 2004. As I worked in the pathology lab for 2 years while studying, my interest in immunology developed and this lead me to undertake a PhD in immunology at the Royal Veterinary College. My PhD work focused on dendritic cells and the receptors involved in cattle innate immune system. While studying at Royal Veterinary College, I learned many useful academic skills and was also awarded a scholarship to join the International Summer Program at RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and immunology in Japan.

Yoshika completed her PhD in 2007 and currently working at the European headquarters of Pfizer (Global Research & Development) in the UK. 

Publications

1. Willcocks, S., Yamakawa, Y., Stalker, A., Coffey, T.J., Goldammer, T. and Werling, D., 2006. Identification and gene expression of the bovine C-type lectin Dectin-1. Vet. Immunol. Immunopathol., 113:234-42.
2. Yamakawa, Y., Pennelegion, C., Willcocks, S., Stalker, A., Machugh, N., Burt, D., Coffey, T.J., Werling, D. (2008) Identification and functional characterization of bovine orthologue to DC-SIGN. J Leukoc Biol.83: 1396-1403

Vicky graduated from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 2004. She studied a BSc in Agriculture and Animal Science where she gained the award of Agriculture Student of the Year upon completion of her degree. After graduation she worked as a veterinary haematologist in Surrey; however Vicky always had a keen interest in prion disease from her degree and subsequently decided to pursue this subject with a PhD at the Royal Veterinary College in 2005.

Vicky finished her PhD in 2009, and is now working at NIBCS.

I qualified as a veterinary surgeon from the Royal Veterinary College in 2006. I graduated with honours and I was awarded The Cecil Aldin Memorial prize for third place in the final year examinations. After graduating I completed a one year rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the Queen Mother Hospital for animals. It was during the internship that my passion for canine gastroenterology strengthened and this resulted in me pursuing a PhD investigating the immunological aetiology of canine inflammatory bowel disease, specifically the role of toll-like receptors in this disease.

I studied BSc in Biological Sciences (Immunology) for 4 years at the University of Edinburgh, and undertook my final year project on “Characterization of the function of a novel surface marker of apoptotic cell” with Dr J. Ross and Dr. N. Wheelhouse.

As I enjoyed learning about the innate immune system, and I now undertake a PhD regarding the interaction of TLR5 with different flagellin mutants of Gram-negative bacteria, funded by a BBSRC CASE studentship in collaboration with Pfizer Ltd.

I started my BSc degree (Hons) in Biosciences with Biomedical Science at the University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg in Germany in 2001 and graduated from the Robert-Gordon-University in Aberdeen obtaining a BSc (Hons) in Biosciences with Biomedical Science as part of an overseas semester. I continued my higher education in Scotland and obtained an MSc in Medical Molecular Genetics from the University of Aberdeen in 2005. I have always had a keen interest in Immunology, and this led me to pursue a PhD in the Gut Immunology Group of Dr Denise Kelly at the Rowett Institute for Nutrition and Health in Aberdeen, investigating the impact of different rearing environments on the gastrointestinal microbiota and immune development in the early life of the pig. I joined the Molecular Immunology group at the RVC as a postdoctoral research scientist in 2009. My research interests are focussed on investigating host-pathogen interactions in relation to Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome (PMWS). Dr Schmidt left the group in April 2012, and now works for Prof G. Kassiotis at NIMR (www.nimr.mrc.ac.uk/research/george-kassiotis/).

Publications:

publications B. Schmidt

I received a HNC in Applied Biology from Hatfield Polytechnic, and worked at the Department of Experimental Medicine and Toxicology at Imperial Collge before joining the RVC at the beginning of 2006. In addition to my current role as research technician, I recently finished a part-time BSc in Molecular Biology at Birkbeck College at the University of London, and I am now undertaking a part-time MSc.

Publications

1. Edwards, R.J., Wrigley, A., Bai, Z., Bateman, M., Russell, H., Murray, S., Lu, H., Taylor, G.W., Boobis, A.R., Sriskandan, S., 2007, C-terminal antibodies (CTAbs): a simple and broadly applicable approach for the rapid generation of protein-specific antibodies with predefined specificity. Proteomics 7, 1364-1372.
2. Knott, C., Bateman, M., Reynolds, F., 1984, Do saliva concentrations predict plasma unbound theophylline concentrations? A problem re-examined. Br J Clin Pharmacol 17, 9-14.

I qualified as a vet in 2003 at the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen (Germany). There I completed my doctoral thesis about the comparison of 13-C sodium acetate breath tests and scintigraphy to measure gastric emptying times in dogs. Additionally, I completed an Internship at the Small Animal Hospital of the University in Giessen, followed by a Residency (European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine-Companion Animals). I have also worked on and off in the Internal Medicine and Oncology services of different private small animal hospitals in Germany as well as being a clinical supervisor at the Small Animal Hospital of the University in Giessen. I am currently undertaking a PhD at the Royal Veterinary College looking at the effects of probiotics in dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disease; mainly concentrating on the expression of cytokines, toll-like receptors and microbiomic changes. This PhD is supervised by Dr Karin Allenspach

e-mail: sschmitz(at)rvc.ac.uk

https://www.rvc.ac.uk/about/our-people/Anthony-Huggins

https://www.rvc.ac.uk/about/our-people/amanda-gibson

https://www.rvc.ac.uk/about/our-people/Kata-Tombacz

https://www.rvc.ac.uk/about/our-people/Linda-Matthewman