Dr Carrie Willcox

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham

Scientific Background

Research Interests

Vertebrate adaptive immunity relies on three types of lymphocytes that use V(D)J rearrangement to generate diverse antigen receptors capable of recognising diverse antigenic challenges. While the role of B cells and “conventional” alpha/beta T cells have been well described, the role of gamma/delta T cells remains less clear. gamma/delta T cells are often thought of as unconventional, “innate-like” lymphocytes, which respond quickly to immune challenges and recognise a limited set of conserved ligands.

In recent years, we have used T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire analysis, flow cytometry and functional experiments to show that some human gamma/delta T cells (Vγ9Vδ2 T cells) are indeed innate-like, while others (non-Vγ9Vδ2 T cells) have adaptive-like properties similar to conventional alpha/beta T cells. The lab focuses on four main areas:

Characterising butyrophilin ligands for innate-like gamma/delta T cells.
Identifying ligands for adaptive-like human gamma/delta T cells in viral infection and cancer.
Investigating the development of human gamma/delta T cells in the thymus.
Characterising the localisation, phenotype and function of gamma/delta T cells in human tissues.

Scientific Inspiration

I’m inspired by the scientists who helped us understand alpha/beta T cell recognition of antigenic peptide-MHC complexes: Rolf Zinkernagel and Peter Doherty, who received the Nobel Prize in 1996, but also others like Alain Townsend, Pamela Bjorkman, Don Wiley, and Peter Cresswell, who defined how this happens at the molecular level.

Research Groups

Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Centre

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: supportive, inclusive, goal-driven.

Provision of Training

I will provide direct training in some techniques while other experienced postdocs/PhD students in the wider group will provide some supervision, working towards independence later.

Progression Monitoring and Management

I like to be kept up to date, and will expect to see evidence of method development/data generation results on a daily/weekly basis.

Communication

Due to work and family commitments, I may email my team outside of core hours however I do not expect you to do the same. I have an open door policy and I am happy to discuss any issues you have outside of scheduled meetings.

Meetings

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me at least once per week. These meetings will be face-to-face. I am usually contactable for an instant response on every working day.

Work Patterns

Work in my lab requires being present on site (be it in a laboratory or at a field site) during the core hours of 9 - 5 Monday to Friday (or a subset if working part time).

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 1 week's notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5,000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Primary supervisor for:

Exploring cellular interactions and molecular signals underpinning gamma/delta T cell development in human thymus

See the PhD Opportunities section to see if this project is currently open for applications via MIBTP.

Please Note: The main page lists projects via BBSRC Research Theme(s) quoted and then relevant Topic(s).

Exploring cellular interactions and molecular signals underpinning gamma/delta T cell development in human thymus

Secondary Supervisor(s): Prof Graham Anderson

University of Registration: University of Birmingham

BBSRC Research Themes:

Understanding the Rules of Life (Immunology)

Project Outline

The human immune system is composed of many cell types that each perform a distinct, critical role in protecting us from infections. T cells play a central role in eliminating infected and cancerous cells, and they develop in the thymus. Most T cells that develop in the thymus are known as alpha/beta (ab) T cells, and the processes of positive and negative selection that result in a functional, yet self-tolerant, ab T cell repertoire are well known. However, the thymus also produces a second type of T cell, called gamma/delta (gd) T cells (doi:10.1111/imr.12928), which also play critical roles in immune responses against infection and cancer. The development of these cells in the human thymus is very poorly understood. The student will investigate this in three ways:

1. Examine gd T cell development in human thymic tissue. Thymus will be obtained from children undergoing heart surgery at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. We will use state-of-the-art immunohistochemistry, spatial transcriptomics and AI-based image analysis techniques to investigate where gd T cells develop in the thymus, which cells they interact with, and characterise different stages of gd T cell development.

2. Explore the role of the T cell receptor in the positive selection of gd T cells. We will use an established cellular transfection system to investigate whether the gd T cell receptor can self-dimerise to provide survival signals during thymic development.

3. Investigate the extent of gd T cell reactivity to self-derived and foreign target cells as a model to explore the impact of thymic tolerance on the gd T cell compartment self-reactivity.

This project will build on strong preliminary data to reveal key steps in gd T cell development in the thymus, a novel area which will likely lead to high impact publications. The student will benefit from the expertise of two complementary internationally leading groups and use broadly relevant, cutting-edge techniques.

APPLY HERE