Dr Bridget Penman

Associate Professor

Email: B.Penman@warwick.ac.uk

Phone: 024 765 50249

Office: B137

Office: Mathematical Sciences 5.13

Twitter: @bspenman

Penman webpage

Research Clusters

Microbiology & Infectious Diseases

Warwick Centres and GRPs

Zeeman Institute

Vacancies and Opportunities

For PhD and postdoctoral opportunities, and interest in potential collaborations, please contact me at the above email address.

Research Interests

Humans are engaged in a non-stop evolutionary struggle with agents of infectious disease. I study how natural selection from pathogens has shaped the immune system genetics of humans and other vertebrate species. I use mathematical and computational models to achieve this.

For full details of my group's work, please see my group page at Warwick's Zeeman Institute.

Understanding the evolutionary history behind immune system genetic diversity will ultimately help us to design new ways to combat and control infection.

I am happy to be contacted by potential research students in the biosciences who wish to carry out computational / theoretical projects relating to infectious disease and host-pathogen co-evolution.

Research: Technical Summary

I study the the genes of the vertebrate immune system, particularly Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) loci, known as Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLAs) in humans.

I also research the ways that humans and other primates have evolved in response to natural selection from malaria parasites.

I have demonstrated specific co-evolutionary signatures that pathogen selection should leave on HLA population genetics (Penman et al 2013, PNAS , Penman and Gupta 2018, Parasitology) and I recently showed that contrasting human evolutionary adaptations to the two major human malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax could be a consequence of the way immunity is gained to the two different species (Penman and Gandon, 2020, PloS Computational Biology).

The major techniques I use are mathematical and computational modelling (particularly evolutionary-epidemiological models and individual based models). I am increasingly also using bioinformatics techniques to find new ways to address my research questions. I am hugely grateful to be able to collaborate with experimentalists (e.g. Introini et al 2022, Scientific Reports, and am always keen to explore new collaborations!)

Biography

Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick (2021- present)
Assistant Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick (2016-2021)
Departmental Research Lecturer, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford (2015-2016)
Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Oxford (2011-2015)
Junior Research Fellow, Merton College Oxford (2011-2014)
BA in Biological Sciences (2006) and DPhil in Zoology (2011) from the University of Oxford

Publications

Barquera, Rodrigo, Del Castillo-Chávez, Oana, Nägele, Kathrin, Pérez-Ramallo, Patxi, Hernández-Zaragoza, Diana Iraíz, Szolek, András, Rohrlach, Adam Benjamin, Librado, Pablo, Childebayeva, Ainash, Bianco, Raffaela Angelina et al.

(2024) Ancient genomes reveal insights into ritual life at Chichén Itzá. Nature, 630 . pp. 912-919. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07509-7 ISSN 0028-0836.

Cant, Susie, Shanks, G. Dennis, Keeling, Matt J. and Penman, Bridget S. (2024) Extreme mortality during a historical measles outbreak on Rotuma is consistent with measles immunosuppression. Epidemiology and Infection, 152 . e85. doi:10.1017/S095026882400075X ISSN 0950-2688.

Keeling, Matt J., Moore, Samuel, Penman, Bridget S. and Hill, Edward M. (2023) The impacts of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose separation and targeting on the COVID-19 epidemic in England. Nature Communications, 14 (1). 740. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-35943-0 ISSN 2041-1723.

Introini, Viola, Marin-Menendez, Alejandro, Nettesheim, Guilherme, Lin, Yen-Chun, Kariuki, Silvia N., Smith, Adrian L., Jean, Letitia, Brewin, John N., Rees, David C., Cicuta, Pietro, Rayner, Julian C. and Penman, Bridget S. (2022) The erythrocyte membrane properties of beta thalassaemia heterozygotes and their consequences for Plasmodium falciparum invasion. Scientific Reports, 12 (1). 8934. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-12060-4 ISSN 2045-2322.

Keeling, Matt J., Tildesley, Michael J., Atkins, Benjamin D., Penman, Bridget S., Southall, Emma, Guyver-Fletcher, Glen, Holmes, Alexander, McKimm, Hector, Gorsich, Erin E., Hill, Edward M. and Dyson, Louise (2021) The impact of school reopening on the spread of COVID-19 in England. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376 (1829). 20200261. doi:10.1098/rstb.2020.0261 ISSN 0962-8436.

Keeling, Matt J., Hill, Edward M., Gorsich, Erin E., Penman, Bridget S., Guyver-Fletcher, Glen, Holmes, Alexander, Leng, Trystan, McKimm, Hector, Tamborrino, Massimiliano, Dyson, Louise and Tildesley, Michael J. (2021) Predictions of COVID-19 dynamics in the UK : short-term forecasting and analysis of potential exit strategies. PLoS Computational Biology, 17 (1). e1008619. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008619 ISSN 1553-7358.

Thompson, Craig P., Grayson, Nicholas E., Paton, Robert S., Bolton, Jai S., Lourenço, José, Penman, Bridget S., Lee, Lian N., Odon, Valerie, Mongkolsapaya, Juthathip, Chinnakannan, Senthil et al.

(2020) Detection of neutralising antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 to determine population exposure in Scottish blood donors between March and May 2020. Eurosurveillance, 25 (42). 2000685. doi:10.2807/1560-7917.es.2020.25.42.2000685 ISSN 1560-7917.

Penman, Bridget S. and Gandon, Sylvain (2020) Adaptive immunity selects against malaria infection blocking mutations. PLOS Computational Biology, 16 (10). e1008181. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008181 ISSN 1553-7358.

White, Connor, Pellis, Lorenzo, Keeling, Matthew James and Penman, Bridget S. (2020) Detecting HLA-infectious disease associations for multi-strain pathogens. Infection, Genetics and Evolution, 83 . 104344. doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2020.104344 ISSN 1567-1348.

Barquera, Rodrigo, Zuniga, Joaquin, Flores-Rivera, José, Corona, Teresa, Penman, Bridget S., Hernández-Zaragoza, Diana Iraíz, Soler, Manuel, Jonapá-Gómez, Letisia, Mallempati, Kalyan C, Yescas, Petra et al.

(2020) Diversity of HLA Class I and Class II blocks and conserved extended haplotypes in Lacandon Mayans. Scientific Reports, 10 (1). 3248. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-58897-5 ISSN 2045-2322.

Hockham, Carinna, Ekwattanakit, Supachai, Bhatt, Samir, Penman, Bridget S., Gupta, Sunetra, Viprakasit, Vip and Piel, Frédéric B (2019) Estimating the burden of α-thalassaemia in Thailand using a comprehensive prevalence database for Southeast Asia. eLife, 8 . e40580. doi:10.7554/eLife.40580 ISSN 2050-084X.

Spensley, Katrina J., Wikramaratna, Paul S., Penman, Bridget S., Walker, Andrew, Smith, Adrian L., Pybus, Oliver G., Jean, Létitia , Gupta, Sunetra and Lourenço, José (2019) Reverse immunodynamics : a new method for identifying targets of protective immunity. Scientific Reports, 9 . 2164 . doi:10.1038/s41598-018-37288-x ISSN 2045-2322.

Hockham , C., Bhatt, S., Colah, R., Mukherjee, M. B., Penman, Bridget S., Gupta, S. and Piel, F. B. (2018) The spatial epidemiology of sickle-cell anaemia in India. Scientific Reports, 8 . 17685. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-36077-w ISSN 2045-2322.

Penman, Bridget S. and Gupta, Sunetra (2018) Detecting signatures of past pathogen selection on human HLA loci : are there needles in the haystack? Parasitology , 145 (6). pp. 731-739. doi:10.1017/S0031182017001159 ISSN 0031-1820.

Tusco, Radu, Jacomin, Anne-Claire, Jain, Ashish, Penman, Bridget S., Bowitz Larsen, Kenneth, Johansen, Terje and Nezis, Ioannis P. (2017) Kenny mediates selective autophagic degradation of the IKK complex to control innate immune responses. Nature Communications, 8 . 1264 . doi:10.1038/s41467-017-01287-9 ISSN 2041-1723.

Penman, Bridget S., Gupta, S. and Shanks, G. D. (2017) Rapid mortality transition of Pacific Islands in the 19th century. Epidemiology and Infection, 145 (1). pp. 1-11. doi:10.1017/S0950268816001989 ISSN 0950-2688.

Penman, Bridget S., Moffett, Ashley, Chazara, Olympe, Gupta, Sunetra and Parham, Peter (2016) Reproduction, infection and killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor haplotype evolution. Immunogenetics, 68 (10). pp. 755-764. doi:10.1007/s00251-016-0935-9 ISSN 0093-7711.

Gonçalves, Bronner P., Gupta, Sunetra and Penman, Bridget S. (2016) Sickle haemoglobin, haemoglobin C and malaria mortality feedbacks. Malaria Journal, 15 (1). pp. 1-7. 26. doi:10.1186/s12936-015-1077-5 ISSN 1475-2875.

Hockham, Carinna, Piel, Frédéric B., Gupta, Sunetra and Penman, Bridget S. (2015) Understanding the contrasting spatial haplotype patterns of malaria-protective β-globin polymorphisms. Infection, Genetics and Evolution , 36 . pp. 174-183. doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2015.09.018 ISSN 1567-1348.

Levin, Bruce R., Watkins, Eleanor R., Penman, Bridget S., Lourenço, José, Buckee, Caroline O., Maiden, Martin C. J. and Gupta, Sunetra (2015) Vaccination drives changes in metabolic and virulence profiles of Streptococcus pneumoniae. PLoS Pathogens, 11 (7). e1005034. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1005034 ISSN 1553-7374.

Penman, Bridget S., Gupta, Sunetra and Weatherall, David J. (2015) Epistasis and the sensitivity of phenotypic screens for beta thalassaemia. British Journal of Haematology, 169 (1). pp. 117-128. doi:10.1111/bjh.13241 ISSN 0007-1048.

Penman, Bridget S., Ashby, B., Buckee, C. O. and Gupta, S. (2013) Pathogen selection drives nonoverlapping associations between HLA loci. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110 (48). pp. 19645-19650. doi:10.1073/pnas.1304218110 ISSN 0027-8424.

Penman, Bridget S., Gupta, Sunetra and Buckee, Caroline O. (2012) The emergence and maintenance of sickle cell hotspots in the Mediterranean. Infection, Genetics and Evolution , 12 (7). pp. 1543-1550. doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2012.06.001 ISSN 1567-1348.

Penman, Bridget S., Buckee, Caroline, Gupta, Sunetra and Nee, Sean (2010) Genome-wide association studies in Plasmodium species. BMC Biology, 8 (1). p. 90. doi:10.1186/1741-7007-8-90 ISSN 1741-7007.

Penman, Bridget S., Pybus, Oliver G., Weatherall, David J. and Gupta, Sunetra (2009) Epistatic interactions between genetic disorders of hemoglobin can explain why the sickle-cell gene is uncommon in the Mediterranean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106 (50). pp. 21242-21246. doi:10.1073/pnas.0910840106 ISSN 0027-8424.

Penman, Bridget S. and Gupta, Sunetra (2008) Evolution of virulence in malaria. Journal of Biology, 7 (6). 22. doi:10.1186/jbiol83 ISSN 1475-4924.

Buckee, C. O., Jolley, K. A., Recker, M., Penman, Bridget S., Kriz, P., Gupta, S. and Maiden, M. C. J. (2008) Role of selection in the emergence of lineages and the evolution of virulence in Neisseria meningitidis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105 (39). pp. 15082-15087. doi:10.1073/pnas.0712019105 ISSN 0027-8424.

Williams, Thomas N., Mwangi, Tabitha W., Wambua, Sammy, Peto, Timothy E. A., Weatherall, David J., Gupta, Sunetra, Recker, Mario, Penman, Bridget S., Uyoga, Sophie, Macharia, Alex, Mwacharo, Jedidah K., Snow, Robert W. and Marsh, Kevin. (2005) Negative epistasis between the malaria-protective effects of α+-thalassemia and the sickle cell trait. Nature Genetics, 37 (11). pp. 1253-1257. doi:10.1038/ng1660 ISSN 1061-4036.

Teaching / Student Supervision

I am currently supervising Susie Cant and Connor White (Mathsys PhD students), and Mamas Louca (MRC IBR PhD student). I am also the Warwick deputy director of the BBSRC-funded Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership (MIBTP) and I teach Statistics for Scientists for MIBTP students.

I am happy to receive enquires about PG Research projects in my group, please contact me at the above email address.