My research

With the advancement in modern sequencing it is now possible to map a genome in a single day, yet the ability to accurately predict the make up of an organisms from a given gene sequence in any given situation is still out of reach. The question that drives my research is how we can begin to elucidate the protein and phenotypical outcome derived from a given gene for a set circumstance. I am currently working on alternative splicing, the mechanisms whereby introns and exons are combined in differing combinations enabling the same pre-mRNA to make many different mRNA transcripts, which in turn may produce proteins with altered function, localisation and concentration, and how this process is involved in plant defence.

Most recent roles and responsibilities.

• Chair of the Systems Biology SSLC 2013-2015.
• I coordinated and managed the Systems Biology DTC seminar series from October 2012 - Se[tember 2014, more information about the seminar series can be found here.
  

Education & Training

Prizes and Awards

• SEB travel grant 2015
• PrimerDesign Silver Studentship 2014-2015
• BBSRC stipend funding for 3 year Phd 2012 - 2015.
• Warwick University System Biology Annual conference best MSc poster presentation 2012.
• BBSRC stipend funding for MSc Systems Biology course 2011.

Professional training

• Leadership and Decision Making 2015
• Science Communication 2014
• Data Mining with iPlant
• Improving Standards of real-time qPCR
• Beginners Guide to real-time qPCR
• Teamworking in a Research Environment 2013
• Warwick Health and saftey 2011 and 2012
• UK NEQAS Parasitology teaching programme - faecal parasites 2005.
• Literature searching techniques 2004.
• Word intermediate 2003.
• Manual handling - annually from 2000-2004.
• Fire safety - annually from 2000-2004.

Professional Qualifications

• Associate member of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences 2004.
• Institute for Biomedical Sciences Practitioner in Biomedical Sciences 2004.
• Medical Laboratory Technician (Biomedical Scientist) registered with the Health Professions Council 24/08/2004 – 30/11/2005

Degrees awarded

2012 MSc Systems Biology, University of Warwick

2004 MSc Biomedical Science, Brighton University

2000 BSc. (Hons) Neuroscience, University of Sussex

Lesley Foster

Systems Biology DTC
University of Warwick
CV34 4JA

Lesley.Foster[at]warwick.ac.uk