Jenefer Blackwell

Last updated
Jenefer Blackwell
Alma mater University of Western Australia
Scientific career
Institutions University of Western Australia
University of Cambridge

Jenefer Blackwell is a Professor of Molecular Parasitology at the Telethon Kids Institute in the University of Western Australia. She studies host susceptibility and resistance to infectious diseases.

Contents

Early life and education

Blackwell went to Methodist Ladies' College, Perth, in 1961. [1] She graduated with First-class honours in Zoology from the University of Western Australia in 1969, and her PhD in 1974. [2] Her dissertation, "The structure of the deme in the frog Crinia insignifera Moore," considered intra-specific divergence in the Western Australian frogs. [3] [4]

Research and career

Blackwell moved to the UK in 1975 and worked at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine for 17 years. She was funded by a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship until 1991. [5] In 1991 Blackwell joined the University of Cambridge, where she raised money to develop the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research as a GlaxoSmithKline Professor of Molecular Parasitology. [1] She chaired the World Health Organization Leishmania Genome Consortium between 1992 and 2003. [5] [6] [7] Blackwell discovered that cell-mediated immunity is responsible for the genetic risk of visceral leishmaniasis that allows genome-based vaccine development. [8] She contributed to several books and review papers on genomics and leishmaniasis. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Her research identified that infections caused by Leishmania donovani , Leishmania major and Leishmania mexicana were determined by genes near the H-11 locus. [14]

She returned to University of Western Australia in 2007, where she established a genetics laboratory at the Telethon Kids Institute. [5] [15] Here she is researching ear infection and metabolic diseases, genome-wide association studies of otitis media in Western Australian children, the use of metabolomics in emerging diseases and aboriginal genetics. [5] She identified the genetic risk factors for high BMI, rheumatic heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes amongst aboriginal communities. [16] [17]

Awards and fellowships

1994 - British Society for Parasitology Chris Wright Medal [18]

2000 - Leverhulme Medal (Royal Society) [1]

2000 - Elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences [19]

2009 - Honorary Doctorate from the University of Khartoum

2015 - Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science [8] [20]

2015 - University of Western Australia Vice Chancellor's Senior Research Award [21]

Related Research Articles

<i>Leishmania</i> Genus of parasitic flagellate protist in the Kinetoplastea class

Leishmania is a genus of trypanosomes that are responsible for the disease leishmaniasis. They are spread by sandflies of the genus Phlebotomus in the Old World, and of the genus Lutzomyia in the New World. At least 93 sandfly species are proven or probable vectors worldwide. Their primary hosts are vertebrates; Leishmania commonly infects hyraxes, canids, rodents, and humans.

Fiona Stanley Australian epidemiologist

Fiona Juliet Stanley is an Australian epidemiologist noted for her public health work, her research into child and maternal health as well as birth disorders such as cerebral palsy. Stanley is the patron of the Telethon Kids Institute and a distinguished professorial fellow in the School of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Western Australia. From 1990 to December 2011 she was the founding director of Telethon Kids.

Leishmaniasis Disease caused by parasites of the Leishmania type

Leishmaniasis is a wide array of clinical manifestations caused by parasites of the trypanosome genus Leishmania. It is generally spread through the bite of phlebotomine sandflies, Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia, and occurs most frequently in the tropics and sub-tropics of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and southern Europe. The disease can present in three main ways: cutaneous, mucocutaneous, or visceral. The cutaneous form presents with skin ulcers, while the mucocutaneous form presents with ulcers of the skin, mouth, and nose. The visceral form starts with skin ulcers and later presents with fever, low count of red blood cells, and enlarged spleen and liver.

<i>Lutzomyia</i> Genus of flies

Lutzomyia is a genus of phlebotomine sand flies consisting of nearly 400 species, at least 33 of which have medical importance as vectors of human disease. Species of the genus Lutzomyia are found only in the New World, distributed in southern areas of the Nearctic and throughout the Neotropical realm. Lutzomyia is one of the two genera of the subfamily Phlebotominae to transmit the Leishmania parasite, with the other being Phlebotomus, found only in the Old World. Lutzomyia sand flies also serve as vectors for the bacterial Carrion's disease and a number of arboviruses.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis Medical condition

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is the most common form of leishmaniasis affecting humans. It is a skin infection caused by a single-celled parasite that is transmitted by the bite of a phlebotomine sand fly. There are about thirty species of Leishmania that may cause cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis Human disease caused by protist parasites

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar, is the most severe form of leishmaniasis and, without proper diagnosis and treatment, is associated with high fatality. Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania.

<i>Leishmania major</i>

Leishmania major is a species of parasites found in the genus Leishmania, and is associated with the disease zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis. L. major is an intracellular pathogen which infects the macrophages and dendritic cells of the immune system. Though Leishmania species are found on every continent aside from Antarctica, Leishmania major is found only in the Eastern Hemisphere, specifically in Northern Africa, the Middle East, Northwestern China, and Northwestern India.

<i>Leishmania donovani</i> Species of intracellular parasite

Leishmania donovani is a species of intracellular parasites belonging to the genus Leishmania, a group of haemoflagellate kinetoplastids that cause the disease leishmaniasis. It is a human blood parasite responsible for visceral leishmaniasis or kala-azar, the most severe form of leishmaniasis. It infects the mononuclear phagocyte system including spleen, liver and bone marrow. Infection is transmitted by species of sandfly belonging to the genus Phlebotomus in Old World and Lutzomyia in New World. The species complex it represents is prevalent throughout tropical and temperate regions including Africa, China, India, Nepal, southern Europe, Russia and South America. The species complex is responsible for thousands of deaths every year and has spread to 88 countries, with 350 million people at constant risk of infection and 0.5 million new cases in a year.

<i>Leishmania tropica</i>

Leishmania tropica is a species of flagellate parasites that infects humans and hyraxes, and the cause of the disease Leishmaniasis Recidivans, a form of cutaneous leishmaniasis. L. tropica infection results in non-ulcerating disease.

Leishmania braziliensis is a Leishmania species.

Mitali Mukerji is a Professor and Head of the Department of Bioscience and Bioengineering, IIT Jodhpur. She was formerly a Chief Scientist at the CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology with notable achievement in the field of human genomics and personalized medicine. She is best known for initiating the field of "Ayurgenomics" in partnership with her colleague Dr. Bhavana Prasher under the mentorship of Prof. Samir K. Brahmachari. Ayurgenomics is an innovative study, blending the principles of Ayurveda- the traditional Indian system of medicine- with genomics. Mukerji is also a major contributor in the Indian Genome Variation Consortium, a comprehensive database that is producing "the first genetic landscape of the Indian population", and has been an author in many publications that use IGV databases to study population genomics. Mukerji has done extensive research on hereditary ataxias, and is involved in many other projects related to tracking disease origins and mutational histories. She is the recipient of the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 2010 for her contribution in the field of Medical Sciences.

Bhaskar Saha is an Indian immunologist, cell biologist and a senior scientist at National Centre for Cell Science, Pune. He is known for his contributions in the fields of immunology and cell signaling. He is an elected fellow of two of the major Indian science academies, National Academy of Sciences, India and Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2009, for his contributions to biological sciences.

Suvendra Nath Bhattacharyya is an Indian molecular biologist, epigeneticist and the principal scientist at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. He is a recipient of the Swarnajayanthi Fellowship of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Bioscience Award of the Department of Biotechnology. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2016, for his contributions to biological sciences.

Hiba Salah-Eldin Mohamed is a Sudanese molecular biologist who works at the University of Khartoum. She won the 2007 Royal Society Pfizer Award.

Sarah Tishkoff American geneticist (born 1965)

Sarah Anne Tishkoff is an American geneticist and the David and Lyn Silfen Professor in the Department of Genetics and Biology at the University of Pennsylvania. She also serves as a director for the American Society of Human Genetics and is an associate editor at PLOS Genetics, G3, and Genome Research. She is also a member of the scientific advisory board at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium is a collaboration between fifty research groups in the United Kingdom in the field of human genetics. Established in 2005, the WTCCC aims to conduct genome-wide association studies (GWASs) to shed light on the genetic architecture of common human diseases. The founding chairman of the consortium was University of Oxford statistician Peter Donnelly. The consortium was funded by £9 million from the Wellcome Trust. According to the consortium's website, it has identified "approximately 90" new susceptibility loci for common human diseases.

Muntaser Ibrahim Sudanese geneticist

Muntaser Ibrahim is a Sudanese geneticist and professor of molecular biology at the University of Khartoum, where he leads its Institute of Endemic Diseases. Science described him as "one of Sudan's most distinguished living scholars". His research focuses on human genetic diversity in Africa, human genetic variation contributing to susceptibility to infectious diseases such as malaria and leishmaniasis, and cancer genetics.

Habiba Alsafar Emirati geneticist

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Jeffrey Jon Shaw

Jeffrey Jon Shaw OBE, FLS, FASTMH is a British parasitologist who began working in Latin America in 1962. Although officially retired, he is presently Senior Professor at São Paulo University's Biomedical Sciences Institute where he continues his research in its Parasitology Department.

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A Leishmaniasis vaccine is a vaccine which would prevent leishmaniasis. As of 2017, no vaccine for humans was available. Currently some effective leishmaniasis vaccines for dogs exist.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Blackwell (Miles) - Methodist Ladies' College". Methodist Ladies' College. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  2. ↑ Elsevier. "Speakers - Meegid - Elsevier". www.elsevier.com. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  3. ↑ "Jenefer Blackwell - The Mathematics Genealogy Project". www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  4. ↑ Blackwell, Jenefer M (June 1978). "Intra-specific divergence in the Western Australian frog Ranidella insignifera". Heredity. 40 (3): 339–348. doi: 10.1038/hdy.1978.41 . ISSN   0018-067X.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Jenefer Blackwell - Telethon Kids Institute". www.telethonkids.org.au. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  6. ↑ Blackwell, Jenefer M. (1997-03-01). "Progress in the Leishmania genome project". Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 91 (2): 107–110. doi:10.1016/S0035-9203(97)90187-5. ISSN   0035-9203. PMID   9196742.
  7. ↑ (mw6), www-core. "Visceral Leishmaniasis - WTCCC". www.wtccc.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  8. 1 2 Institute, Telethon Kids (2015-05-25), Professor Jenefer Blackwell, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science , retrieved 2018-06-01
  9. ↑ Leishmania : after the genome. Myler, Peter John., Fasel, Nicolas. Norfolk, UK: Caister Academic. 2008. ISBN   9781904455288. OCLC   171110678.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. ↑ Roberts, M. T. M. (2006-02-10). "Current understandings on the immunology of leishmaniasis and recent developments in prevention and treatment". British Medical Bulletin. 75–76 (1): 115–130. doi: 10.1093/bmb/ldl003 . ISSN   0007-1420. PMID   16847165.
  11. ↑ Hart, D. T. (2013-11-27). Leishmaniasis: The Current Status and New Strategies for Control: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Zakynthos (Greece), 1987. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN   9781461315759.
  12. ↑ Walliker, D.; Walliker, David; Chappell, Leslie H. (1996). Genetics of Host and Parasite: Implications for Immunity, Epidemiology and Evolution. Parasitology. Vol. 112 Suppl. Cambridge University Press. pp. S1-4. ISBN   9780521589369. PMID   8684832.
  13. ↑ Wakelin, Derek (1988). Genetics of resistance to bacterial and parasitic infection. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   9780850663662.
  14. ↑ Cox, F. E. G. (1989). "Cell Biology and Immunology of Leishmaniasis". Leishmaniasis. Boston, MA: Springer US. pp. 255–257. doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-1575-9_31. ISBN   9781461288626.
  15. ↑ Australian Academy of Science (2015-05-27), New Fellows 2015: Jenefer Blackwell, Telethon Kids Institute , retrieved 2018-06-02
  16. ↑ Anderson, Denise; Cordell, Heather J.; Fakiola, Michaela; Francis, Richard W.; Syn, Genevieve; Scaman, Elizabeth S. H.; Davis, Elizabeth; Miles, Simon J.; McLeay, Toby (2015-03-11). "First Genome-Wide Association Study in an Australian Aboriginal Population Provides Insights into Genetic Risk Factors for Body Mass Index and Type 2 Diabetes". PLOS ONE. 10 (3): e0119333. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1019333A. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119333 . PMC   4356593 . PMID   25760438.
  17. ↑ Gray, Lesley-Ann; D’Antoine, Heather A; Tong, Steven Y C; McKinnon, Melita; Bessarab, Dawn; Brown, Ngiare; Reményi, Bo; Steer, Andrew; Syn, Genevieve (2017-09-26). "Genome-Wide Analysis of Genetic Risk Factors for Rheumatic Heart Disease in Aboriginal Australians Provides Support for Pathogenic Molecular Mimicry". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 216 (11): 1460–1470. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jix497 . ISSN   0022-1899. PMID   29029143.
  18. ↑ "C.A. Wright Memorial Medal - The British Society For Parasitology". The British Society For Parasitology. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  19. ↑ "Professor Jenefer Blackwell | The Academy of Medical Sciences". acmedsci.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  20. ↑ "Jennie Blackwell made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science - Telethon Kids Institute". www.telethonkids.org.au. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  21. ↑ "The UWA Research Awards and Honours 2015". News | The University Of Western Australia. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
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