Dr Kate Sutton
Career Track Fellow

- Division of Immunology
Contact details
Availability
Willingness to take Ph.D. students: Yes
Background
I completed a BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Galway in Ireland followed by a MSc in Drug Design and Biomedical Sciences at Edinburgh Napier University. During my studies I undertook a summer masters project in prion disease in deer (chronic wasting disease) with Dr. Andy Gill at the Roslin Institute. I studied for a PhD in avian immunology with Prof. Pete Kaiser, working towards studying avian cytokines as potential vaccine adjuvants. I joined LMU/TUM in Munich as a post-doctoral scientist in Prof. Benjamin Schusser Group. In 2016, I returned to the Roslin Institute as a Research Fellow in Prof. Lonneke Vervelde's Group. In 2023, I was promoted to Career Track Fellow focusing on the Immunobiology of Chicken Dendritic Cells to help improve and develop novel vaccines.
Qualifications
Doctor of Science,PhD Avian Immunology, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh.
Master in Science, Biomedical and Drug Design, Edinburgh Napier University.
Bachelor of Science (Hons), Biochemistry, University of Galway.
Responsibilities & affiliations
Comparative Veterinary Immunology Group (CVIG)
Role: Treasurer
Representative for Avian Immunologists and The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh
Editorial
Section Editor of Avian Immunology for British Poultry Science
Membership
The Royal Society of Biology
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
Yes
Areas of interest for supervision
Postgraduate Students
Miriam Garner
Zirong Zeng
Undergraduate Students
Sarah Baker
Medhavini Saxena (with Prof. Ian Dunn)
Current PhD students supervised
Co-supervisor
Jianxuan Sun
Emma Armstrong
Past PhD students supervised
Safieh Zeinali Lathori
2/09/21 → 20/04/23
Research summary
The Sutton lab is dedicated to delving into the intricate workings of the chicken's immune system. Leveraging state-of-the-art transgenic technologies pioneered at the Roslin Institute, our research hones in on elucidating the pivotal roles played by innate immune cells, specifically macrophages and dendritic cells, in host responses. Employing a blend of cutting-edge in vivo and in vitro models, our objective is to comprehensively grasp how these cells orchestrate immune responses to infections and vaccines within mucosal tissues. Using this knowledge we can devise more effective strategies to control disease and to enhance poultry health and productivity.
The research in the Sutton lab is geared towards not only deepening our understanding of the chicken's immune system but also translating this knowledge into practical applications that can significantly benefit the poultry industry, promoting healthier and more productive poultry farming.
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Chicken CSF2 and IL-4-, and CSF2-Dependent Bone Marrow Cultures Differentiate into Macrophages over time
In:
Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 13
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1064084
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Establishment of Bovine 3D Enteroid-derived 2D monolayers
(13 pages)
In:
Veterinary Research, vol. 53
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13567-022-01033-0
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Macrophages and dendritic cells
(29 pages)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818708-1.00003-8
Research output: › Chapter (Published) -
Novel chicken two-dimensional intestinal model comprising all key epithelial cell types and a mesenchymal sub-layer
In:
Veterinary Research
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13567-021-01010-z
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Characterization of conventional dendritic cells and macrophages in the spleen using the CSF1R-reporter transgenic chickens
In:
Frontiers in Immunology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.636436
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) Strain-Dependent Immunomodulation of Respiratory Granulocytes and Mononuclear Phagocytes in CSF1R-Reporter Transgenic Chickens
In:
Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 10
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.03055
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Antigen sampling CSF1R-expressing epithelial cells are the functional equivalents of mammalian M cells in the avian follicle-associated epithelium
In:
Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 10
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.02495
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Visualisation and characterisation of mononuclear phagocytes in the chicken respiratory tract using CSF1R-transgenic chickens
In:
Veterinary Research, vol. 49
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13567-018-0598-7
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Quantification and phenotypic characterisation of peripheral IFN-γ producing leucocytes in chickens vaccinated against Newcastle disease
In:
Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology, vol. 193-194, pp. 18-28
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetimm.2017.10.001
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
The functions of the avian receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) and its receptors, RANK and osteoprotegerin, are evolutionarily conserved
(15 pages)
In:
Developmental and Comparative Immunology, vol. 51, pp. 170-184
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dci.2015.03.006
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Invited speaker
2021 International Veterinary Vaccinology Network “Vaccines for Poultry” Co-hosted by the GCRF One Health Poultry Hub
2021 “Tropical poultry production - research towards sustainable systems” hosted by the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH)
2021 European Veterinary Immunology Group "Characterization of conventional dendritic cells and macrophages in the spleen using the CSF1R-reporter transgenic chickens"
2021 Annual Edinburgh Infectious Disease Symposium, "Differential Responses of Epithelial and Immune Cells During Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium Infection of 3D and 2D Enteroids"
2022 Avian Immunology Flow Cytometry Symposium "Chicken Macrophages & Dendritic Cells"
2022 Avian Immunology Research Group (AIRG), Delaware USA
- CSF2 & IL4- & CSF2-dependent Chicken Bone Marrow Cultures Represent Cells of the Macrophages Lineage
- Differential Innate Immune Responses of Chicken 3D and 2D Enteroids to Salmonella Typhimurium Infection
- The Conservation of Mammalian M cell Gene Signatures in Chicken CSF1R-transgene Antigen-Sampling M cells
Organiser
Comparative and Veterinary Immunology Group (affiliated with the British Society for Immunology)
2022 Avian Immunology Flow Cytometry Symposium (https://www.immunology.org/avian-immunology-flow-cytometry-symposium)
2022 Single-cell sequencing technologies and the immune response in different species (https://www.immunology.org/meeting-report-single-cell-sequencing-technologies-and-immune-response-different-species)