Dr Kate Sutton

Career Track Fellow

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.

View all 13 publications on Research Explorer

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