Dr Linda Wooldridge
Presently: Wellcome Trust Intermediate Clinical Fellow, Department of Immunity, Infection and Biochemistry, Cardiff University.
Career Profile: I originally started my career as a veterinary surgeon qualifying from the University of Bristol in 1996. During the 5 years that I spent working as a small animal veterinary surgeon I developed a keen interest in adaptive immunity, which led me to complete a MSc in Human Immunity at the University of Liverpool. In 2001 I was awarded a Wellcome Trust Veterinary Prize Studentship and joined the T cell modulation group based in the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford under the supervision of Dr Andy Sewell where I completed a DPhil in T cell activation. In 2006 I was awarded a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Clinical Fellowship and established a research group in the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Immunology, Cardiff University.
Qualifications: BVSc, MSc, DPhil, MRCVS.
The Immune System: a very exciting area of research!
The immune system consists of many different components such as phagocytic cells, inflammatory mediators, antibodies and T cells. This intricate system is essential for our survival as it protects our bodies from the constant bombardment of bacteria, viruses, parasites and cancer causing agents that takes place every day. Malfunctions of the immune system can have very serious consequences such as poor protection against infection or autoimmune disease. Autoimmune disease is caused when the immune system begins to attack our own bodies, for example in diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Immunology is a relatively new and exciting science that strives to understand the enormous complexities of the immune system in health and disease, using this knowledge in areas such as the development of vaccines and novel immunotherapeutic drugs.