BSc (Hons) Immunology, with Undergraduate Masters
Research Interests & PhD Aims
My main research interest is the interplay between parasite and human host during acute-phase malaria infection. Understanding how P. falciparum acts to trigger the immune response, the cell types involved and the order and timing of crucial events, will help define mechanisms of pathogenesis and correlates of protection. During my PhD I aim to investigate patterns of differential gene expression in both the human host and the infecting parasite, during the acute-phase of controlled human malaria infection. Analyses will focus on genes of the host innate immune system and parasite multi-gene families associated with virulence. This project is unique in aiming to assess parasite-host gene expression patterns in concert, and should provide crucial insight into parasite-host interactions during a first malaria infection.
Curriculum Vitae
Sept 2014 – Present
- PhD Candidate. Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, University of Edinburgh, Medical Research Council-funded.
Nov 2012 – Aug 2014
- Malaria Vaccine Clinical Trials Research Assistant, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford
Sept 2010 – Sept 2011
- Undergraduate Masters, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Basel Switzerland
Sept 2007 – Sept 2012
- BSc with First Class Honours, Immunology, University of Aberdeen
Publications
- Payne S, Milne K, Elias S et al (2016) Demonstration of the Blood-Stage Controlled Human Malaria Infection Model to Assess Efficacy of the Plasmodium falciparum AMA1 Vaccine FMP2.1/AS01. J Infect Dis. pii: jiw039
- Douglas A, Baldeviano G, Lucas C, Lugo-Roman L, Crosnier C, Bartholdson S, Diouf A, Miura K, Lambert L, Ventocilla J, Leiva K, Milne K et al (2015). A PfRH5 Vaccine is Efficacious Against Heterologous Strain Blood-Stage Plasmodium falciparum infection in Aotus Monkeys. Cell Host Microbe. 17(1):130-9
- Biswas S, Choudhary P, Elias S, Muira K, Milne K et al (2014). Assessment of Humoral Immune Responses to Blood-Stage Malaria Antigens Following ChAd63-MVA Immunization, Controlled Human Malaria Vaccine and Natural Exposure. PLoS One. 25;9(9)
- Hodgson S, Choudhary P, Elias S, Milne K et al (2014). Combining Viral Vectored and Protein-in-Adjuvant Vaccines Against the Blood-Stage Malaria Antigen AMA1: Report on a Phase 1a Clinical Trial. Mol Ther. 22(12):2142-54
