My experience in research, higher education teaching, and volunteer work (supporting other families that have multiple birth children) is highlighted below.
In summary…
I chose a PhD in a cancer research-focused cell biology team partly because I was excited to investigate human cell behaviour and my Grandmother was fighting breast cancer at the time. My project bridged cell signalling and protein trafficking, so I worked across two disciplines.
During my PhD I became fascinated by tools that came from bacteria, which we used to inhibit human Rho family GTPase proteins. This led me to a post-doc in the world of cellular microbiology (in the Dougan lab), which in turn led me to the genomics of bacteria and vaccine development (with the Camilli and Thomson teams) – a long way from where I started!
I took a few years out with my kids and found community peer support with the Nottingham Twins and Triplets Club (NTTC). With NTTC I set up a local playgroup for families with multiple birth children and I have been chairperson and a trustee for that charity since 2019.
I spent an enjoyable 3 years teaching in higher education at the University of Nottingham, before returning to infectious diseases research in Cambridge on a special fellowship for returning to research after a career break. I am now setting up freelance in science engagement around infectious diseases and vaccines.
More detailed time-line and key publications…
2025 – Freelance Science Engagement.
Working for Hands-on-Science in primary schools.
Applying for Nottingham Council funding for public health vaccine-related workshops in libraries in collaboration with Ignite! and Lottery Heritage funding for The Polio Witness Project with the British Polio Fellowship.
2020-2024 – Janet Thornton returning to research Research Fellow, Nick Thomson’s team.
I was the 2020 recipient of this special fellowship, an equality diversity and inclusion initiative for people who have taken a career break, aimed at retaining research skills. I talk about the joy of gaining the opportunity to be a Janet Thornton Fellow in a blog post.
Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge.
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and cholera.
More details of my research can be found at my Wellcome Sanger Institute page.
Projects:
– Collaboration with Astrid Von Mentzer: gene expression by diverse ETEC in response to gut-related stimuli.
Publication in preparation.
– Contributed to cholera genomics e-book and VibrioWatch tool design in collaboration with Avril Coghlan.
Publications in preparation.
Data analysis for Ruth Griffin‘s team, University of Nottingham, on two projects to do with oral vaccines and probiotics aimed at improving gut health:
Publication and preprint…
– Wood, L; Hughes, J; Trussell, M; Bishop, AL; Griffin, R. Fasting before Intra-Gastric Dosing with Antigen Improves Intestinal Humoral Responses in Syrian Hamsters. Vaccines (2024).
– Liam Wood, Bunmi B Omorotionmwan, Adam M Blanchard, Adam Dowle, Anne L Bishop and Ruth Griffin. Characterisation of the butyrate production pathway in probiotic MIYAIRI588 by a combined whole genome-proteome approach bioRxiv (2023).
2019-present – Chairperson of Nottingham Twins and Triplets Club, a charity supporting >1000 families with multiple birth children.
Winner of a Tesco charity grant for 2024-25.
2016-2019 – Teaching Associate
The University of Nottingham in Biosciences then Life Sciences departments.
Lecturer in statistics, experimental design, parasitology, bioinformatics and molecular biology undergraduate research projects.
Gained Associate Fellowship of the higher education authority teaching qualification.
2011-2016 – Home maker and volunteer.
Established in 2013, and ran for 2 years, a playgroup for families with multiple birth children.
Member of cooperative pre-school committee (2014).
2011 – Staff scientist, Nick Thomson’s team.
The Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge.
Helping to establish the cholera research team. Analysis of gene expression responses to anaerobic environments for murine pathogen Citrobacter rodentium.
2006-2010 – Research Associate, Andrew Camilli’s team.
Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, USA.
Including 1 month spent at the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) hosted by the inspiring Firdausi Qadri. Where we tested our novel cholera vaccine, made from outer-membrane vesicles shed by the bacteria that cause cholera, delivered intra-nasally or by mouth in a pre-clinical model.
Pre-clinical testing of a novel cholera vaccine – 2 main publications…
– Bishop AL, Schild S, Patimalla B, Klein B, Camilli A “Mucosal Immunization with Vibrio cholerae Outer Membrane Vesicles Provides Maternal Protection Mediated by Antilipopolysaccharide Antibodies That Inhibit Bacterial Motility”. (2010) Infection and Immunity https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00398-10
– Anne L. Bishop, Abdullah A. Tarique, Bharathi Patimalla, Stephen B. Calderwood, Firdausi Qadri, Andrew Camilli, “Immunization of Mice With Vibrio cholerae Outer-Membrane Vesicles Protects Against Hyperinfectious Challenge and Blocks Transmission”. The Journal of Infectious Diseases (2012) https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jir756
2002-2005 – Research Associate, Gordon Dougan’s team.
Imperial College London.
Salmonella genomics and adhesion properties – 2 main publications…
– Anne Bishop, Deborah House, Timothy Perkins, Stephen Baker, Robert A. Kingsley and Gordon Dougan.
“Interaction of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi with cultured epithelial cells: roles of surface structures in adhesion and invasion.” Microbiology (2008)
https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.2008/016998-0
Genetics of a hyper-variable genetic region at tRNAleuX.
– Bishop AL, Baker S, Jenks S, Fookes M, Ó Gaora P, Pickard D, Anjum M, Farrar J, Hien T, Ivens A, Dougan G. “Analysis of the Hypervariable Region of the Salmonella enterica Genome Associated with tRNAleuX.” (2005) J Bacteriol. https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.187.7.2469-2482.2005
Super-infectious murine gut pathogen gene expression and adhesion properties – a collaboration with Gad Frankel and Siouxsie Wiles – Publication…
– Cell attachment properties and infectivity of host-adapted and environmentally adapted Citrobacter rodentium. Anne L. Bishop, Siouxsie Wiles, Gordon Dougan, Gad Frankel. Microbes and Infection (2007)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micinf.2007.06.006
1997-2001 – PhD in Cell Biology with Alan Hall’s team.
at The Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London.
Link to my thesis here: “Functional analysis of the Rac-binding protein POSH“
I wrote a review all about the Rho GTPase proteins, one of which (called Rac) the protein that I worked to understand (called Plenty of SH3s, POSH) binds to: “Rho GTPases and Their Effector Proteins”. This review was very popular back in 2000 and has since got lots of citations in other publications, 2849 as of today (18/11/24).
Dr Anne Bishop 