Angela Vincent (born 1942) is Emeritus professor at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

and a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

Career and research

Angela Vincent was born in 1942, the third child of Carmen and Joseph Molony (later KCVO). After St Mary's Convent, Ascot, she studied medicine at King's College London and Westminster Hospital School of Medicine (now merged with Imperial College School of Medicine). After one year as a junior doctor at St Steven's and St Charles' hospitals in London (1966-7), she obtained an MSc in Biochemistry from University College London. In 1967 she married Philip Morse Vincent and they have four children. After the MSc, she spent three frustrating years trying to fractionate rat brain synaptosomes, until she was taken on by Ricardo Miledi FRS in the Biophysics Department to work on acetylcholine receptors. During her five years with Miledi, her medical background helped to establish a collaboration on myasthenia gravis with John Newsom-Davis (later FRS); together at the Royal Free Hospital, London, they created a Neuroimmunology Group that subsequently moved with Newsom-Davis to Oxford when he was appointed Action Research Professor of Neurology. After his retirement in 1998, Vincent led the group until 2016. During this time she was Head of the Department of Clinical Neurology (2005-2008) at the University of Oxford, President of the International Society of Neuroimmunology (2001-2004), and an Associate Editor of Brain (2004-2013). Her research group was initially located in the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the John Radcliffe Hospital, working on a wide range of

biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...

disciplines encompassing

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

, cellular

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

and intracellular

neurophysiology Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology and neuroscience that studies nervous system function rather than nervous system architecture. This area aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. Historically, it has been dominated b ...

. The group's research focused on autoimmune and

genetic disorder A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polygenic) or by a chromosomal abnormality. Although polygenic disorders ...

s of the neuromuscular junction, peripheral nerves and more recently the exciting field of central nervous system diseases. The principal autoimmune diseases studied were

myasthenia gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, dro ...

, the

Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by muscle weakness of the limbs. Around 60% of those with LEMS have an underlying malignancy, most commonly small-cell lung cancer; it is therefore regarded ...

limbic encephalitis Limbic encephalitis is a form of encephalitis, a disease characterized by inflammation of the brain. Limbic encephalitis is caused by autoimmunity: an abnormal state where the body produces antibodies against itself. Some cases are associated with ...

, other types of

autoimmune encephalitis Autoimmune encephalitis (AIE) is a type of encephalitis, and one of the most common causes of noninfectious encephalitis. It can be triggered by tumors, infections, or it may be cryptogenic. The neurological manifestations can be either acute o ...

and acquired

neuromyotonia Neuromyotonia (NMT) is a form of peripheral nerve hyperexcitability that causes spontaneous muscular activity resulting from repetitive motor unit action potentials of peripheral origin. NMT along with Morvan's syndrome are the most severe types i ...

. Her contributions have been on the roles of antibodies directed against acetylcholine receptors and muscle specific kinase (MuSK) in myasthenia gravis, and glycine receptors or potassium channel-associated proteins LGI1, CASPR2 and Contactin-2 in CNS diseases. She demonstrated that transfer of

antibodies An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...

across the

placenta The placenta is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas and waste exchange between the physically separate mater ...

from the

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

to the

fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal deve ...

in utero ''In Utero'' is the third and final studio album by American rock band Nirvana. It was released on September 21, 1993, by DGC Records. After breaking into the mainstream with their second album, ''Nevermind'' (1991), Nirvana hired Steve Albini t ...

can cause both acute and longer-term neuromuscular and neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Since 2016 she has been Emeritus Professor at Oxford University, Emeritus Fellow of Somerville College, and holds an honorary appointment at UCL; she continues to work on neuromuscular disorders and advise young researchers. Her work in Oxford on brain disorders continues under Associate Professor Sarosh Irani and Dr Patrick Waters. She is a strong supporter of Freedom from Torture (formerly The Medical Foundation for Treatment of Torture Victims) and a Patron of British Pugwash (that brings together scientists and others concerned with international affairs and disarmament).

Awards and honours

In 2009, she presented the Leslie Oliver Oration at

Queen's Hospital Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (Saara Aalto song), 2018 * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", a song by C ...

. In 2009, she received the medal of the Association of British Neurologists and in 2017, the World Federation of Neurology Scientific Contributions to Neurology award. In 2015, she was awarded the

British Neuroscience Association The British Neuroscience Association (BNA) is a scientific society with around 2,500 members. Starting out as an informal gathering of scientists meeting at the Black Hourse Public House in London to discuss brain-related topics (the 'London Blac ...

Award for Outstanding Contribution to Neuroscience. In Cologne 2018, she was awarded with J Posner and J Dalmau, the International Prize for Translational Neuroscience of the Gertrud Reemtsma Foundation (formerly the Klaus Joachim Zülch Prize), and in Washington in 2019, the America Epilepsy Society Clinical Science Research Award (with J Dalmau).Retrieved June 26, 2021, from https://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/team/angela-vincent She received the Inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award, Imperial College, London, 2020 and the Life-time Award of the German Neurological Society (DGN)in 2021. In 2002, she was elected a

Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) is an award for medical scientists who are judged by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences for the "excellence of their science, their contribution to medicine and society and the range of th ...

(FMedSci) and in 2011, a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(FRS).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent, Angela 1942 births 20th-century British biologists 20th-century British women scientists 21st-century British biologists 21st-century British women scientists British women biologists British women neuroscientists English neuroscientists Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society Female Fellows of the Royal Society Living people