Clare Margaret Lloyd is a Professor of Medicine and Vice Dean for Institutional Affairs at
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
. She investigates allergic immunity in early life.
Early life and education
Lloyd earned her BSc and PhD in
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 ...
at
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
.
She earned her Bachelor's degree in 1987 and her PhD in 1991. She was awarded a
National Kidney Research Fund Fellowship and joined the
.
Her work considered mouse models of
glomerulonephritis
Glomerulonephritis (GN) is a term used to refer to several kidney diseases (usually affecting both kidneys). Many of the diseases are characterised by inflammation either of the glomeruli or of the small blood vessels in the kidneys, hence the ...
. She joined
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
to work on
chronic inflammatory
Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...
glomerulonephritis
Glomerulonephritis (GN) is a term used to refer to several kidney diseases (usually affecting both kidneys). Many of the diseases are characterised by inflammation either of the glomeruli or of the small blood vessels in the kidneys, hence the ...
.
She became interested in the mechanisms of cell recruitment. She was involved with early studies that looking at the cloning, expression and function of
chemokine
Chemokines (), or chemotactic cytokines, are a family of small cytokines or signaling proteins secreted by cells that induce directional movement of leukocytes, as well as other cell types, including endothelial and epithelial cells. In additio ...
. Her group demonstrated that
T helper cell
The T helper cells (Th cells), also known as CD4+ cells or CD4-positive cells, are a type of T cell that play an important role in the adaptive immune system. They aid the activity of other immune cells by releasing cytokines. They are considere ...
s were the initial responders to
CCR3 and
CCR4
C-C chemokine receptor type 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''CCR4'' gene. CCR4 has also recently been designated CD194 (cluster of differentiation 194).
The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the G protein-coupled receptor f ...
pathways, but the increase in
CCR4
C-C chemokine receptor type 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''CCR4'' gene. CCR4 has also recently been designated CD194 (cluster of differentiation 194).
The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the G protein-coupled receptor f ...
positive cells results in the long-term representation of
T helper cell
The T helper cells (Th cells), also known as CD4+ cells or CD4-positive cells, are a type of T cell that play an important role in the adaptive immune system. They aid the activity of other immune cells by releasing cytokines. They are considere ...
s ''in vivo''. LLoyd studied the role of these
chemokine
Chemokines (), or chemotactic cytokines, are a family of small cytokines or signaling proteins secreted by cells that induce directional movement of leukocytes, as well as other cell types, including endothelial and epithelial cells. In additio ...
s in allergic lung inflammation.
She looked to better characterise the spatial patterns of chemokine expression to inform therapeutic strategies that limit the side-effects of allergen exposure.
Career and research
After her
postdoctoral
A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...
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 ...
ship at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, Lloyd joined at
Millennium Pharmaceuticals
Takeda Oncology (originally Millennium Pharmaceuticals) is a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is a fully owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical.
Takeda Oncology's research, development and commercialization acti ...
in 1996 to work on models to characterise novel genes.
She returned to the UK in 1999, joining
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
as a
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...
Senior Fellow.
She continued her interest in allergens, looking at the roles for cells and molecules involved in pulmonary inflammation.
She is part of the
Asthma UK
Asthma UK is a British charity based in London.
History
The Asthma Research Council was started in 1927. At that time the annual income was between £1,000 and £4,000 a year. One of the first donations was used to pay for special asthma clinics ...
Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma. She is a member of the
British Society for Immunology
The British Society for Immunology, or BSI, is a UK-based organisation of British immunologists but accepts members from all countries. It was founded in November 1956 by John H. Humphrey, Robin Coombs, Bob White, and Avrion Mitchison and is one ...
and
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...
Infection, Immunity and Immunophenotyping. Lloyd studies the lung cells of children who suffer from asthma and severe wheeze. She has studied why pollen and dust can trigger reactions in some people but not others. She became interested in why exposure to allergens and infections in early life had such an influence on programming pathways to maintain pulmonary homeostasis. She demonstrated that
Interleukin 9
Interleukin 9, also known as IL-9, is a pleiotropic cytokine (cell signalling molecule) belonging to the group of interleukins. IL-9 is produced by variety of cells like mast cells, NKT cells, Th2, Th17, Treg, ILC2, and Th9 cells in different ...
can mediate inflammation of asthma.
She was appointed Professor in
Respiratory
The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies grea ...
Immunology in 2006.
She is co-lead of the respiratory division. Her research group, the ''Lloyd Lab'', look at the interactions between lung cells and infiltrating inflammatory cells. Lloyd was awarded the
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
Rectors Medal for her Research Supervision in 2014. In 2018, she demonstrated that the ICOS/ICOS‐L pathway could be a therapeutic target in asthma.
Academic service
She was the lead
National Heart and Lung Institute
The Faculty of Medicine is the academic centre for medical and clinical research and teaching at Imperial College London. It contains the Imperial College School of Medicine, which is the college's undergraduate medical school.
History
Medica ...
Athena Swan
Athena SWAN (Scientific Women's Academic Network) is a quality charter mark framework and accreditation scheme established and managed by the UK Equality Challenge Unit (now part of Advance HE) in 2005 that recognises and celebrates good practi ...
lead between 2009 and 2014, achieving the first Silver award for a medical department in the UK.
She pushed for the improvement of the
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
mentoring scheme, in an effort to support early career researchers.
In 2016 she was appointed Dean of Institutional Affairs at
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
.
She serves on the scientific advisory board of
Science Magazine
''Science'', also widely referred to as ''Science Magazine'', is the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the world's top academic journals.
It was first published in 1880, ...
and is an editor of Nature Mucosal Immunology and the
European Journal of Immunology
The ''European Journal of Immunology'' is an academic journal of the European Federation of Immunological Societies covering basic immunology research, with a primary focus on antigen processing, cellular immune response, immunity to infection, I ...
. She serves on the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
Newton International Fellowships board.
Awards and honours
*Lloyd was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB), previously Fellowship of the Society of Biology (FSB), is an award and fellowship granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Biology has adjudged to have made a "prominent contribution to ...
(FRSB).
*Lloyd 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 ...
in 2019.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Clare
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Women immunologists
British immunologists
Alumni of King's College London
Academics of Imperial College London
Harvard University faculty
Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom)
Fellows of the Royal Society of Biology
British women scientists