Janet Mary Lord is a British biologist who is a Professor of Immune Cell Biology at the University of Birmingham. Her research considers immunity in old age, with a focus on the decline of neutrophil function. She was made a Commander of the British Empire in the 2023 New Year Honours List.

Early life and education

Lord studied Human Biology at

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...

, then moved to Aston University for her doctoral research, where she studied the impact of hypoglycaemic drugs and obesity on insulin receptor binding. She joined the University of Oxford as a research fellow.

Research and career

Lord researches the effect of ageing on immune function, and how this impacts the ability of older people to resolve inflammation. Her research has shown that exercise helps to slow the ageing process. She showed that older adults have neutrophils which aren't as effective (lower phagocytosis, chemotaxis and NET generation) and have high levels of cortisol. Elevated levels of cortisol have a negative impact on ageing, including increasing muscle and bone loss and raising blood pressure. Lord showed that defects in neutrophil chemotaxis can also be corrected by statins. Lord joined the University of Birmingham early in her career, first as a

Royal Society University Research Fellow __NOTOC__ The Royal Society University Research Fellowship (URF) is a research fellowship awarded to outstanding early career scientists in the United Kingdom who are judged by the Royal Society to have the potential to become leaders in their fie ...

and then professor in 2004. Lord is Director of the Medical Research Council Versus Arthritis Centre for musculoskeletal ageing research. The centre is located in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. She was a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences Healthy Ageing Forum, a group which looked to understand ageing research and priorities the most effective intervention. Lord is part of the CARINA (CAtalyst Reducing ImmuNe Ageing) Network. The network looks to understand the immune system throughout human life.

Awards and honours

* 2013 British Society for Research into Ageing Lord Cohen Medal * 2015 Elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences * 2022 Elected to the Order of the British Empire

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord, Janet Mary Living people Alumni of Oxford Brookes University Alumni of Aston University Academics of the University of Birmingham 20th-century British biologists 21st-century British biologists British women biologists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) 20th-century British women scientists 21st-century British women scientists Year of birth missing (living people)