Susan C. Wray is

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of cellular and molecular

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

. She also serves as the President of the

International Union of Physiological Sciences The International Union of Physiological Sciences, abbreviated IUPS, is the global umbrella organization for physiology. IUPS aims to facilitate initiatives that strengthen the discipline of physiology. IUPS is a scientific union member of the I ...

(IUPS) and is president of the Federation of European Physiological Societies (FEPS). She was the founding

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''

Physiological Reports ''Physiological Reports'' is a peer-reviewed open access online only scientific journal covering original research in all areas of physiology. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiologic ...

''. and is the first editor-in-chief of ''Current Research in Physiology''. She serves as director of the centre of better births in

Liverpool Women's Hospital Liverpool Women's Hospital is a major obstetrics, gynaecology and neonatology research hospital in Liverpool, England. It is one of several specialist hospitals located within the Liverpool City Region, alongside Alder Hey Children's Hospital, ...

which was opened in 2013 with funding of £2.5 million with the objective of basic scientists working together with clinicians on problems during

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

. Along with , she leads the Harris wellbeing

preterm birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the Childbirth, birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks Gestational age (obstetrics), gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 we ...

centre. Wray is the director of the University of Liverpool

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 pract ...

and team leader for the institute of

translational medicine Translational medicine (often called translational science, of which it is a form) is defined by the European Society for Translational Medicine as "an interdisciplinary branch of the biomedical field supported by three main pillars: benchside, beds ...

. Her primary research interests are in smooth muscle physiology,

reproductive medicine Reproductive medicine is a branch of medicine concerning the male and female reproductive systems. It encompasses a variety of reproductive conditions, their prevention and assessment, as well as their subsequent treatment and prognosis. Reprodu ...

and cell signalling.

Education

After attending Chadderton Grammar School for Girls, Wray received her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in physiology and, in 1979, her PhD from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

for research investigating

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregna ...

al changes in the

connective tissue Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops from the mesenchyme derived from the mesoderm the middle embryonic germ layer. Connective tiss ...

of the

uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The uter ...

Career and research

After

postdoctoral research 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 ...

at UCL she moved to the

in 1990 where she was promoted to professor in 1996 and served as head of the department of physiology from 2004 to 2008. Wray's early research focused on changes of connective tissue in the uterus during and after pregnancy. She then helped develop spectroscopic methods to characterize metabolism in human

neonates An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

. Since moving to Liverpool, she has focused on the relationship between metabolism and function in

smooth muscle Smooth muscle is an involuntary non-striated muscle, so-called because it has no sarcomeres and therefore no striations (''bands'' or ''stripes''). It is divided into two subgroups, single-unit and multiunit smooth muscle. Within single-unit mus ...

. In particular, she has elucidated the effects of pH on contractility. In order to elucidate the underlying mechanisms, she performed some of the first measurements of intracellular

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

. Subsequent work into the relationship between calcium and excitability led to new understanding of the origin of the refractory period in the

ureter The ureters are tubes made of smooth muscle that propel urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. In a human adult, the ureters are usually long and around in diameter. The ureter is lined by urothelial cells, a type of transitional epit ...

. Her translational work has led to measurements of lactate to predict labour outcome and to the use of

bicarbonate In inorganic chemistry, bicarbonate (IUPAC-recommended nomenclature: hydrogencarbonate) is an intermediate form in the deprotonation of carbonic acid. It is a polyatomic anion with the chemical formula . Bicarbonate serves a crucial biochemic ...

to increase the pH of the mother and thereby increase the strength of

uterine contraction Uterine contractions are muscle contractions of the uterine smooth muscle that occur during the menstrual cycle and labour. Uterine contractions occur throughout the menstrual cycle in the non-pregnant state and throughout gestation. Throughout ...

s, reducing the requirement for

caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...

s. She has also shown that problems of labour experienced by obese mothers can be explained by impaired smooth muscle contractility. In 2015, she demonstrated a novel mechanism whereby repetitive, transient episodes of hypoxia increase uterine contractions during labour. Her work has also investigated the use of plant-derived

cyclotide In biochemistry, cyclotides are small, disulfide-rich peptides isolated from plants. Typically containing 28-37 amino acids, they are characterized by their head-to-tail cyclised peptide backbone and the interlocking arrangement of their three ...

s as well as modifications to the natural hormone

oxytocin Oxytocin (Oxt or OT) is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide normally produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary. It plays a role in social bonding, reproduction, childbirth, and the period after childbirth. Oxytocin ...

to serve as templates for novel compounds to accelerate labor. Some of her research can be seen in a video of one of her lectures.

Women in Science

Wray has been engaged with gender equality and mentoring throughout her career. She is an academic champion for the Higher Education Foundation AURORA Women in Leadership Scheme. She gave the inaugura
Athena Swan Lecture
at

Edge Hill University Edge Hill University is a campus-based public university in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England, which opened in 1885 as Edge Hill College, the first non-denominational teacher training college for women in England, before admitting its first male st ...

in 2016. She also worked on the SUSTAIN initiative for women in science. With

Tilli Tansey Elizabeth Matilda Tansey (known as Tilli) is an Emerita Professor of the history of medicine and former neurochemist, best known for her role in the Wellcome Trust's witness seminars. She previously worked at Queen Mary University of London ( ...

she co-edited the book ''Women physiologists: centenary celebrations and beyond'' for

The Physiological Society The Physiological Society, founded in 1876, is a learned society for physiologists Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organism ...

which includes forewords by

Julia Higgins Dame Julia Stretton Higgins (née Downes; born 1 July 1942) is a British polymer scientist. Since 1976 she has been based at the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London, where (since 2007) she is professor and senior r ...

and

Susan Greenfield Susan Adele Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, (born 1 October 1950) is an English scientist, writer, broadcaster and member of the House of Lords (since 2001). Her research has focused on the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's dise ...

. This book has been used as a source to encourage the writing of more Wikipedia articles about women physiologists. Wikipedia:Meetup/UK/University of Manchester Women in Physiology, October 2019

Awards and honours

Wray 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) in 2002, an honorary fellow of the

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is ...

(FRCOG) in 2006 and a member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

(MAE) in 2008. She was awarded the Joan Mott Prize Lecture by

in 2006 and elected as an honorary member of the Physiological Society in 2015. In 2012 she was nominated a knowledge hero by the ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liverp ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wray, Susan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British women academics Academics of the University of Liverpool Alumni of University College London Women physiologists