Brigitta Stockinger, FMedSci, FRS, is a molecular immunologist in the

Francis Crick Institute The Francis Crick Institute (formerly the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation) is a biomedical research centre in London, which was established in 2010 and opened in 2016. The institute is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, Impe ...

in London. Stockinger's lab focus on understanding how certain immune cells, called T cells, develop and function as well as investigating how diet and other environmental factors can affect the way the immune system works. Stockinger focuses on a particular type of immune cell that helps to control immune responses to viruses, bacteria and other pathogens, called a

CD4 T 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 ...

. Stockinger's research has provided insights into a particular type of CD4 T cell, called a

Th17 cell T helper 17 cells (Th17) are a subset of pro-inflammatory T helper cells defined by their production of interleukin 17 (IL-17). They are related to T regulatory cells and the signals that cause Th17s to differentiate actually inhibit Treg different ...

, looking at why some of these cells become inflammatory and cause damage in the body. Her lab identified a particular receptor, the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), which connects environmental stimuli and the immune system.

Education

Stockinger was educated at the

University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...

, where she was awarded a PhD in Biology. She then did postdoctoral studies in London, Cambridge and at the Cancer Research Institute in Heidelberg.

Career

* 1985 - 1991 – Basel Institute for Immunology (Member) * 1991 - 2015 – Division of Molecular Immunology (now part of the Francis Crick Institute),

MRC MRC may refer to Government * Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) * Medical Reserve Corps, a US network of volunteer organizations * Municipalité régionale de comté (regional county municipality), Quebec, Canada * Military Revolutionar ...

National Institute for Medical Research The National Institute for Medical Research (commonly abbreviated to NIMR), was a medical research institute based in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of north London, England. It was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC); In 2016, the NIMR b ...

(Head) * 2015 - present – Principal Investigator in the Francis Crick Institute. Stockinger joined the Institute's scientific leadership team as an Associate Research Director in July 2020.

Awards and honours

Stockinger was elected a Fellow of 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 ...

in 2013. Her nomination reads: In 2008, she was elected a member of European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). She is also a fellow of the

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its mission is to adv ...

References

Female Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Academics of the Francis Crick Institute {{UK-scientist-stub