Gillian Griffiths, FMedSci FRS is a British cell biologist and immunologist. Griffiths was one of the first to show that immune cells have specialised mechanisms of secretion, and identified proteins and mechanisms that control cytotoxic T lymphocyte secretion. Griffiths is Professor of Cell Biology and Immunology at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and is the Director of the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research.

Education

When she was young, Griffiths initially thought she might like to be an ecologist. However, she began her scientific career at

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

by studying immunology. She continued in the subject, undertaking her PhD at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge supervised by

César Milstein César Milstein, CH, FRS (8 October 1927 – 24 March 2002) was an Argentine biochemist in the field of antibody research. Milstein shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1984 with Niels Kaj Jerne and Georges J. F. Köhler for d ...

Awards and honours

Griffiths holds 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 ...

Principal Research Fellowship and she is a Fellow at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

. Griffiths was elected 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 ...

in 2013. Her nomination for the Royal Society reads *2019: Awarded the

Buchanan Medal The Buchanan Medal is awarded by the Royal Society "in recognition of distinguished contribution to the medical sciences generally". The award was created in 1897 from a fund to the memory of London physician Sir George Buchanan (1831–1895). It ...

of the Royal Society.

References

External links

Under the Microscope Killer T-cells video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Gillian 20th-century British biologists 20th-century British women scientists 21st-century British biologists 21st-century British women scientists Academics of the University of Cambridge Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of University College London British immunologists British women biologists Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Fellows of the Royal Society Female Fellows of the Royal Society Living people Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellows Year of birth missing (living people)