January 2013 - Imperial College Faculty of Medicine - Imperial ...

The NHLI Newsletter will normally be circulated to all NHLI on the last Friday of each 

month. We welcome your contributions and request that any information you wish to 

include is provided by the Monday prior to distribution. 

If you have any comments, suggestions or other information, please contact Ruth 

O’Donnell. 

In this month’s newsletter: 

Letter from the Head of Institute 

Ita Askonas 

NHLI in the News 

NHLI Science Snapshot 

Awards and Prizes 

Upcoming Meetings, Events and Lectures 

Regular Meetings 

Other 

Subscriptions 

Letter from the Head of Institute 

It is with sadness that I inform you of the death of Brigitte (Ita) Askonas earlier this 

month. Askonas was a leading figure in modern immunology, her work leading to 

the development of many new vaccines. Professor Peter Openshaw writes a few 

words about her below. 

This month marks the launch of the new Lone Working and Out of Hours Policy 

across the Faculty of Medicine. Staff and student health and safety is a matter that 

we take very seriously at Imperial; the policy has been written to ensure the provision 

of a secure work setting. 

A Lone Working and Out of Hours webpage has been created to offer guidance on 

policy compliance, including relevant associated forms and checklists for completion. 

The fully policy document can be viewed at this link: 

http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/about/intranet/healthandsafety/loneworkingoutof 

hours/loneworking

I urge you to familiarise yourself with its contents, so you are aware of your 

responsibility in complying with the policy’s guidelines and contributing to the 

maintenance of a safe work environment for all. 

With best wishes, 

Professor Kim Fox 

Head, National Heart & Lung Institute 

Ita Askonas 

Ita Askonas was deeply 

committed to encouraging 

those developing a career in 

immunology. She came to 

Imperial regularly during the 25 

years of her retirement, 

meeting with students at St 

Mary's and South Kensington 

and attending many of our 

seminars and research 

meetings. Her insights were 

always stimulating and her 

support and mentorship to the immunology community at Imperial were invaluable. 

Her extraordinarily generosity was recognised by the award of a Fellowship of 

Imperial College London, one of our highest honours. She will be sadly missed. 

The Guardian obituary to Ita Askonas can be found here. 

NHLI in the News 

‘Jobs identified that are linked to greater risk of asthma in adults’ – The Telegraph 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9815320/Jobs-identified-that-arelinked-to-greater-risk-of-asthma-in-adults.html 

‘Cleaning products 'linked to adult asthma'’ – BBC News 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21123204 

‘Cleaning, Farming and Hairdressing Jobs Have 'Higher Asthma Risk Than Others', 

Study Reveals’ – The Huffington Post 

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/22/jobs-asthma-risk-cleaner-hairdresserfarmer_n_2524749.html 

‘Cleaning jobs linked to asthma risk’ – Imperial College London 

http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/new 

s_21-1-2013-16-36-46

‘Some jobs 'have higher asthma risk'’ – MSN News 

http://news.uk.msn.com/some-jobs-have-higher-asthma-risk-1 

‘Asthma alert for cleaners and farmers’ – The Irish Herald 

http://www.herald.ie/lifestyle/health-beauty/asthma-alert-for-cleaners-and-farmers- 

3361885.html 

‘Cleaning jobs linked to adult asthma’ – NHS Choices 

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/01January/Pages/Cleaning-jobs-linked-to-adultasthma.aspx 

‘Some Adult Asthma Could Be Job-Related’ – Medical News Today 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/255238.php 

‘Cleaning jobs linked to asthma cases’ – Net Doctor 

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/interactive/news/cleaning-jobs-linked-to-asthma-casesid801526451-t116.html 

‘Adult onset asthma linked to jobs involving cleaning agents’ – News Medical 

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20130122/Adult-onset-asthma-linked-to-jobsinvolving-cleaning-agents.aspx 

‘Your Job May Be Boosting Your Risk of Asthma’ – Medical Daily 

http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/13987/20130123/job-boosting-risk-asthma.htm 

‘Asthma linked to workplace environments’ – ABC2 News 

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/health/asthma-linked-to-workplaceenvironments 

‘Jobs linked to contracting asthma in middle-age’ – Healthcare Today 

http://www.healthcare-today.co.uk/news/jobs-linked-to-contracting-asthma-in-middleage/23565/ 

‘Occupational Asthma Risks Higher For Cleaning Jobs’ – Red Orbit 

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1112768858/maids-exposed-to-chemicalshave-higher-risk-of-asthma-012313/ 

‘Hairdressers, hospital workers and plumbers among those most likely to suffer 

asthma due to chemical exposure’ – The Daily Mail 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2263326/Hairdressers-hospital-workersplumbers-likely-suffer-asthma.html 

‘Royal Brompton Consultants selected for Tatler Doctors Guide 2013’ – Private 

Healthcare UK 

http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/news/january-2013/royal-brompton-consultantsrecognised-37930/

NHLI Science Snapshot 

Aimed at junior researchers (e.g. postdocs to senior lecturers), this section 

summaries current work. If you would like to submit a brief summary of your 

research, please send a half page to Ruth O’Donnell. 

Dr Lydia Durant is a Research Associate in Viral Immunology within the Section of 

Respiratory Infections at NHLI. Lydia is a recent recipient of an NHLI Foundation 

Postdoctoral Travel Award and here she talks about her experience at the 

EMBO/EMBL symposium that the award enabled her to attend. 

I recently had the privilege to attend the EMBO/EMBL conference ‘New Perspectives 

on Immunity to Infection’ thanks to the generous support of an NHLI Postdoctoral 

Travel Award. The meeting was held at the impressive EMBO laboratories, located 

in the picturesque hills outside of Heidelberg, Germany. As Chairperson Alan Sher 

highlighted, this meeting was the first of its kind and as such, the programme 

included a diverse range of topics from ‘Novel approaches for investigating host 

response to infection’ to ‘Molecular determinants of pathogen virulence’. The 

objective was to bring together experts in immunology, infectious disease and 

molecular biology to encourage us to identify new approaches to understanding and 

combatting the rise in infections facing our planet. 

The conference began with a focus on adaptive immunity to pathogens and included 

presentations from experts like Antonio Lanzavecchia, who described his work on 

cross-reactive antibody responses in human blood, Robert Coffman, who discussed 

a new Hepatitis B vaccine using TLR9 agonists as adjuvants, and Anne O’Garra, 

who spoke about her research on tuberculosis and using blood biomarkers to 

distinguish between active and latent disease. The evening finished with a keynote 

address from Max Cooper, who took us through the evolution of the adaptive 

immune system from lamprey to humans. 

Sessions continued with a focus on the microbiome in infection and host defense, 

with Rick Maizels presenting on how parasites manipulate immunoregulatory 

mechanisms in order to persist in the host and Dan Littman, who described a novel 

subset of dendritic cells in the intestine whose development was shaped by 

commensal flora, supporting that good bacteria are intricately involved in pathogen 

clearance. Andrew Macpherson spoke further about the role of commensal bacteria 

colonization in not only shaping IgA responses in the intestine but also immunity in 

other tissues like the liver and spleen. Finally, Eric Pamer highlighted the clinical 

relevance of a healthy commensal flora by describing how antibiotic resistant 

bacteria are the major culprits for septicemia in cancer and transplant patients. 

Importantly, he showed findings that broadscale antibiotic treatment dampened 

pathogen-sensing pathways in innate immune cells, resulting in the sepsis and 

treatment with Bacteroides commensal bacteria could reverse the symptoms. 

Along with having good commensals, Jean-Laurent Casanova, Philipe Gros and 

Chris Goodnow suggested that our immune system and susceptibility to infections 

was also highly dependent on host genetics. Casanova spoke about novel 

susceptibility loci in determining the severity of tuberculosis infection in children and

the immune mechanisms underlying their poor response. Gros went onto describe a 

single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the IRF8 gene associated with severe 

tuberculosis but resistance to malaria. While Goodnow had used reverse-genetics 

approaches in mouse models to identify mutations in the DOCK8 gene that underlie 

the immunodeficiency Hyper IgE syndrome. 

The next session featured talks about molecular determinants of pathogen virulence 

with Dominique Soldati-Favre giving an exciting talk about how Apicomplexa 

parasites are able to invade host cells without eliciting the usual alarm signals and 

then use host cell machinery to replicate. Maria Mota also spoke about novel 

pathways elicited by Plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria, within host liver 

cells where it first replicates and establishes infection. Andrew McMichael gave the 

final talk of the session, delivering a very comprehensive overview of the rapid 

genetic evolution of HIV in a cohort of patients over time and likewise showed how 

the adaptive immune response also co-evolved in order to try to control the virus. 

The last day delved much deeper into the molecular mechanisms of innate immune 

recognition of infections, starting with David Baulcombe’s talk about the role of 

microRNAs in plant immunity to viruses and bacteria. Bruno Lemaitre then 

described the importance of the epithelium as the first line of defense in the gut 

immune system and gut homeostasis in the fruit fly, Drosophila. Kate Fitzgerald, 

Maya Saleh and Lynda Stuart all gave enlightening talks about the role of the 

inflammasome in pathogen recognition and immunity. Overall, the quality and 

diversity of presentations was impressive and I certainly learned a lot. 

Along with presentations from more established scientists, the programme also 

included several short talks from selected abstracts of young career scientists, 

including myself. Due to the open and friendly atmosphere of the meeting, it was 

easy to discuss findings and receive feedback from scientists of diverse 

backgrounds. As such, I was engaged in many great discussions during the poster 

sessions, coffee breaks and meal times as well as at the evening rooftop drinks. As 

a young career scientist, it was incredibly useful to not only put faces to big names 

and be brought up to date with the latest research in the larger field of immunity to 

infection but also to have the opportunity to meet with other young scientists to 

discuss ideas and foster collaborations. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at this 

meeting and hope that this series will continue in years to come. 

Awards and Prizes 

Anita Alvarez Laviada – Winner of the FILM Image of the Year 2012 Competition 

Upcoming Meetings, Events and Lectures 

Molecular Medicine and Cell Biology Seminar Series

'Structural and Molecular mechanism of RET receptor tyrosine kinase activation and 

oncogenic deregulation: implications in cancer' presented by Dr Ivan Plaza- 

Menacho, Cancer Research UK 

Tuesday 29 January 2013, 12.00 – 1.00pm, Room 121, Sir Alexander Fleming 

Building, South Kensington Campus 

For further details please contact: Peter Moore 

Myocardial Function Seminar 

‘Shockwave and Myocardial Regeneration’ presented by Dr Salomon Narodden 

and ‘Investigation and modelling of differences of cAMP signalling in intact versus 

failing cardiomyocytes’ presented by Ms Sophie Schobesberger 

Thursday 31 January 2013, 12.30pm – 1.30pm, 4 th Floor Seminar Room, L- 

Block/ICTEM, Hammersmith Campus 

For further details email: Dr Cesare Terracciano 

Royal Society Croonian Lecture – Professor Peter Openshaw 

Wednesday 13 February 2013, 4.00pm, Royal College of Physicians, 11 St Andrew’s 

Place, Regent's Park 

Further information on the lecture series available at: 

http://royalsociety.org/awards/croonian-lecture/ 

Myocardial Function Seminar – Dr Wenhua Zhou and Ms Tatiana Trantidou 

Thursday 14 February 2013, 12.30pm – 1.30pm, 4 th Floor Seminar Room, L- 



St Mary's FLOW Data Presentation 

‘Infinicyt Software Workshop’ 

Friday 15 February 2013, 10.00am – 12.00pm and 2.00pm – 5.00pm, HYNDS 

Computer lab, 1st floor, St Mary’s Campus 

Please note that spaces are limited to 15. For further information and to register, 

please contact Thurka Poobalasingam. 

Gordon Research Conference on Cardiac Arrhythmia Mechanisms 

Sunday 17 February – Friday 22 February 2013, Ventura, California, USA 

Further details available at: 

http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2013&program=cardiac 

ICTEM Seminar – Professor Joe Wu 

Monday 18 February 2013, 12.30pm – 1.30pm, 4 th Floor Seminar Room, L- 


For further details email: Clodagh Li 

Inaugural Lecture – Professor Thanos Athanasiou 

‘Cardiac surgery in the recession’ 

Wednesday 27 February 2013, 5.30pm, Clore Lecture Theatre, Huxley Building, 

South Kensington Campus 

All welcome but with registrations in advance at events@imperial.ac.uk. 

Myocardial Function Seminar – Mr Adam Mills and Dr Hung-Yen Ke

Thursday 28 February 2013, 12.30pm – 1.30pm, 4 th Floor Seminar Room, L- 



Inaugural Lecture – Professor Jamil Mayet 

‘The Academic Health Sciences Centre: From Concept to Reality?’ 

Thursday 28 February 2013, 5.30pm, G16, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, South 

Kensington Campus 

All welcome but with registrations in advance with Ruth O’Donnell. 

http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/eventssummary/ev 

ent_25-1-2013-10-14-51 

The Francis Crick Institute – Crick Symposium 

‘Genetics to molecules to therapies’ 

Monday 11 March 2013, 2.00pm – 6.15pm, Beveridge Hall, Senate House, Malet 

Street, University of London 

Further details and registration can be found at: cricksymp3.eventbrite.co.uk 

Myocardial Function Seminar – Mr Peravin Mariathasan and Dr Martin Spitaler 

Thursday 14 March 2013, 12.30pm – 1.30pm, 4 th Floor Seminar Room, L- 



British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy 2013 Conference 

Wednesday 17 April – Friday 19 April 2013, Royal Holloway, University of London, 

Egham 

More details and registration can be found at: 

http://www.bsgct.org/en/annualconference/annual-conference.html 

Imperial College Festival 2013 

Friday 10 May – Saturday 11 May 2013 

The Festival celebrates the College through hands-on demonstrations, music, 

comedy, dancing and art. 

More details can be found at: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/festival 

Inaugural Lecture – Professor Roxy Senior 

Tuesday 21 May 2013, 5.30pm, G16, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, South 



NHLI Postgraduate Research day 

Friday 21 June 2013, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, South Kensington Campus 

8 th Young Investigator Symposium on Airway Smooth Muscle and 

Fibroblast Biology – Call for Abstracts 

Wednesday 4 September – Friday 6 September 2013, University of Groningen, the 

Netherlands 

The symposium welcomes abstracts on all aspects of smooth muscle and fibroblast 

biology. The initial abstract submission and registration deadline is Friday 1 March 

2013. If you are interested in participating, please contact: YIM2013@rug.nl

Cardiac Mechano–Electric Coupling and Arrhythmias 

Thursday 12 September – Sunday 15 September 2013, University of Oxford 

Supported by the Imperial College BHF Centre of Research Excellence 

Programme details and registration can be found at: http://mec2013.dpag.ox.ac.uk/ 

Inaugural Lecture – Professor Peter Kohl 

Monday 16 September 2013, 5.30pm, G16, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, South 



Regular Meetings 

Scheduling and Audit Meeting in Pacing and Cardiac Electrophysiology 

Mondays, 8.00am – 9.30am, Catheter Lab 4, Sydney Street, Royal Brompton 

Hospital 

Contact: Dr Vias Markides 

Paediatric Joint Cardiac Conference 

Mondays, 8.00am – 9.00am, Cardiology Seminar Room, Level 3, Chelsea Wing, 

Royal Brompton Hospital 

Contact: Dr Piers Daubeney 

Paediatric Cardiac Grand Round 

Mondays, 9.00am – 9.45am, Cardiology Seminar Room, Level 3, Chelsea Wing, 



Paediatric and Fetal Echo Meeting 

Tuesdays, 8.00am – 9.30am, Cardiology Seminar Room, Level 3, Chelsea Wing, 


Contact: Dr Julene Carvalho 

Multi-Disciplinary Angina Meeting 

Tuesdays, 12.00pm – 2.30pm, Cardiology Seminar Room, Level 3, Chelsea Wing, 


Contact: Christine Wright 

Congenital Cardiac Catheter Intervention Meeting 

Tuesdays, 8.00am – 9.30am, Cardiology Seminar Room, Level 3, Chelsea Wing, 


Contact: Professor Michael Gatzoulis 

Cardiovascular Grand Round 

Wednesdays, 8.00am – 9.00am (except clinical governance week), Paul Wood 

Lecture Theatre, Guy Scadding Building, Royal Brompton Campus 

Clinical governance weeks: 1.00pm – 2.00pm on day allocated; location as above 

Contact: Angela Queen

Clinical Cardiovascular MR Meeting 

Thursdays, 1.00pm – 2.00pm, CMR Seminar Room, Royal Brompton Hospital 

Contact: Professor Raad Mohiaddin 

Respiratory Seminar Series 

Thursdays, 1.00pm – 2.00pm, Education Centre, Respiratory Clinical Research 

Facility, Fulham Wing, Royal Brompton Hospital 

Contact: Zahra Aden 

Paediatric Joint Cardiac Conference 

Thursdays, 8.00am – 9.00am, Cardiology Seminar Room, Level 3, Chelsea Wing, 



Adult Congenital Heart Rounds 

Fridays, 8.00pm – 9.30pm, Seminar Room 1, Sydney Street, Royal Brompton 

Hospital 


Echocardiography Teaching Meeting 

Fridays, 1.00pm – 2.30pm, Cardiology Seminar Room, Level 3, Chelsea Wing, Royal 

Brompton Hospital 

Contact: Dr Alison Duncan 

Adult Congenital Heart Open Research Meeting 

2 nd Thursday of the month, 1.00pm – 2.00pm, Seminar Room 1, Sydney Street, 



Other 

FILM Image of the Year 2012 Competition 

Congratulations go to Anita Alvarez Laviada, winner 

of the FILM Image of the Year 2012 Competition. 

Anita convinced the judges straightaway with her 

beautiful image of cardiomyocytes (pictured). The 

winning image and all of the other shortlisted entries 

can be seen on the FILM website. Thanks go to all 

of the entrants, the judges and Molecular 

Probes/Life Technologies for their generous 

sponsorship. 

NHLI Foundation Postdoctoral Travel Awards

In order to continue training junior scientists, the NHLI Foundation has generously 

donated funds to support travel awards for NHLI Postdoctoral Research Associates 

and Research Fellows for the purpose of presenting at conferences or attending 

scientific workshops in the fields of cardiovascular and respiratory research. 

The scheme now operates on a twice yearly basis (January and July) and is 

currently open for submissions. All entrants must complete the application form and 

return it to Ruth O’Donnell no later than Thursday 31 January 2013. Further details 

of the awards and the application form are available here. 

Bioinformatics Support Service Courses for 2013 

The Imperial College Bioinformatics Support Service is launching a variety of 

Bioinformatics training courses for the first quarter of 2013, aimed at users with little 

or no background in Bioinformatics. For further information, please visit 

http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/bioinfsupport/training or email bsshelp@imperial.ac.uk 

Subscriptions 

Cardiovascular Technology Network: if you wish to join, please contact Ms Angela 

Bishop. 

Imperial College School of Medicine seminar announcements and reminders: 

Subscribe to https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/seminars-icsm 

Imperial College Events e-Bulletin: This e-Bulletin lists events taking place at 

Imperial, with hyperlinks to further information. If you would like to sign up to receive 

the e-Bulletin every fortnight, please email Events. 

Educational Development Unit Newsletter: Subscribe at 

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/edudev/subscribe 

Postdoc Development Centre Mailing List: If you would like to subscribe yourself 

please email pdc-support@imperial.ac.uk 

Staff Development Newsletter: Subscribe to 

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/staffdevelopment/workshops/forms/mailinglist 

Imperial Daily News Digest: Sign up for Imperial News at 

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/aboutimperial/pressoffice/signupforweeklynewsletter. 

Volunteering Weekly Newsletter: If you would like to subscribe yourself, please 

email the Volunteer Centre at volunteering@imperial.ac.uk with the words ‘subscribe 

to the weekly newsletter’ in the subject line. 

Joint Research Office Newsletter: welcome your suggestions for this Newsletter. If 

you have any articles for inclusion or would like to subscribe, please email 

clinicalresearchgovernanceoffice@imperial.ac.uk.

NHLI does not accept liability for any inaccuracies in or changes to the information provided herein. 

It is your responsibility to verify any details listed. Please note that this newsletter is not a comprehensive list as it 

is reliant on the information provided.

January 2013 - Imperial College Faculty of Medicine - Imperial ...

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