Stuart Auld
NERC Ph.D. student
Location: Ashworth Laboratories, Vault 101
Email Stuart Auld
Research interests
My research concerns the invertebrate immune system, particularly the cellular immune response. See:
Auld, S.K.J.R., Scholefeld, J.A. and T.J. Little. 2010. Genetic variation in the cellular response of Daphnia magna (Cladocera:Crustacea) to its bacterial parasite. Proceedings of the Royal Society B DOI:10.1098/rspb.2010.0772
I am interested in the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions, with a particular focus on the role of host immune responses. My work uses a well-studied system: the crustacean, Daphnia magna and its sterilizing bacterial parasite, Pasteuria ramosa. I have focused on Daphnia’s cellular immune response- the rapid increase in the number of circulating haemocytes after immune challenge. The cellular response in Daphnia was first documented in 1885 by one of the fathers of modern immunology, Illya Metchnikoff. However, apart from this (very) early work, little is known about this immune response, and its possible role in mediating host parasite interactions.
My PhD work asks: (1) does D. magna mount a cellular response against P. ramosa, and is it an effective defense that boosts fitness? (2) do hosts vary in the presence or magnitude of their cellular response depending on their genotype and/or environment; (3) does the cellular response depend on the genetic identities of both the hosts and parasites
To answer these questions, I have integrated controlled laboratory experiments with study of cellular immunity in the field in an attempt to link measures of immune function with immunity and fitness.
C.V.
2003-2007 MBiolSci Biology (1st Class Honours), University of Sheffield.
Masters project: Antioxidant genes and the paradox of sex (under the supervision of Prof. Roger Butlin).
Masters dissertation: Paradox of sex: more pluralism required? (under the supervision of Prof. Roger Butlin)
2006 Nuffield Undergraduate Research Bursary The degeneration of male-specific genes in an asexual lineage of Eucypris virens. (under the supervision of Prof. Roger Butlin)
