Jenefer Blackwell Explained

Jenefer Blackwell
Workplaces:University of Western Australia
University of Cambridge
Alma Mater:University of Western Australia

Jenefer Blackwell is Emeritus Professor in Genetics and Health at the The Kids Research Institute Australia and the University of Western Australia. She studies host susceptibility and resistance to infectious and non-communicable diseases.

Early life and education

Blackwell went to Methodist Ladies' College, Perth, in 1961.[1] She graduated with First-class honours in Zoology from the University of Western Australia in 1969, and her PhD in 1974.[2] Her dissertation, "The structure of the deme in the frog Crinia insignifera Moore," considered intra-specific divergence in the Western Australian frogs.[3] [4]

Research and career

Blackwell moved to the UK in 1975 and worked at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine for 17 years. She was funded by a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship until 1991. In 1991 Blackwell joined the University of Cambridge, where she raised money to develop the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research as the Glaxo Professor of Molecular Parasitology. She chaired the World Health Organization Leishmania Genome Consortium between 1992 and 2003.[5] [6] As part of the Wellcome Trust Case-Control Consortium she discovered that HLA alleles regulating cell-mediated immunity are major genetic risk factors for visceral leishmaniasis, a factor that could be important in genome-based vaccine development. She contributed to several books and review papers on genomics and leishmaniasis.[7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

She returned to University of Western Australia in 2007, where she established a genetics laboratory at the The Kids Research Institute Australia.[12] Here she has undertaken genetic and functional studies of otitis media, rare genetic diseases, rheumatic heart disease, congenital infections, metabolic diseases, including in aboriginal populations. She identified genetic risk factors for high BMI, rheumatic heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes amongst aboriginal communities.[13] [14]

Awards and fellowships

1994 - British Society for Parasitology Chris Wright Medal[15]

2000 - Leverhulme Medal (Royal Society)[1]

2000 - Elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences[16]

2009 - Honorary Doctorate from the University of Khartoum

2015 - Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science[17]

2015 - University of Western Australia Vice Chancellor's Senior Research Award[18]

References

  1. Web site: Blackwell (Miles) - Methodist Ladies' College. Methodist Ladies' College. en. 2018-06-01.
  2. Web site: Speakers - Meegid - Elsevier. Elsevier. www.elsevier.com. en. 2018-06-01.
  3. Web site: Jenefer Blackwell - The Mathematics Genealogy Project. www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu. 2018-06-02.
  4. Blackwell. Jenefer M. June 1978. Intra-specific divergence in the Western Australian frog Ranidella insignifera. Heredity. En. 40. 3. 339–348. 10.1038/hdy.1978.41. 0018-067X. free.
  5. 1997-03-01. Progress in the Leishmania genome project. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. en. 91. 2. 107–110. 10.1016/S0035-9203(97)90187-5. 0035-9203. Blackwell. Jenefer M.. 9196742.
  6. Web site: Visceral Leishmaniasis - WTCCC. (mw6). www-core. www.wtccc.org.uk. en-GB. 2018-06-02.
  7. Book: Leishmania : after the genome. 2008. Caister Academic. Myler, Peter John., Fasel, Nicolas.. 9781904455288. Norfolk, UK. 171110678.
  8. Roberts. M. T. M.. 2006-02-10. Current understandings on the immunology of leishmaniasis and recent developments in prevention and treatment. British Medical Bulletin. en. 75-76. 1. 115–130. 10.1093/bmb/ldl003. 16847165. 0007-1420. free.
  9. Book: Hart, D. T.. Leishmaniasis: The Current Status and New Strategies for Control: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Zakynthos (Greece), 1987. 2013-11-27. Springer Science & Business Media. 9781461315759. en.
  10. Book: Genetics of Host and Parasite: Implications for Immunity, Epidemiology and Evolution. Walliker. D.. Walliker. David. Chappell. Leslie H.. Parasitology. 1996. 112 Suppl. S1-4. Cambridge University Press. 8684832. 9780521589369. en.
  11. Book: Wakelin, Derek. Genetics of resistance to bacterial and parasitic infection. 1988. Taylor & Francis. 9780850663662. en.
  12. Web site: Jenefer Blackwell - Telethon Kids Institute. www.telethonkids.org.au. en. 2018-06-01.
  13. Anderson. Denise. Cordell. Heather J.. Fakiola. Michaela. Francis. Richard W.. Syn. Genevieve. Scaman. Elizabeth S. H.. Davis. Elizabeth. Miles. Simon J.. McLeay. Toby. 2015-03-11. First Genome-Wide Association Study in an Australian Aboriginal Population Provides Insights into Genetic Risk Factors for Body Mass Index and Type 2 Diabetes . PLOS ONE. 10. 3. e0119333. 10.1371/journal.pone.0119333. 4356593. 25760438. 2015PLoSO..1019333A. free.
  14. Gray. Lesley-Ann. D’Antoine. Heather A. Tong. Steven Y C. McKinnon. Melita. Bessarab. Dawn. Brown. Ngiare. Reményi. Bo. Steer. Andrew. Syn. Genevieve. 2017-09-26. Genome-Wide Analysis of Genetic Risk Factors for Rheumatic Heart Disease in Aboriginal Australians Provides Support for Pathogenic Molecular Mimicry. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. en. 216. 11. 1460–1470. 10.1093/infdis/jix497. 29029143. 0022-1899. free.
  15. News: C.A. Wright Memorial Medal - The British Society For Parasitology. The British Society For Parasitology. 2018-06-01. en-GB.
  16. Web site: Professor Jenefer Blackwell The Academy of Medical Sciences. acmedsci.ac.uk. 2018-06-01.
  17. Web site: Jennie Blackwell made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science - Telethon Kids Institute. www.telethonkids.org.au. en. 2018-06-01.
  18. News: The UWA Research Awards and Honours 2015. News The University Of Western Australia. 2018-06-01. en.

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