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Michelle Linterman becomes an EMBO Young Investigator

From 1^st January next year, group leader will join EMBO’s Young Investigator Programme after being successful in a highly competitive selection process to identify and support the best young group leaders in Europe.
 
The programme provides three years of financial and practical support to young group leaders during a critical stage of their career, and helps them realise their potential as world-class researchers.
 
In joining the Young Investigators Programme, Michelle will benefit from becoming a part of a vibrant and broad network of over 450 scientists, made up of past and present Young Investigators. The selection of the latest 25 members of the Programme was announced by EMBO today.
 
Dr Michelle Linterman, research group leader in the Institute’s Immunology research programme, said: “I’m delighted to have been successful in my application and am looking forward to becoming an EMBO Young Investigator. This is great news not just for me but also for my team as some of the programme’s benefits, such as financial support to attend conferences, will also make a difference to them and their careers.”
 
Michelle joined the Institute in 2013 as a tenure-track group leader following a postdoctoral research position at the University of Cambridge, and Junior 51���� Fellowship at Churchill College. She holds a PhD from the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Her focuses on understanding the function of the germinal centre response, which is integral to the generation of protective antibodies after vaccination. Her team is particularly interested in the function of specialised T cells called T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and T follicular regulatory (Tfr) cells that support production of long-lived plasma cells that secrete high-affinity antibodies and memory B cells following infection or immunisation.
 
Professor Michael Wakelam, Institute Director, commented: “We’re extremely happy to hear news of Michelle’s success and wish her congratulations. Although Michelle has only been here for a relatively short amount of time, she has made significant progress. It’s fabulous that her potential has been recognised by the EMBO Young Investigator Programme. This opportunity will pave the way for continued success and we look forward to supporting her every step of the way.”
 

Additional resources:

which showed that raising a child has a greater effect on the immune system than gastroenteritis (interview with Cambridge TV)