Epistasis and the genetics of disease resistance

Bridget is currently working at the University of Oxford, investigating the global distribution of malaria-protective haemoglobinopathies and the mechanisms underlying their protective effects. She is also interested in interactions between genes that encode key elements of the immune system, and the consequences of these interactions for human health and evolution. Her mentors at Oxford are Professor Sunetra Gupta and Professor David Weatherall, and she will be conducting her laboratory studies there under the sponsorship of Dr Adrian Smith. Over the course of the Fellowship she will also be working with Dr Caroline Buckee at the Harvard School of Public Health, Professor Peter Parham at Stanford University and Dr Tom Williams at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya.