Professor Sarah Rowland-Jones

B.M. B.Ch., M.A. (Cantab), D.M. (Oxon), FRCP, F.Med.Sci.

Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease

Florey Professor of Infection and Immunity

s.l.rowland-jones@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 215 9608

+44 114 271 1863 (Fax)

The Medical School

Full contact details

Professor Sarah Rowland-Jones
Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease
The Medical School
Beech Hill Road
Sheffield
S10 2RX

Profile

I trained in medicine in Cambridge and Oxford Universities, then did post-graduate training in medicine in London and Sheffield before completing specialist training in Infectious Diseases in Oxford.

I became interested in HIV infection as a junior doctor in London, looking after some of the first AIDS patients to be diagnosed in the UK. I started my research career with a doctorate in the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Oxford supervised by Professor Andrew McMichael, studying the role of HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in the outcomes of HIV-1 infection and exposure.

My research has been supported by a series of MRC Clinical research fellowships (Training, Clinician Scientist, Senior), culminating in the award of an MRC Clinical Research Professorship from 2008 to 2014.

I became increasingly interested in working in the tropics and was fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate in studies of cellular immune responses to viral infections with researchers in places such as The Gambia, Kenya, Thailand, Viet Nam and China. This led to me becoming Director of the Oxford Centre for Tropical Medicine between 2001 and 2004, and then moving to West Africa to become Research Director of the MRC Laboratories, The Gambia, the UK’s oldest and largest tropical research unit between 2004 and 2008. Whilst in The Gambia my research interests focused on HIV-2 pathogenesis and the development of infant immunity in response to pathogens and vaccines in early life.

I joined the IICD department in 2018 as Florey Professor of Infection and Immunity, and now divide my time between Sheffield and Oxford. I remain an active clinician, holding an Honorary Consultant contract in adult Infectious Diseases. I was President of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene between 2018 and 2019 after six years as a Trustee of the Society, and am also a Fellow of Christ Church, Oxford.

Research interests

My research interests focus on host-pathogen interactions in viral infections, with a particular interest in HIV infection and how CMV co-infection contributes to pathogenesis in both HIV-infected people and uninfected infants born to HIV-infected women.

I collaborate closely with Professor Rashida Ferrand (LSHTM) in Harare, Zimbabwe, in studies of HIV pathogenesis and immunology in older children and adolescents with perinatally-acquired HIV infection (PHIV).

In Sheffield I co-lead a research group with Dr Thushan de Silva, where I am working on projects to evaluate vaccine-induced immunity in older children with PHIV, and to characterise acquisition of viral immunity in patients who have undergone Haemapoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT).

Current projects

How does the immune system reconstitute cellular responses (T-cells and NK cells) to persistent virus infection following HSCT.
What levels of antibody responses to routine childhood vaccines given as part of the Expanded Programme of Immunisation persist in children who present late with PHIV? Are booster immunisations required in this age-group?

Publications

Journal articles

Hirao K, Andrews S, Kuroki K, Kusaka H, Tadokoro T, Kita S, Ose T, Rowland-Jones SL & Maenaka K (2020) Structure of HIV-2 Nef Reveals Features Distinct from HIV-1 Involved in Immune Regulation. iScience, 23(1), 100758-100758.
Yindom L-M, Simms V, Majonga ED, McHugh G, Dauya E, Bandason T, Vincon H, Rylance J, Munyati S, Ferrand RA & Rowland-Jones SL (2019) Unexpectedly High Prevalence of Cytomegalovirus DNAemia in Older Children and Adolescents With Perinatally Acquired Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 69(4), 580-587.
James KL, de Silva TI, Brown K, Whittle H, Taylor S, McVean G, Esbjörnsson J & Rowland-Jones SL (2018) Low-Bias RNA Sequencing of the HIV-2 Genome from Blood Plasma. Journal of Virology, 93(1). View this article in WRRO
de Silva T, Leligdowicz A, Carlson J, Garcia-Knight M, Onyango C, Miller N, Yindom LM, Hue S, Jaye A, Dong T , Cotten M et al (2018) HLA-associated polymorphisms in the HIV-2 capsid highlight key differences between HIV-1 and HIV-2 immune adaptation. AIDS, 6, 704-709. View this article in WRRO
Jayasooriya S, de Silva TI, Njie-jobe J, Sanyang C, Leese AM, Bell AI, McAulay KA, Yanchun P, Long HM, Dong T , Whittle HC et al (2015) Early Virological and Immunological Events in Asymptomatic Epstein-Barr Virus Infection in African Children. PLOS Pathogens, 11(3). View this article in WRRO
de Silva TI, Peng Y, Leligdowicz A, Zaidi I, Li L, Griffin H, Blais M-E, Vincent T, Saraiva M, Yindom L-M , van Tienen C et al (2013) Correlates of T-cell–mediated viral control and phenotype of CD8+ T cells in HIV-2, a naturally contained human retroviral infection. Blood, 121(21), 4330-4339.
John‐Stewart GC, Mbori‐Ngacha D, Payne BL, Farquhar C, Richardson BA, Emery S, Otieno P, Obimbo E, Dong T, Slyker J , Nduati R et al (2009) HIV‐1–Specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes and Breast Milk HIV‐1 Transmission. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 199(6), 889-898.
Leligdowicz A, Yindom L-M, Onyango C, Sarge-Njie R, Alabi A, Cotten M, Vincent T, da Costa C, Aaby P, Jaye A , Dong T et al (2007) Robust Gag-specific T cell responses characterize viremia control in HIV-2 infection. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 117(10), 3067-3074.
Thananchai H, Gillespie G, Martin MP, Bashirova A, Yawata N, Yawata M, Easterbrook P, McVicar DW, Maenaka K, Parham P , Carrington M et al (2007) Cutting Edge: Allele-Specific and Peptide-Dependent Interactions between KIR3DL1 and HLA-A and HLA-B. The Journal of Immunology, 178(1), 33-37.
Lühn K, Simmons CP, Moran E, Dung NTP, Chau TNB, Quyen NTH, Thao LTT, Van Ngoc T, Dung NM, Wills B , Farrar J et al (2007) Increased frequencies of CD4+CD25high regulatory T cells in acute dengue infection. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 204(5), 979-985.
Dong T, Stewart-Jones G, Chen N, Easterbrook P, Xu X, Papagno L, Appay V, Weekes M, Conlon C, Spina C , Little S et al (2004) HIV-specific Cytotoxic T Cells from Long-Term Survivors Select a Unique T Cell Receptor. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 200(12), 1547-1557.
Kaul R, Dong T, Plummer FA, Kimani J, Rostron T, Kiama P, Njagi E, Irungu E, Farah B, Oyugi J , Chakraborty R et al (2001) CD8+ lymphocytes respond to different HIV epitopes in seronegative and infected subjects. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 107(10), 1303-1310.
Goulder PJR, Phillips RE, Colbert RA, McAdam S, Ogg G, Nowak MA, Giangrande P, Luzzi G, Morgana B, Edwards A , McMichael AJ et al (1997) Late escape from an immunodominant cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response associated with progression to AIDS. Nature Medicine, 3(2), 212-217.
Rowland-Jones S, Sutton J, Ariyoshi K, Dong T, Gotch F, McAdam S, Whitby D, Sabally S, Gallimore A, Corrah T , Takiguchi M et al (1995) HIV-specific cytotoxic T-cells in HIV-exposed but uninfected Gambian women. Nature Medicine, 1(1), 59-64.
Darboe F, Adetifa JU, Reynolds J, Hossin S, Plebanski M, Netea MG, Rowland-Jones SL, Sutherland JS & Flanagan KL () Minimal Sex-Differential Modulation of Reactivity to Pathogens and Toll-Like Receptor Ligands following Infant Bacillus Calmette–Guérin Russia Vaccination. Frontiers in Immunology, 8.
Ndure J, Noho-Konteh F, Adetifa JU, Cox M, Barker F, Le MT, Sanyang LC, Drammeh A, Whittle HC, Clarke E , Plebanski M et al () Negative Correlation between Circulating CD4+FOXP3+CD127− Regulatory T Cells and Subsequent Antibody Responses to Infant Measles Vaccine but Not Diphtheria–Tetanus–Pertussis Vaccine Implies a Regulatory Role. Frontiers in Immunology, 8.
Noho-Konteh F, Adetifa JU, Cox M, Hossin S, Reynolds J, Le MT, Sanyang LC, Drammeh A, Plebanski M, Forster T , Dickinson P et al () Sex-Differential Non-Vaccine-Specific Immunological Effects of Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis and Measles Vaccination. Clinical Infectious Diseases, ciw492-ciw492.

Teaching interests: I enjoy teaching and currently lecture on the M.Sc courses in Molecular Medicine (IICD) and Antimicrobial Resistance (Florey Institute). I am a Mentor on the Academy of Medical Sciences scheme for early career researchers on intermediate fellowships.

Professional activities

Co-coordinator (with Professor Simon Foster), Florey Institute for Host-Pathogen interactions
Theme Lead, Infection theme, IICD
Academic Editor, Public Library of Science (Biology), 2003 to present, Member of PLOS Biology Advisory Board from 2015 onwards
Member, Newton Advanced Fellowships panel, Royal Society, 2015 – present
Member, Swedish Research Council, Global Health Panel, 2016 – present
Member, Future Leaders African Independent Research (FLAIR) fellowship panel (Royal Society), 2018 – present
Member of the Faculty of 1000 since its inception in 2002 to present
Academy of Medical Sciences, member of Global Health group, from 2007
Academy of Medical Sciences, Fellowship committee (panel 4), from 2017 – present
External Examiner, Department of Pathology, University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences, 2017 - present