Dr Vicky Morrison

  • Honorary Research Fellow (School of Infection & Immunity)

email: Vicky.Morrison@glasgow.ac.uk

RI III, Sir Graeme Davies Building, B612, 120 University Place, G12 8TA

Import to contacts

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4351-8737

Biography

Having first discovered my passion for immunological research during my undergraduate studies, I have embarked on an academic career and am committed to a career in scientific research. I am driven by the need to understand the ‘basic science’ of immune cell function and to use this knowledge to identify novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Specifically, my research interests have always focussed on immune cell migration and interactions, two aspects of immune cell function that are paramount to all immune responses and play key roles in inflammatory diseases.

PhD, University of Edinburgh, 2007-2010: The aims of my PhD project were to investigate alterations in B cells during the early stages of an immune response, using Salmonella as a model infection in mice. The most significant finding from this study was that B cells respond rapidly to the presence of bacteria by shedding an adhesion receptor, called L-selectin, from their surface, resulting in altered B cell migration patterns. This mechanism helps to focus the immune response to the major site of infection (the spleen) and aids in bacterial clearance (Morrison et al, 2010, Journal of Immunology).

Postdoc, University of Dundee, 2010-2013: During my postdoctoral work with Dr Susanna Fagerholm, I investigated the function of another family of adhesion receptors, beta2 integrins. Integrins are vital for the normal function of immune cells, and deficiency in this family of adhesion receptors is associated with inflammatory disease in mice and humans. My postdoctoral work produced several original findings: we identified the mechanism by which a novel integrin interacting protein, kindlin-3, contributes to lymphocyte migration and activation (Morrison et al, 2013, Blood; Morrison et al, 2015, Journal of Immunology), described how integrins contribute to effector T cell recruitment to sites of inflammation from the bloodstream (Lek & Morrison et al, 2013, Journal of Biological Chemistry), and investigated the involvement of integrins in the inflammatory response to high fat feeding (Meakin & Morrison et al, 2015, Plos One). Together, these studies provide insight into the diverse roles this integrin family play in the immune system, further highlighting the need to fully understand their functions before they can be targeted therapeutically.

Postdoc, University of Helsinki, 2014 (6 months): I was awarded a postdoctoral research scholarship to continue working with Dr Susanna Fagerholm to investigate integrin function in dendritic cells. This exciting work produced novel insight into the role of beta2 integrins as negative regulators of immune cells (Morrison et al, 2014, Nature Communications). Our identification of a novel immune regulatory pathway has important translational implications, as future work into the molecular mechanism involved could provide new therapeutic targets.

Postdoc, University of Glasgow, 2014-2015 (8 months): Whilst awaiting the outcome of various fellowship applications, I carried out a postdoctoral research project at the GLAZgo Discovery Centre to assess the effects of specific small molecule inhibitors on immune cell migration.

Research Fellow, University of Glasgow, 2015-present: Having been awarded a prestigious Career Development Fellowship by Arthritis Research UK, the aims of my research group are to further investigate how integrins regulate the immune system and to assess the impact of this regulatory pathway in maintaining health and preventing inflammatory disorders such as Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Research interests

I have recently begun a 5-year Career Development Fellowship funded by Arthritis Research UK.

The focus of my research is to understand how dendritic cells, the key immune cell type responsible for inducing immune activation or tolerance, are controlled by adhesion molecules expressed on their cell surface called integrins. Using models of inflammation, tolerance and autoimmunity (rheumatoid arthritis), I am investigating how integrins suppress dendritic cell function, and how this influences interactions with T cells and the subsequent immune response.

 

My lab group is part of LIVE: the Laboratory of Immune cell Visualisation and Examination. Visit the LIVE website for more details.

 

Follow me on Twitter: @VM_scientist

Check out my ORCID, Research Gate and LinkedIn profiles.

 

Group members:

Claire McIntyre (pictured, left): PhD student, 2016-2019, funded by the College of MVLS doctoral training programme

"I am on the 3.5 year MVLS doctoral training program and started working with Vicky in January 2016 for a 3-month lab rotation after which I decided to stay in the lab to continue by PhD. My project is focused on the role of beta2 integrins in two very different immune cells - dendritic cells (DCs) and γδ T cells. In dendritic cells I would like to understand what effect integrins have on DC activation/migration, the signalling pathways involved and what impact this has on the subsequent immune response. In γδ T cells I am investigating the importance of beta2 integrins in their development, migration and function."

Leonie Schittenhelm (pictured, right): PhD student, joined the lab in Oct 2017, funded by the Rheumatoid Arthritis Centre of Excellence (RACE)

"As my PhD is funded as part of RACE, I am supervised by both Vicky and Dr. Catharien Hilkens at Newcastle University. My project aims to understand if dysregulation of integrin signalling especially on dendritic cells could contribute to rheumatoid arthritis pathology. Additionally, we are investigating how targeting integrin signalling could improve the application of human tolerogenic dendritic cell therapy."

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2021 | 2020 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2010
Number of items: 22.

2021

Sumagin, R., Henson, S. M., Morrison, V. L. and McGettrick, H. M. (2021) Editorial: targeting leukocyte trafficking: insights and future directions. Frontiers in Immunology, 12, 777002. (doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.777002) (PMID:34675945) (PMCID:PMC8524076)

Schittenhelm, L., Robertson, J., Pratt, A. G., Hilkens, C. and Morrison, V. L. (2021) Dendritic cell integrin expression patterns regulate inflammation in the rheumatoid arthritis joint. Rheumatology, 60(3), pp. 1533-1542. (doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaa686) (PMID:33123735) (PMCID:PMC7937020)

2020

McIntyre, C. L., Monin, L., Rop, J. C., Otto, T. D. , Goodyear, C. S. , Hayday, A. C. and Morrison, V. L. (2020) β2 integrins differentially regulate γδ T cell subset thymic development and peripheral maintenance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(36), pp. 22367-22377. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1921930117) (PMID:32848068)

2017

Schittenhelm, L., Hilkens, C. M. and Morrison, V. L. (2017) β2 integrins as regulators of dendritic cell, monocyte, and macrophage function. Frontiers in Immunology, 8, 1866. (doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01866) (PMID:29326724) (PMCID:PMC5742326)

Borger, J. G., Morrison, V. L. , Filby, A., Garcia, C., Uotila, L. M., Simbari, F., Fagerholm, S. C. and Zamoyska, R. (2017) Caveolin-1 influences LFA-1 redistribution upon TCR stimulation in CD8 T cells. Journal of Immunology, 199(3), pp. 874-884. (doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1700431) (PMID:28637901) (PMCID:PMC5523581)

Kurowska-Stolarska, M. et al. (2017) MicroRNA-34a dependent regulation of AXL controls the activation of dendritic cells in inflammatory arthritis. Nature Communications, 8, 15877. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms15877) (PMID:28639625) (PMCID:PMC5489689)

Trüb, M., Barr, T. A., Morrison, V. L. , Brown, S., Caserta, S., Rixon, J., Ivens, A. and Gray, D. (2017) Heterogeneity of phenotype and function reflects the multistage development of T follicular helper cells. Frontiers in Immunology, 8, 489. (doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00489) (PMID:28503175) (PMCID:PMC5408024)

2016

Burn, G. L. et al. (2016) Superresolution imaging of the cytoplasmic phosphatase PTPN22 links integrin-mediated T cell adhesion with autoimmunity. Science Signaling, 9(448), ra99. (doi: 10.1126/scisignal.aaf2195) (PMID:27703032)

Cameron, A. E. et al. (2016) Anti-inflammatory effects of metformin irrespective of diabetes status. Circulation Research, 119(5), pp. 652-665. (doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.308445) (PMID:27418629) (PMCID:PMC4990459)

2015

Meakin, P. J., Morrison, V. J. , Sneddon, C. C., Savinko, T., Uotila, L., Jalicy, S. M., Gabriel, J. L., Kang, L., Ashford, M. L.J. and Fagerholm, S. C. (2015) Mice lacking beta2-integrin function remain glucose tolerant in spite of insulin resistance, neutrophil infiltration and inflammation. PLoS ONE, 10(9), e0138872. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138872) (PMID:26405763) (PMCID:PMC4583187)

Savinko, T. S., Morrison, V. L. , Uotila, L. M., Wolff, C. H. J., Alenius, H. T. and Fagerholm, S. C. (2015) Functional beta2-integrins restrict skin inflammation in vivo. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 135, pp. 2249-2257. (doi: 10.1038/jid.2015.164) (PMID:25918984)

Morrison, V.L. , Uotila, L.M., Llort Asens, M., Savinko, T. and Fagerholm, S.C. (2015) Optimal T cell activation and b cell antibody responses in vivo require the interaction between leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 and kindlin-3. Journal of Immunology, 195(1), pp. 105-115. (doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1402741) (PMID:25987740)

Cook, P. C. et al. (2015) A dominant role for the methyl-CpG-binding protein Mbd2 in controlling Th2 induction by dendritic cells. Nature Communications, 6, 6920. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms7920) (PMID:25908537) (PMCID:PMC4413429)

2014

Gawden-Bone, C., West, M.A., Morrison, V.L. , Edgar, A.J., McMillan, S.J., Dill, B.D., Trost, M., Prescott, A., Fagerholm, S.C. and Watts, C. (2014) A crucial role for 2 integrins in podosome formation, dynamics and Toll-like-receptor-signaled disassembly in dendritic cells. Journal of Cell Science, 127(19), pp. 4213-4224. (doi: 10.1242/jcs.151167) (PMID:25086067) (PMCID:PMC4179490)

Salmond, R. J., Brownlie, R. J., Morrison, V. L. and Zamoyska, R. (2014) The tyrosine phosphatase PTPN22 discriminates weak self peptides from strong agonist TCR signals. Nature Immunology, 15(9), pp. 875-883. (doi: 10.1038/ni.2958) (PMID:25108421) (PMCID:PMC4148831)

Fagerholm, S. C., Lek, H. S. and Morrison, V. L. (2014) Kindlin-3 in the immune system. American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 3(1), pp. 37-42. (PMID:24660120) (PMCID:PMC3960760)

Morrison, V. L. et al. (2014) Loss of beta2-integrin-mediated cytoskeletal linkage reprogrammes dendritic cells to a mature migratory phenotype. Nature Communications, 5, 5359. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms6359) (PMID:25348463) (PMCID:PMC4258606)

2013

Lek, H.S., Morrison, V.L. , Conneely, M., Campbell, P.A., McGloin, D., Kliche, S., Watts, C., Prescott, A. and Fagerholm, S.C. (2013) The spontaneously adhesive leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 (lfa-1) integrin in effector t cells mediates rapid actin- and calmodulin-dependent adhesion strengthening to ligand under shear flow. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 288(21), pp. 14698-14708. (doi: 10.1074/jbc.M112.430918) (PMID:23585567) (PMCID:PMC3663495)

MacPherson, M., Lek, H.S., Morrison, V.L. and Fagerholm, S. (2013) Leukocyte beta2-integrins; genes and disease. Journal of Genetic Syndromes and Gene Therapy, 4(6), 154. (doi: 10.4172/2157-7412.1000154)

Morrison, V.L. , MacPherson, M., Savinko, T., San Lek, H., Prescott, A. and Fagerholm, S.C. (2013) The beta2 integrin-kindlin-3 interaction is essential for T-cell homing but dispensable for T-cell activation in vivo. Blood, 122(8), pp. 1428-1436. (doi: 10.1182/blood-2013-02-484998) (PMID:23823319) (PMCID:PMC3750339)

2012

Matthews, S. A., San Lek, H., Morrison, V. L. , Mackenzie, M. G., Zarrouk, M., Cantrell, D. and Fagerholm, S. C. (2012) Protein kinase D isoforms are dispensable for integrin-mediated lymphocyte adhesion and homing to lymphoid tissues. European Journal of Immunology, 42(5), pp. 1316-1326. (doi: 10.1002/eji.201142004) (PMID:22311617) (PMCID:PMC3437483)

2010

Morrison, V.L. , Barr, T.A., Brown, S. and Gray, D. (2010) TLR-mediated loss of CD62L focuses B cell traffic to the spleen during Salmonella typhimurium infection. Journal of Immunology, 185(5), pp. 2737-2746. (doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1000758) (PMID:20660707) (PMCID:PMC3745606)

This list was generated on Wed Apr 17 16:32:38 2024 BST.
Jump to: Articles
Number of items: 22.

Articles

Sumagin, R., Henson, S. M., Morrison, V. L. and McGettrick, H. M. (2021) Editorial: targeting leukocyte trafficking: insights and future directions. Frontiers in Immunology, 12, 777002. (doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.777002) (PMID:34675945) (PMCID:PMC8524076)

Schittenhelm, L., Robertson, J., Pratt, A. G., Hilkens, C. and Morrison, V. L. (2021) Dendritic cell integrin expression patterns regulate inflammation in the rheumatoid arthritis joint. Rheumatology, 60(3), pp. 1533-1542. (doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaa686) (PMID:33123735) (PMCID:PMC7937020)

McIntyre, C. L., Monin, L., Rop, J. C., Otto, T. D. , Goodyear, C. S. , Hayday, A. C. and Morrison, V. L. (2020) β2 integrins differentially regulate γδ T cell subset thymic development and peripheral maintenance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(36), pp. 22367-22377. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1921930117) (PMID:32848068)

Schittenhelm, L., Hilkens, C. M. and Morrison, V. L. (2017) β2 integrins as regulators of dendritic cell, monocyte, and macrophage function. Frontiers in Immunology, 8, 1866. (doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01866) (PMID:29326724) (PMCID:PMC5742326)

Borger, J. G., Morrison, V. L. , Filby, A., Garcia, C., Uotila, L. M., Simbari, F., Fagerholm, S. C. and Zamoyska, R. (2017) Caveolin-1 influences LFA-1 redistribution upon TCR stimulation in CD8 T cells. Journal of Immunology, 199(3), pp. 874-884. (doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1700431) (PMID:28637901) (PMCID:PMC5523581)

Kurowska-Stolarska, M. et al. (2017) MicroRNA-34a dependent regulation of AXL controls the activation of dendritic cells in inflammatory arthritis. Nature Communications, 8, 15877. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms15877) (PMID:28639625) (PMCID:PMC5489689)

Trüb, M., Barr, T. A., Morrison, V. L. , Brown, S., Caserta, S., Rixon, J., Ivens, A. and Gray, D. (2017) Heterogeneity of phenotype and function reflects the multistage development of T follicular helper cells. Frontiers in Immunology, 8, 489. (doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00489) (PMID:28503175) (PMCID:PMC5408024)

Burn, G. L. et al. (2016) Superresolution imaging of the cytoplasmic phosphatase PTPN22 links integrin-mediated T cell adhesion with autoimmunity. Science Signaling, 9(448), ra99. (doi: 10.1126/scisignal.aaf2195) (PMID:27703032)

Cameron, A. E. et al. (2016) Anti-inflammatory effects of metformin irrespective of diabetes status. Circulation Research, 119(5), pp. 652-665. (doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.308445) (PMID:27418629) (PMCID:PMC4990459)

Meakin, P. J., Morrison, V. J. , Sneddon, C. C., Savinko, T., Uotila, L., Jalicy, S. M., Gabriel, J. L., Kang, L., Ashford, M. L.J. and Fagerholm, S. C. (2015) Mice lacking beta2-integrin function remain glucose tolerant in spite of insulin resistance, neutrophil infiltration and inflammation. PLoS ONE, 10(9), e0138872. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138872) (PMID:26405763) (PMCID:PMC4583187)

Savinko, T. S., Morrison, V. L. , Uotila, L. M., Wolff, C. H. J., Alenius, H. T. and Fagerholm, S. C. (2015) Functional beta2-integrins restrict skin inflammation in vivo. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 135, pp. 2249-2257. (doi: 10.1038/jid.2015.164) (PMID:25918984)

Morrison, V.L. , Uotila, L.M., Llort Asens, M., Savinko, T. and Fagerholm, S.C. (2015) Optimal T cell activation and b cell antibody responses in vivo require the interaction between leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 and kindlin-3. Journal of Immunology, 195(1), pp. 105-115. (doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1402741) (PMID:25987740)

Cook, P. C. et al. (2015) A dominant role for the methyl-CpG-binding protein Mbd2 in controlling Th2 induction by dendritic cells. Nature Communications, 6, 6920. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms7920) (PMID:25908537) (PMCID:PMC4413429)

Gawden-Bone, C., West, M.A., Morrison, V.L. , Edgar, A.J., McMillan, S.J., Dill, B.D., Trost, M., Prescott, A., Fagerholm, S.C. and Watts, C. (2014) A crucial role for 2 integrins in podosome formation, dynamics and Toll-like-receptor-signaled disassembly in dendritic cells. Journal of Cell Science, 127(19), pp. 4213-4224. (doi: 10.1242/jcs.151167) (PMID:25086067) (PMCID:PMC4179490)

Salmond, R. J., Brownlie, R. J., Morrison, V. L. and Zamoyska, R. (2014) The tyrosine phosphatase PTPN22 discriminates weak self peptides from strong agonist TCR signals. Nature Immunology, 15(9), pp. 875-883. (doi: 10.1038/ni.2958) (PMID:25108421) (PMCID:PMC4148831)

Fagerholm, S. C., Lek, H. S. and Morrison, V. L. (2014) Kindlin-3 in the immune system. American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 3(1), pp. 37-42. (PMID:24660120) (PMCID:PMC3960760)

Morrison, V. L. et al. (2014) Loss of beta2-integrin-mediated cytoskeletal linkage reprogrammes dendritic cells to a mature migratory phenotype. Nature Communications, 5, 5359. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms6359) (PMID:25348463) (PMCID:PMC4258606)

Lek, H.S., Morrison, V.L. , Conneely, M., Campbell, P.A., McGloin, D., Kliche, S., Watts, C., Prescott, A. and Fagerholm, S.C. (2013) The spontaneously adhesive leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 (lfa-1) integrin in effector t cells mediates rapid actin- and calmodulin-dependent adhesion strengthening to ligand under shear flow. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 288(21), pp. 14698-14708. (doi: 10.1074/jbc.M112.430918) (PMID:23585567) (PMCID:PMC3663495)

MacPherson, M., Lek, H.S., Morrison, V.L. and Fagerholm, S. (2013) Leukocyte beta2-integrins; genes and disease. Journal of Genetic Syndromes and Gene Therapy, 4(6), 154. (doi: 10.4172/2157-7412.1000154)

Morrison, V.L. , MacPherson, M., Savinko, T., San Lek, H., Prescott, A. and Fagerholm, S.C. (2013) The beta2 integrin-kindlin-3 interaction is essential for T-cell homing but dispensable for T-cell activation in vivo. Blood, 122(8), pp. 1428-1436. (doi: 10.1182/blood-2013-02-484998) (PMID:23823319) (PMCID:PMC3750339)

Matthews, S. A., San Lek, H., Morrison, V. L. , Mackenzie, M. G., Zarrouk, M., Cantrell, D. and Fagerholm, S. C. (2012) Protein kinase D isoforms are dispensable for integrin-mediated lymphocyte adhesion and homing to lymphoid tissues. European Journal of Immunology, 42(5), pp. 1316-1326. (doi: 10.1002/eji.201142004) (PMID:22311617) (PMCID:PMC3437483)

Morrison, V.L. , Barr, T.A., Brown, S. and Gray, D. (2010) TLR-mediated loss of CD62L focuses B cell traffic to the spleen during Salmonella typhimurium infection. Journal of Immunology, 185(5), pp. 2737-2746. (doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1000758) (PMID:20660707) (PMCID:PMC3745606)

This list was generated on Wed Apr 17 16:32:38 2024 BST.

Grants

Grants and Awards listed are those received whilst working with the University of Glasgow.

  • Investigating the integrin-dependent biology of T cells to improve cancer treatment
    The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
    2018 - 2019
     
  • Exploring the therapeutic potential of targeting beta2 integrins in Rheumatoid Arthritis
    Tenovus Scotland
    2018 - 2019
     
  • ISSF Catalyst: Use of transcriptomics to determine how integrins regulate migratory dendritic cells and inflammation
    Wellcome Trust
    2015 - 2018
     
  • Integrin-mediated regulation of leukocytes in autoimmunity.
    Arthritis Research UK
    2015 - 2021
     

Teaching

  • Immunology 3A & 3B Journal Clubs
  • Immunology 4 Critical Analysis of Scientific Literature

Professional activities & recognition

Research fellowships

  • 2015: Career Development Fellowship - Versus Arthritis

Professional & learned societies

  • 2007: member, British Society for Immunology

Selected international presentations

  • 2017: invited seminar (King's College London)
  • 2017: invited seminar (Newcastle University)

Administrative Duties

Co-organiser of the Centre for Immunobiology seminar series

Organiser of the annual Centre for Immunobiology ECR symposium

Reviewer for PLOS One & Immunology

Presentations & Meetings

Invited seminars:

March 2017: Newcastle University
May 2017: King's College London

 

Meeting presentations:

2017:  Therapeutic Tolerance: first in human data, Newcastle University (oral presentation)
2016:  Gordon Research Conference, Girona, Spain (poster presentation)
2016:  RACE symposium, Newcastle University (oral presentation)
2015:  Leukocyte Migration in Health and Disease conference, University of Birmingham (oral presentation)
2015:  Institute of Infection, Immunity & Inflammation symposium, University of Glasgow (oral presentation)
2014:  Finnish Cell Biology Symposium, Lammi, Finland (oral presentation)
2014:  Institute of Biotechnology symposium, Helsinki, Finland (oral presentation)
2013:  The Leading Edge of Leukocyte Migration conference, Glasgow, UK (oral presentation)
2013:  International Congress of Immunology, Milan, Italy (oral presentation)
2013:  Gordon Research Seminar & Conference, Galveston, Texas, USA (chair & poster presentation)
2012:  Division of Cancer Research Symposium, University of Dundee, UK (oral presentation)
2012:  European Congress of Immunology, Glasgow, UK (oral presentation)
2011:  British Society of Immunology Congress, Liverpool, UK (poster presentation)
2010:  British Society of Immunology Congress, Liverpool, UK (oral presentation)
2010:  Scottish Immunology Group conference, St Andrews, UK (poster presentation)
2009:  ENII Summer School, Sardinia, Italy (poster presentation)
2008:  British Society of Immunology conference, Glasgow, UK (poster presentation)