Amanda Fisher facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dame Amanda Fisher
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Fisher in 2016
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Amanda Gay Fisher
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| Alma mater | University of Birmingham |
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| Scientific career | |
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| Thesis | Surface antigens expressed during myelopoiesis (1984) |
| Notable students | Kat Arney (postdoc) |
Dame Amanda Gay Fisher is a top British cell biologist. She leads the Medical Research Council (MRC) London Institute of Medical Sciences. This institute is part of Imperial College London. She is also a Professor there.
Professor Fisher has made many important discoveries in how cells work. She found out what several genes in the HIV virus do. She also showed how important a gene's place inside the cell nucleus is.
As a postdoctoral researcher, she created the first working copies of HIV. This helped scientists get enough of the virus to study its genes. Later, she became interested in epigenetics. This is about how genes are turned on or off without changing the DNA itself. She studied this in white blood cells called lymphocytes and in embryonic stem cells. Her current research looks at how cells pass on their gene activity patterns when they divide. She uses lymphocytes to study this.
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Education and Early Research
Fisher studied at the University of Birmingham. She earned her PhD in 1984. Her research was about special markers found on blood cells.
In 1983, during her PhD, she received a special fellowship. This allowed her to study gene control in the USA. She worked with Robert Gallo at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Understanding Cells and Genes
Professor Fisher's research helps us understand how genes work. She uses lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) as a model. She studies how patterns of gene activity are passed on when cells divide. She also looks at how cells decide what they will become.
Her work explores how genes are controlled and how epigenetics plays a role. This helps us understand how cells change and develop. She also studies pluripotency, which is the ability of stem cells to become many different cell types.
Discoveries About HIV/AIDS
Professor Fisher's work on HIV was very important for future research. She made the first working copies of HIV. This gave scientists the material they needed to study the virus. She found out what several of the HIV genes do. These discoveries have been key to understanding HIV and similar viruses.
At the NIH, she found ways to put new DNA into human blood cells. This allowed her to test if copies of HIV could create an active virus.
In 1985, Fisher showed that copies of HIV could make an active virus. This happened when they were put into human T-cells. This proved that the virus's own genes could harm T-cells. T-cells are important for the body's immune system. This discovery helped scientists study each viral gene. It also led to DNA tests for HIV infection.
Over the next four years, Fisher made more discoveries. She showed that a gene called tat is vital for the virus to copy itself. She also found that other genes, like sor (now called vif), are needed for the virus to spread efficiently.
Studying Human T Cells
In 1987, Fisher moved to the UK. She started studying how human T cells develop. In 1990, she set up the first human thymus organ cultures. This allowed scientists to study how T cells develop outside the body. It helped them test factors that shape human T cells.
She then spent three years learning about mouse genetics. This included how to make transgenic and knockout animals. In 1993, she joined the Clinical Sciences Centre (CSC). She became its director in 2008. Her work at the CSC focused on how genes are controlled when cells commit to a certain type. In 2017, the CSC was renamed the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (MRC LMS).
Epigenetics and Gene Location
In 1997, Fisher's team made an important discovery. They found that a protein called Ikaros was located in a part of the cell nucleus where genes are usually silent. This was new because Ikaros was thought to turn genes on. This finding suggested that where a gene is located inside the nucleus might affect if it's active or silent.
Her team developed special techniques to see the 3D structure of chromosomes in the nucleus. This helped them understand how gene function and nuclear organization are linked. For example, they showed that silent genes were moved to specific areas in the nucleus. This happened when their silencing was passed on to new cells. This work showed that a gene's location and how tightly packed it is are important for keeping it silent.
In 2002, Fisher received the EMBO Gold Medal. This was for her early work on HIV and her discoveries about how nuclear organization affects gene control.
Since 2003, Fisher has studied embryonic stem cells (ES). She uses them to understand pluripotency. This is the ability of ES cells to become any cell type. In 2006, she found something surprising. Many genes in ES cells that decide cell type had markers for both active and silent genes. This went against what scientists thought at the time. It suggested that important development genes might be "ready" to be turned on in ES cells, but are kept quiet by special protein groups.
Awards and Honours
Professor Fisher has received many awards for her important work.
- In 2001, she became a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).
- In 2002, she won the EMBO Gold Medal. This was for her work on how genes are organized in the nucleus and for her HIV research.
- In 2014, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honour for scientists. Her nomination recognized her work on HIV, T cell development, stem cells, and epigenetics.
- In 2003, she became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. This was for her excellent contributions to medicine.
- She also works to share science with the public. For this, she received an 'Outstanding Women in Science Award' in 2010.
- In 2015, she received the Helmholtz Association International Fellow award.
- In 2017, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). This was for her services to medical research and helping the public understand science.
- In 2023, Fisher was elected as the Whitley Professor of Biochemistry at Trinity College, Oxford.
Images for kids
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Professor Amanda Fisher in 2016
