E. Sally Ward facts for kids

Elizabeth Sally Ward is a famous British scientist. She is an expert in immunology, which is the study of the body's immune system. Her work helps find new ways to treat diseases like cancer.

Currently, she is the Director of Translational Immunology at the Centre for Cancer Immunology at the University of Southampton. In 2022, she was given a great honor by being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for her important contributions to science.

Becoming a Scientist

Sally Ward attended the famous University of Cambridge for her first degree. She studied natural sciences, focusing on biochemistry. Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes inside living things.

She enjoyed her studies so much that she stayed at Cambridge to earn her PhD. For her research project, she studied the genetics of a specific type of bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis.

Career and Research

After finishing her PhD, Ward worked as a junior research fellow at two colleges within Cambridge University.

In 1990, she moved to the United States to continue her work. She joined the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. There, she was part of the team that started the Centre for Immunology. Later, in 2014, she moved to Texas A&M University.

In 2018, Ward returned to the United Kingdom. She became a professor at the University of Southampton, where she leads research into how our immune system can fight cancer.

What Does Her Research Focus On?

Ward's main work is in antibody engineering. Antibodies are proteins our immune system uses to fight off germs. Ward redesigns these proteins to help treat autoimmune diseases, where the body's immune system attacks itself by mistake.

She also uses her research to create new antibody treatments for cancer. One of her most important discoveries was identifying a special protein called the Fc receptor in 1996. This protein helps control the levels of a key antibody in our bodies. This discovery has led to new types of medicines that are now used by drug companies.

Developing New Technology

Besides her work with antibodies, Ward has also helped create advanced microscopes and new ways to analyze images. She has used special techniques to see single protein molecules, which are incredibly tiny.

Using these powerful tools, she can watch how different parts of a cell work and move around. This helps scientists understand what happens inside our bodies at a microscopic level. She has also created free software to help other scientists with their own microscope analysis.

Awards and Honors

• 2018: Received the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award for her outstanding research.
• 2020: Elected Vice President of the Antibody Society, a group for scientists in her field.
• 2022: Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, one of the highest honors for a scientist in the U.K.

Important Scientific Work

Throughout her career, Dr. Ward has published many important research papers. Her work has helped other scientists understand:

• How to create and study tiny parts of antibodies in the lab.
• How to get super-clear images using single-molecule microscopy.
• The many jobs of the FcRn receptor in the immune system.
• How antibody interactions can be different in various animals, which is important for developing new medicines.