Susan Lea (scientist) facts for kids

Susan Mary Lea, born in 1969, is a British scientist who studies living things. She is the head of the Center for Structural Biology at the National Cancer Institute. Her work looks at how germs interact with our bodies. It also explores how tiny parts of cells work. In 2022, she became a special member of the Royal Society.

Early Life and Learning

Susan Lea went to Oxford High School. She then studied at New College, Oxford. In 1990, she earned a degree in how the body works.

She continued her studies at the University of Oxford. There, she worked with Professor David Stuart. For her advanced degree, she used a method called X-ray crystallography. This helped her understand the foot-and-mouth disease virus better.

Research and Career

After finishing her advanced degree, Susan Lea received a special fellowship. She started her own research group at the University of Oxford. Her early work focused on understanding human viruses. She studied how their structures relate to their properties.

Later, she moved to the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at Oxford. In 1999, she became a lecturer there. She also became a professor of microbiology in 2016. In 2021, Lea moved to the National Institutes of Health in the United States. She became the Chief of the Center for Structural Biology at the National Cancer Institute.

How Dr. Lea Studies Molecules

Dr. Lea uses advanced tools to study tiny parts of living things. She uses information from cryogenic electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography. These tools help her understand how molecules work. She is very interested in molecules that can cross cell membranes.

She also studies proteins in our blood that help with our immune system. Dr. Lea has researched how bacteria cause diseases like meningitis. She also figured out the structure of the flagellum. A flagellum is like a tiny tail that helps some bacteria move.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Susan Lea has received many honors for her important work:

• She was chosen as a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).
• She became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
• She was elected a Fellow of the American Society for Microbiology.
• She became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2022.

Key Publications

Some of her important research papers include:

• Refinement of severely incomplete structures with maximum likelihood in BUSTER-TNT
• Structure of a major immunogenic site on foot-and-mouth disease virus
• The structure and function of a foot-and-mouth disease virus-oligosaccharide receptor complex