Tracy Palmer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tracy Palmer
FRS FRSE FMedSci
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Tracy Palmer at the Royal Society admissions day in London, July 2018
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| Born | 8 May 1967 Sheffield, England
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| Education | University of Birmingham (BSc, PhD) |
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| Children | James Sargent (b. 2000), Jack Sargent (b. 2002) |
| Awards | EMBO Member (2017) Royal Society University Research Fellowship (1996) |
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| Institutions | Newcastle University University of Dundee University of East Anglia John Innes Centre |
| Thesis | The kinetics of the proton-translocating transhydrogenase from photosynthetic bacteria (1992) |
| Doctoral advisor | J. Baz Jackson |
Tracy Palmer is a British scientist. She is a professor of microbiology at Newcastle University in England. Professor Palmer is famous for her important work on how bacteria move proteins. She helped discover a special system called the Tat pathway.
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Early Life and Learning Journey
Tracy Palmer was born in Sheffield, England, on May 8, 1967. She grew up in a town called Stocksbridge. Her father worked with steel.
She went to the University of Birmingham. There, she earned a degree in biochemistry in 1988. Later, in 1992, she received her PhD. Her PhD research looked at how a tiny pump, called a proton pump, works in bacteria that use sunlight for energy. She was inspired by scientist Peter D. Mitchell.
Discovering How Bacteria Work
Professor Palmer's main research helps us understand how bacteria send proteins outside their cells. Imagine bacteria as tiny factories. They make proteins for many jobs. Sometimes, these proteins need to leave the factory.
She helped find the bacterial Tat protein secretion system. This system is very special. It can move proteins that are already folded into their correct shapes. It does this without letting other small particles, like ions, leak out of the cell.
Fighting Bad Bacteria
Professor Palmer also studies another protein transport system. It's called the Type VII secretion system (T7SS). This system is found in a harmful human germ called Staphylococcus aureus.
Her team showed that the T7SS helps S. aureus fight other bacteria. It sends out a harmful substance called a nuclease toxin. This toxin stops other similar S. aureus germs from growing. This discovery helps us understand how germs compete.
Early Research Steps
After her PhD, Professor Palmer worked at the University of Dundee. She studied how a protein called 'Protein FA' helps make a special molecule in bacteria.
From 1993 to 1996, she led her own research at the University of Dundee. She studied how bacteria like Rhodobacter sphaeroides live without oxygen. Her work on these bacteria helped set the stage for her later discoveries about the Tat pathway.
In 1996, she received a special award called a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. This allowed her to start her own research group. Her group was based at the John Innes Centre in Norwich.
In 2004, she became a professor at the University of East Anglia. While in Norwich, she started working with Professor Ben C. Berks. Together, they won the 2002 Microbiology Society Fleming Prize Lecture. They won it for their important work on the bacterial Tat system.
In 2007, Professor Palmer moved back to the University of Dundee. She led the Division of Molecular Microbiology there until 2017. Then, in 2018, she joined Newcastle University. She now leads a research group that studies how microbes affect health and disease.
Professor Palmer also helps the microbiology community. She has been an editor for science journals. She is currently the Chair of a panel at The Royal Society that appoints researchers.
Awards and Special Recognition
Professor Palmer has received many honors for her scientific work:
- In 2018, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists.
- In 2009, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE).
- She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.
- She is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).
- In 1996, she received the Royal Society University Research Fellowship.
- In 2021, she was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
