Seminar Wednesday 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Eleanor N. Fish, Senior Scientist, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute University Health Network, Toronto, Canada
Professor, Dept. Immunology, University of Toronto, Canada Canada Research Chair in Women’s Health & Immunobiology
Dr. Fish is the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Women’s Health & Immunobiology, a McLaughlin Scholar and was elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Microbiologists. In 2015 Dr. Fish was elected as a Fellow to the African Academy of Sciences. Dr. Fish received her B.Sc. degree in Biological Chemistry from the University of Manchester, England, and her M.Phil. in Virology from King’s College, University of London, England. She received her Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto, Canada. Dr. Fish studies the interactions of interferons and chemokines, with their receptors in normal and diseased cells and tissues. A focus of Dr. Fish’s research is the investigation of host pathogen interactions at the cellular and molecular level, specifically in the context of viruses and interferons. During the 2003 outbreak of SARS in Toronto, she initiated studies to investigate the therapeutic potential of interferon in SARS patients. Encouraging results have directed her group’s efforts toward examining interferon activity against a number of emerging infectious diseases, such as avian H5N1 and pandemic H1N1 influenza viruses. Recently, her studies have focused on investigating the therapeutic effectiveness of interferon treatment for Ebola virus disease, with a clinical trial in Guinea. Dr. Fish was a member of a WHO Working Group to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of different vaccine and antiviral interventions against Ebola virus. With the end of the Ebola outbreak Dr. Fish is continuing to work in Guinea, to build capacity in science and technology, focusing on medical research and clinical support. She has secured funding and international partners to that end. Another focus of her work relates to understanding the immune mechanisms that drive autoimmunity, related to rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Recently, Dr. Fish initiated research studies in breast cancer, within the context of understanding how chemokine-driven alterations to metabolism influence the growth and metastasis of breast tumors.
[Hosted by: Professor Clive Gray, Division of Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town]