Dr Pamela Cameron
Address:
Moredun Research Institute
Pentlands Science Park
Bush Loan
Penicuik
Midlothian EH26 0PZ
Scotland
Telephone Number:
+44 (0)131 445 5111
Email address:
Pamela Cameron joined Moredun in 2003, after 4 years working at the Universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde. Pam is interested in host/pathogen interactions and gained a BSc (Hons) in Immunology & Microbiology and a PhD in Immunology (University of Strathclyde). She also has an interest in Environmental Science and recently gained a Diploma in Environmental Studies (University of Exeter). Previous research has focused on understanding the signalling mechanisms behind E. coli O157:H7-induced pathophysiology in humans and cattle and the key differences between the two species. Pam also described how petidases from Leishmania mexicana selectively inhibit the NFkB pathway to thwart human immune defenses. Recent work has described key intracellular signalling molecules that are crucial to the pathogen-sensing mechanisms of intestinal epithelial cells, which are important in both E.coli O157:H7 and C. jejuni-mediated disease.
Current Research:
- Campylobacter jejuni is the number one cause of food poisoning in the UK, yet remarkably little is known about how C. jejuni initiates disease. Pam is using human intestinal cell models to investigate key intracellular events associated with infection.
- Analysing signalling pathways involved in the inflammatory and invasive properties of Campylobacter jejuni.
- Utilising proteomic approaches including SOSPA (sawn-off shotgun proteomic analysis), 2D gel electrophoresis, antibody microarray and signalling assays to understand the human pathogenic potential of C. jejuni.
- Applying proteomic approaches to investigate and compare the human pathogenic potential of a wide variety of C. jejuni sequence types (S.T.s).
Selected Key Publications:
Selected Key Publications
- Fraser-Pitt, D. J., Cameron P., McNeilly T. N., Boyd A., Manson E. D. T., & Smith D. G. E. 2011. Phosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is essential for Interleukin-8 release from intestinal epithelial cells in response to challenge with Escherichia coli O157:H7 flagellin. Microbiology. 157(8):2339-2347.
- Habeeb, F., Stables G., Bradbury F., Nong S., Cameron P., Plevin R., et al. 2007. The inner gel component of Aloe vera suppresses bacterial-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines from human immune cells. Methods. 42(4):388 - 393.
- Dziva, F. F., Mahajan A., Cameron P., Currie C., McKendrick I. J., Wallis T. S., et al. 2007. EspP, a Type V-secreted serine protease of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7, influences intestinal colonization of calves and adherence to bovine primary intestinal epithelial cells. FEMS Microbiology Letters. 271(2):258 - 264.
- CADALBERT, L., SLOSS C., Cameron P., & PLEVIN R. 2005. Conditional expression of MAP kinase phosphatase-2 protects against genotoxic stress-induced apoptosis by binding and selective dephosphorylation of nuclear activated c-jun N-terminal kinase. Cellular Signalling. 17(10):1254 - 1264.
- Cameron, P., McGachy A., Anderson M., Paul A., Coombs G. H., Mottram J. C., et al. 2004. Inhibition of lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophage IL-12 production by Leishmania mexicana amastigotes: the role of cysteine peptidases and the NF-kB signaling pathway. Journal of Immunology. 173():3297-3304.
- Cameron, P., Smith S. J., Giembycz M. A., Rotondo D., & Plevin R. 2003. Verotoxin activates mitogen-activated protein kinase in human peripheral blood monocytes: role in apoptosis and proinflammatory cytokine release. British Journal of Pharmacology. 140(7):1320 - 1330.
- Cameron, P., Bingham D., Paul A., Pavelka M., Cameron S., Rotondo D., et al. 2002. Essential role for Verotoxin in sustained stress-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor Kappa B signaling, stimulated by Escherichia coli O157:H7 in vero cells. Infection and Immunity. 70(10):5370 - 5380.