Pfizer Fellow Stephen Turner in his lab at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Pfizer Fellow Stephen Turner in his lab at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology
'Lots of vaccines don’t give good memory and it’s not really understood why,' explains Stephen Turner, Pfizer Fellow. Memory cells retain a blueprint of a virus’ protein structure after an infection has subsided. 'Remembering' the infection, they can respond more rapidly upon re-infection.
Stephen Turner received the Pfizer Fellowship, an extremely prestigious and internationally competitive prize, in 2007. Pfizer awards $1.0 million over a five year period to researchers selected by an independent panel of respected research leaders. 'This Pfizer Fellowship fills a gap in the current system,' says Stephen. 'Few grants support postdocs in their transition to becoming senior researchers. It is a critical time in terms of making a career decision; whether to stay on, go overseas, or change careers.'
'We are interested in how the Killer T cells recognise the receptors involved and how they maintain the ability to respond quickly to a viral infection', says Stephen. These hitmen of the immune system can recognise an infected cell when the viral protein fragments are presented to them on so-called 'MHC receptors' at the cells' surface. Releasing a 'smart bomb' armed with granzymes they can destroy the infected cell. The elucidation of this mechanism secured Peter Doherty (a mentor to Stephen, in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology) and Rolf Zinkernagel the Nobel Prize.
'The Pfizer Fellowship has given me significant leverage and takes the pressure off. It allows me to try things that may not necessarily work. It enables you to do bigger science.'