Profile: Fiona Foster

Fiona has spent the last four and a half years researching the role of calcium in the human immune system. In particular, she is interested in neutrophils, which are cells that attack and destroy invading bacteria. The neutrophils are the first line of defence against infection, attacking all kinds of bacteria and recruiting T-cells and B-cells. The T-cells and B-cells then launch a specific immune response to that bacterium and retain a memory of the infection so that next time they can respond faster.

As Fiona has found, calcium plays a vital role in the destruction of invading pathogens by neutrophils.

"Understanding the roles that calcium plays in the body will also help us in understanding a severe T-cell activation deficiency, where the calcium influx pathway is absent. This pathway is normally present in all cells in the body, not just the neutrophils, but because the neutrophils are not active in people with this condition, they are prone to frequent bacterial and viral infections. I hope that my research will make a difference to these people and hopefully influence new researchers to carry on asking the questions that shape our medical world".