Dr Sophie E Acton (Pinner)

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2704-716X
University website: www.ucl.ac.uk/users/sophie-acton

EDUCATION

2008

PhD Biochemistry – Tumour Cell Biology Laboratory, Cancer Research UK London Research Institute. Awarded by University College London (Supervisor: Dr Erik Sahai)

2004

Masters of Pharmacology. Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of Bath. Including 12-month industry placement  (Millenium Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, UK)

CURRENT POSITION

2016-

Junior Group Leader/Cancer Research UK Career Development Fellow – MRC laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology (LMCB), University College London, UK

PREVIOUS POSITIONS

2012 – 2016

Postdoctoral Researcher – Immunobiology Laboratory, Cancer Research UK London Research Institute. (Supervisor Caetano Reis e Sousa)

2008 – 2011

Postdoctoral Researcher – Cancer Immunology and AIDS department, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, USA. (Supervisor Shannon J. Turley)

FELLOWSHIPS

  • Cancer Research UK Career Development Fellowship 2016-2022
  • Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship 2009-2016

PRIZES

  • Shortlisted ‘Women of the future award’ – Science category
  • L’Oreal UNESCO for Women in Science Fellowship
  • Hardiman-Redon Postdoctoral prize (£500 awarded annually to to the best postdoctoral publication, awarded by Cancer Research UK London Research Institute)
  • Pontecorvo Thesis Prize (£500 awarded annually to the Cancer Research UK funded student submitting the best PhD thesis)

INVITED TALKS

Jan 2018

Invited speaker, London Cell Motility Club, UK

Invited speaker, Institute of Immunity and Transplantation, Royal free hospital, UK

Nov 2017

Invited speaker, Institute of Immunity and Transplantation, Royal free hospital, UK

Nov 2017

Invited speaker, NCRI conference

Session – Mechanics, a critical but forgotten hallmark of cancer, UK

Oct 2017

Invited lecture, Radboud University, Njimegen, Netherlands

Mar 2017

Invited lecture – Dutch Society for Immunology Symposium 2017 – Lunteren, Netherlands

Jul 2016

UCL Cancer Institute Annual conference – Host Tariq Enver

Jul 2016

Cancer Research UK Fellows meeting – York

Jun 2016

University of York – Host Mark Coles

Nov 2015 

 University of Southampton – Host Prof. Al-Shamkhani

SELECTED ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Nov  2013

StIG –Stromal Immunology conference, Cambridge UK

May 2011

AAI Immunology conference – San Francisco, USA

July 2010

FASEB Meeting – Immunoreceptors, Snowmass Colorado, USA

May 2010

AAI conference: Immunology 2010 Baltimore, USA

TRAINING COURSES

2016

Cancer Research UK Women of Influence (management mentorship scheme)

2016

EMBO Lab Management workshop – Heidelberg Germany

2016

Media training – MHP communications/ENGINE – London

2013

Narrative Skills Workshop – Wellcome Trust

2012

Wellcome Trust and BBC placement – 5 week internship on BBC Horizon’s

COLLABORATIONS

MRC/LMCB/UCL: Prof Buzz Baum, Dr Chris Stefan, Dr Franck Pichaud, Dr Yanlan Mao, Dr Ewa Paulch, Dr Guilaume Charras

Dr Annemiek B. van Spriel, Tetraspanin CD37 regulates C-type lectin receptor 2 (CLEC-2) function on dendritic cells (manuscript in preparation), Radboud University Medical Center, The Netherlands

Dr Chris Tape Mass spectrometry/phosphoproteomics screening of podoplanin signaling, Institute of Cancer Research, London

Professor Steve Watson, Characterisation of CLEC-2 function, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom