Dr Jillian Barlow

Teaching and scholarship

My teaching is predominantly research-led. I try to illustrate the main biological concepts by putting them in the context of the research field from which they emerged. I try to keep my teaching current by integrating novel techniques and approaches being used by researchers today.

I believe scientific information is most powerfully conveyed by understanding the experiments that led to discovery of the biological mechanism and often use illustrative experimental stories to reinforce my teaching. I enjoy teaching in an interactive manner and encourage questions from students.

My tutorials are very interactive with a mix of presentations, peer-to-peer learning, and data analysis. Participation by all members is welcome.

I am a research active scientist in the fields of immunology and haematopoiesis. Typically projects will be a mix of cellular (cell culture, flow cytometry, microscopy) and molecular (qPCR, RNA-seq) assays with some projects focusing on mining “big data” for novel molecular targets for driving cell fate choice.

Research

Jillian earned a BSc in Biology with Industrial Experience at the University of Manchester and obtained her PhD in immunology at the University of Cambridge. Her postdoctoral research was at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge where she studied cellular immunology, haematological malignancies, and the immune response that occurs during allergic asthma. During her 16 years at the LMB, Jillian was a member of Dr. Andrew McKenzie’s group and played key roles in the discovery of group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s), their characterisation in the allergic asthma response, and the role of key cytokines in their regulation (Barlow JL; Salimi M et al 2013 JEM, Barlow JL et al 2012 JACI. She also helped to develop a novel disease model for bone marrow failure syndromes (Barlow JL et al 2010 Nat. Med.). Jillian has also worked closely with industrial partners to develop novel therapeutics targeting molecules of the immune system. Her work has been cited more than 6000 times and her h-Index is 27. 

In 2019, she relocated to the University of York in the Department of Biology where she continues her research on the mouse and human immune system. Her teaching is predominantly research-led, regularly weaving historical and current experimental data throughout her lectures.  Her laboratory research is in the fields of immunology and haematopoiesis utilising a wide range of cellular and molecular biology approaches.

Current opportunities

I am always keen to hear from motivated students interested in pursuing research projects in the fields of immunology and haematopoiesis. Opportunities for summer placements and longer-term research projects can be discussed by emailing me.