Dr. Sophie Armitage

• Host parasite interactions
• The role of the Dscam (Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule) gene in insect immunity
• Host resistance and tolerance towards bacteria

Academic Education

1999 – 2003

PhD, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK

1996 – 1999

BSc Zoology, 1st class (Hons), University of Sheffield, UK

Positions

2012 – 2015

Junior group leader / Volkswagen Foundation Advanced Postdoc Fellowship, Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster

2008 – 2012

Volkswagen Foundation Postdoc Fellowship, Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster

2005 – 2007

Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship, Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

2005

Carlsberg Foundation Individual Postdoc grant, Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

2004

Postdoc, Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

• SPP 1399 - Teilprojekt: Host Immune Strategies: Remembering, Resisting, Tolerating, and Being Specific (2012 – 2016)
  Subproject in DFG-Joint Project Hosted at University of Münster: DFG - Schwerpunktprogramm | Project Number: AR 872/1-1
• The evolution of alternative splicing in Dscam: from genotype to immune phenotype (extension) (2012 – 2014)
  Individual Granted Project: VolkswagenStiftung | Project Number: 86 020

• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013
• 2012
• 2011
• 2010
• 2009
• 2007
• 2006
• 2005
• 2003
• 2002

2017

• Kurtz, J, and Armitage, SAO. 2017. “Dissecting the dynamics of trans-generational immune priming.” Molecular Ecology 26 (15): 3857–3859. doi: 10.1111/mec.14190.
• Armitage, SAO, Kurtz, J, Brites, D, Dong, Y, Du, Pasquier L, and Wang, HC. 2017. “Dscam1 in pancrustacean immunity: Current status and a look to the future.” Frontiers in immunology 8. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00662.
• Franke, F, Armitage, SAO, Kutzer, MAM, Kurtz, J, and Scharsack, JP. 2017. “Environmental temperature variation influences fitness trade-offs and tolerance in a fish-tapeworm association.” Parasites & Vectors 10. doi: 10.1186/s13071-017-2192-7.
• Evison, SEF, Gallagher, JD, Thompson, JWJ, Siva-Jothy, MT, and Armitage, SAO. 2017. “Cuticular colour reflects underlying architecture and is affected by a limiting resource.” Journal of Insect Physiology 98: 7–13. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2016.11.005.

2016

• Futo, M, Armitage, SAO, and Kurtz, J. 2016. “Microbiota plays a role in oral immune priming in Tribolium castaneum.” Frontiers in Microbiology 6. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.01383.
• Armitage, SAO, Fernández-Marín, H, Boomsma, JJ, and Wcislo, WT. 2016. “Slowing them down will make them lose: a role for attine ant crop fungus in defending pupae against infections?” Journal of Animal Ecology 85: 1210–1221.. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.12543.
• Kutzer, MAM, and Armitage, SAO. 2016. “Maximising fitness in the face of parasites: a review of host tolerance.” Zoology 119: 281–289. doi: 10.1016/j.zool.2016.05.011.
• Kutzer, MAM, and Armitage, SAO. 2016. “The effect of diet and time after bacterial infection on fecundity, resistance, and tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster.” Ecology and Evolution 6: 4229–4242.. doi: 10.1002/ece3.2185.
• Armitage, SAO, and Brites, D. 2016. “The immune-related roles and the evolutionary history of Dscam in arthropods.” in The evolution of the immune system: Conservation and diversification, edited by D Malagoli.
• Peuß, R, Wensing, KU, Woestmann, L, Eggert, H, Milutinović, B, Sroka, MGU, Scharsack, JP, Kurtz, J, and Armitage, SAO. 2016. “Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule 1: testing for a role in insect immunity, behaviour and reproduction.” Royal Society Open Science 3 (4): 160138..

2015

• Peuß, R, Eggert, H, Armitage, SAO, and Kurtz, J. 2015. “Downregulation of the evolutionary capacitor Hsp90 is mediated by social cues.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 282. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2041.
• Armitage, SAO, Peuß, R, and Kurtz, J. 2015. “Dscam and pancrustacean immune memory - A review of the evidence.” Developmental and Comparative Immunology 48. doi: 10.1016/j.dci.2014.03.004.

2014

• Armitage, SAO, Sun, W, You, X, Kurtz, J, Schmucker, D, and Chen, W. 2014. “Quantitative profiling of Drosophila melanogaster Dscam1 isoforms reveals no changes in splicing after bacterial exposure.” PloS one 9. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108660.

2013

• Milutinovic, B, Stolpe, C, Peuß, R, Armitage, SAO, and Kurtz, J. 2013. “The red flour beetle as a model for bacterial oral infections.” PloS one 8. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064638.

2012

• Armitage, SAO, Fernández-Marín, H, Wcislo, WT, and Boomsma, JJ. 2012. “An evaluation of the possible adaptive function of fungal brood covering by attine ants.” Evolution 66 (6): 1966–1975. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01568.x.
• Armitage, SAO, Freiburg, RY, Kurtz, J, and Bravo, IG. 2012. “The evolution of Dscam genes across the arthropods.” BMC Evolutionary Biology 12: 53.. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-12-53.

2011

• Boughton, RK, Joop, G, and Armitage, SAO. 2011. “Outdoor immunology: methodological considerations for ecologists.” Functional Ecology 25 (1): 81–100. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01817.x.
• Armitage, SAO, Broch, JF, Fernández-Marín, H, Nash, DR, and Boomsma, JJ. 2011. “Immune defense in leaf-cutting ants: A cross-fostering approach.” Evolution 65. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01241.x.

2010

• Armitage, SAO, Boomsma, JJ, and Baer, BC. 2010. “Diploid male production in a leaf-cutting ant.” Ecological Entomology 35 (2): 175–182. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2311.2009.01167.x.
• Armitage, SAO, and Boomsma, JJ. 2010. “The effects of age and social interactions on innate immunity in a leaf-cutting ant.” Journal of Insect Physiolog 56 (7): 780–787. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2010.01.009.

2009

• Hughes, DP, Evans, HC, Hywel-Jones, N, Boomsma, JJ, and Armitage, SAO. 2009. “Novel fungal disease in complex leaf-cutting societies.” Ecological Entomology 34 (2): 214–220. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2311.2008.01066.x.

2007

• Cremer, Sylvia, Armitage, Sophie A. O., and Schmid-Hempel, Paul. 2007. “Social immunity.” Current biology 17 (16): R693–R702.. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2007.06.008.

2006

• Kurtz, J, and Armitage, SAO. 2006. “Alternative adaptive immunity in invertebrates.” Trends in Immunology 27: 493–496. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2006.09.001.
• Baer, B, Armitage, SAO, and Boomsma, JJ. 2006. “Sperm storage induces an immunity cost in ants.” Nature 441 (7095): 872–875. doi: 10.1038/nature04698.

2005

• Rolff, J, Armitage, SAO, and Coltman, DW. 2005. “Genetic constraints and sexual dimorphism in immune defense.” Evolution 59 (8): 1844–1850. doi: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2005.tb01831.x.
• Armitage, SAO, and Siva-Jothy, MT. 2005. “Immune function responds to selection for cuticular colour in Tenebrio molitor.” Heredity 94 (6): 650–656. doi: 10.1038/sj.hdy.6800675.

2003

• Armitage, SAO, Thompson, JJW, Rolff, J, and et, al. 2003. “Examining costs of induced and constitutive immune investment in Tenebrio molitor.” Journal of Evolutionary Biology 16 (5): 1038–1044. doi: 10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00551.x.

2002

• Thompson, JJW, Armitage, SAO, and Siva-Jothy, MT. 2002. “Cuticular colour change after imaginal eclosion is time-constrained: blacker beetles darken faster.” Physiological Entomology 27 (2): 136–141. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3032.2002.00278.x.