Two open PhD positions
From the 1st October 2017 I will be at the Freie Universität in Berlin, which is where the PhD positions will be based. Please follow this link for details
Dr. Sophie Armitage
Research Foci
- Host parasite interactions
- The role of the Dscam (Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule) gene in insect immunity
- Host resistance and tolerance towards bacteria
CV
Academic Education
- PhD, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK
- BSc Zoology, 1st class (Hons), University of Sheffield, UK
Positions
- Junior group leader / Volkswagen Foundation Advanced Postdoc Fellowship, Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster
- Volkswagen Foundation Postdoc Fellowship, Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster
- Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship, Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Carlsberg Foundation Individual Postdoc grant, Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Postdoc, Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Projects
- SPP 1399 - Teilprojekt: Host Immune Strategies: Remembering, Resisting, Tolerating, and Being Specific ()
Subproject in DFG-Joint Project Hosted at the University of Münster: DFG - Priority Programme | Project Number: AR 872/1-1 - The evolution of alternative splicing in Dscam: from genotype to immune phenotype (extension) ()
Individual Granted Project: VolkswagenStiftung | Project Number: 86 020
- SPP 1399 - Teilprojekt: Host Immune Strategies: Remembering, Resisting, Tolerating, and Being Specific ()
Articles
- Kurtz, J, and Armitage, SAO. . “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. . “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. . “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. . “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.
- Futo, M, Armitage, SAO, and Kurtz, J. . “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. . “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. . “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. . “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. . “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. . “Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule 1: testing for a role in insect immunity, behaviour and reproduction.” Royal Society Open Science 3 (4): 160138..
- Peuß, R, Eggert, H, Armitage, SAO, and Kurtz, J. . “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. . “Dscam and pancrustacean immune memory - A review of the evidence.” Developmental and Comparative Immunology 48. doi: 10.1016/j.dci.2014.03.004.
- Armitage, SAO, Sun, W, You, X, Kurtz, J, Schmucker, D, and Chen, W. . “Quantitative profiling of Drosophila melanogaster Dscam1 isoforms reveals no changes in splicing after bacterial exposure.” PloS one 9. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108660.
- Milutinovic, B, Stolpe, C, Peuß, R, Armitage, SAO, and Kurtz, J. . “The red flour beetle as a model for bacterial oral infections.” PloS one 8. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064638.
- Armitage, SAO, Fernández-Marín, H, Wcislo, WT, and Boomsma, JJ. . “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. . “The evolution of Dscam genes across the arthropods.” BMC Evolutionary Biology 12: 53.. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-12-53.
- Boughton, RK, Joop, G, and Armitage, SAO. . “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. . “Immune defense in leaf-cutting ants: A cross-fostering approach.” Evolution 65. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01241.x.
- Armitage, SAO, Boomsma, JJ, and Baer, BC. . “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. . “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.
- Hughes, DP, Evans, HC, Hywel-Jones, N, Boomsma, JJ, and Armitage, SAO. . “Novel fungal disease in complex leaf-cutting societies.” Ecological Entomology 34 (2): 214–220. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2311.2008.01066.x.
- Cremer, Sylvia, Armitage, Sophie A. O., and Schmid-Hempel, Paul. . “Social immunity.” Current biology 17 (16): R693–R702.. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2007.06.008.
- Kurtz, J, and Armitage, SAO. . “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. . “Sperm storage induces an immunity cost in ants.” Nature 441 (7095): 872–875. doi: 10.1038/nature04698.
- Rolff, J, Armitage, SAO, and Coltman, DW. . “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. . “Immune function responds to selection for cuticular colour in Tenebrio molitor.” Heredity 94 (6): 650–656. doi: 10.1038/sj.hdy.6800675.
- Armitage, SAO, Thompson, JJW, Rolff, J, and et, al. . “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.
- Thompson, JJW, Armitage, SAO, and Siva-Jothy, MT. . “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.
Supervised Theses
Doctoral Studies
Länger, Zoe Marie Evolution of epigenetic regulation in Coleoptera Bauhus, Marc Genetic and phenotypic characterization of immunological niche conformance in cavefish Yilmaz Terzioglu, Yeliz Identification of bacterial traits involved in interference with horizontal gene transfer in Escherichia coli 2025 Keizers, Marla Investigation of the role of pleiotropic regulatory systems on the evolution and adaptation of pathogenic and commensal Escherichia coli variants Dumevi, Rexford Mawunyo „Identifying Small Regulatory RNAs in Escherichia coli O104:H4 - Transcriptome Profile and Characterization of Pic-associated sRNAs“ R, Reshma The role of evolutionary capacitance for adaptability in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum Sahin, Özge A Bulk Segregation Analysis for an HSP90-released reduced eye phenotype in Tribolium castaneum Klimek, Hanna Molecular interactions of probiotic and extraintestinal Escherichia coli isolates with human intestinal epithelial cells. Wami, Haleluya Tesfaye Characterization of adoptive strategies of E. coli during long term interaction with human host Chitto, Marco The genomic stability of the pathogenicity islands of uropathogenic Escherichia coli 536: the role of extrinsic and intrinsic factors Zaldastanishvili, Elisabed Investigation of interaction and adaptation strategies of Escherichia coli in the urinary bladder Kästner, Niklas Of anxious males and angry females: how genes related to serotonergic neurotransmission, social experience, and the female reproductive cycle affect anxiety-like and social behaviour in mice Schmidt, Alexander Behavioural and physiological trade-off in an invasive freshwater amphipod (Echinogammarus berilloni, CATTA) Fischer, Josephine PU.1 dependent epigenetic control of neutrophil activation Franke, Frederik Parasite-host interaction in a cestode-fish system: Schistocephalus solidus and its obligatory second intermediate host, the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) Karczewski, Karsten Impacts of agricultural used substances on the bacterial community structure in groundwater ecosystems Schüler, Andreas Evolution of Protein Domain Repeats in Metazoa Peuß, Robert The molecular underpinnings of phenotypic plasticity in Tribolium castaneum immune responses Kutzer, Megan Host immune strategies: remembering, resisting and tolerating Momir Futo The role of microbes as mediators of immune memory in insects Lepennetier, Gildas Introns features and gene architecture in Eukaryotes. Eggert, Hendrik Evolutionary Ecology of Trans-generational immune priming in Tribolium castaneum Milutinovic, Barbara Coevolution between the red flour beetle and Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria Dittmar, Janine Reciprocal adaptation of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and the tapeworm Schistocephalus solidus in different environments Pande, Amit Evolutionary Impact of Vertebrate Transposons Hiersche, Milan Multifaktorielle Assoziationsmuster con SNP/CNV Daten zu kardiovaskulären Phänotypen James Peter, Jessin Janice Evolution of U12-type intron and its role in gene expression regulation Sietmann, Anika Comparative genomics and genetic analysis of hypertensive end organ damage Hammerschmidt, Katrin Host parasite interactions in a cestode with a complex life cycle, Schistocephalus solidus Postdoctoral Study
Schmitz, Jürgen Echoes from the Past: What Ancient Genomic Insertions say about the Phylogeny of Species