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

Dr. Sophie Armitage

Hüfferstr. 1, room 110
48149 Münster

Academic Profiles

  • Research Areas

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

  • CV

    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

  • Publications

    • Kurtz J, Armitage SAO. . ‘Dissecting the dynamics of trans-generational immune priming.’ Molecular Ecology 26, No. 15: 3857–3859. doi: 10.1111/mec.14190.
    • Armitage SAO, Kurtz J, Brites D, Dong Y, Du Pasquier L, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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 Malagoli D, 241–274.
    • Peuß R, Wensing KU, Woestmann L, Eggert H, Milutinović B, Sroka MGU, Scharsack JP, Kurtz J, Armitage SAO. . ‘Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule 1: testing for a role in insect immunity, behaviour and reproduction.’ Royal Society Open Science 3, No. 4: 160138.

    • Peuß R, Eggert H, Armitage SAO, Kurtz J. . ‘Downregulation of the evolutionary capacitor Hsp90 is mediated by social cues.’ Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 282. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2041.
    • Armitage SAO, Peuß R, 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, 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, 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, Boomsma JJ. . ‘An evaluation of the possible adaptive function of fungal brood covering by attine ants.’ Evolution 66, No. 6: 1966–1975. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01568.x.
    • Armitage SAO, Freiburg RY, Kurtz J, 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, Armitage SAO. . ‘Outdoor immunology: methodological considerations for ecologists.’ Functional Ecology 25, No. 1: 81–100. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01817.x.
    • Armitage SAO, Broch JF, Fernández-Marín H, Nash DR, 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, Baer BC. . ‘Diploid male production in a leaf-cutting ant.’ Ecological Entomology 35, No. 2: 175–182. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2311.2009.01167.x.
    • Armitage SAO Boomsma JJ. . ‘The effects of age and social interactions on innate immunity in a leaf-cutting ant.’ Journal of Insect Physiolog 56, No. 7: 780–787. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2010.01.009.

    • Hughes DP, Evans HC, Hywel-Jones N, Boomsma JJ Armitage SAO. . ‘Novel fungal disease in complex leaf-cutting societies.’ Ecological Entomology 34, No. 2: 214–220. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2311.2008.01066.x.

    • Cremer Sylvia, Armitage Sophie A. O., Schmid-Hempel Paul. . ‘Social immunity.’ Current biology 17, No. 16: R693–R702. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2007.06.008.

    • Kurtz J, 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, Boomsma JJ. . ‘Sperm storage induces an immunity cost in ants.’ Nature 441, No. 7095: 872–875. doi: 10.1038/nature04698.

    • Rolff J, Armitage SAO, Coltman DW. . ‘Genetic constraints and sexual dimorphism in immune defense.’ Evolution 59, No. 8: 1844–1850. doi: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2005.tb01831.x.
    • Armitage SAO, Siva-Jothy MT. . ‘Immune function responds to selection for cuticular colour in Tenebrio molitor.’ Heredity 94, No. 6: 650–656. doi: 10.1038/sj.hdy.6800675.

    • Armitage SAO, Thompson JJW, Rolff J, et al. . ‘Examining costs of induced and constitutive immune investment in Tenebrio molitor.’ Journal of Evolutionary Biology 16, No. 5: 1038–1044. doi: 10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00551.x.

    • Thompson JJW, Armitage SAO, Siva-Jothy MT. . ‘Cuticular colour change after imaginal eclosion is time-constrained: blacker beetles darken faster.’ Physiological Entomology 27, No. 2: 136–141. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3032.2002.00278.x.