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Doctor Susan Wilson

Associate Professor

Research interests

  • The effects of pollutants on bronchial inflammation in asthma, rhinitis and COPD
  • Relationship between squamous metaplasia, smoking history and COPD
  • The role of the eosinophil in the airway remodelling response

More research

Connect with Susan

Email: s.j.wilson@soton.ac.uk

Address: Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road Shirley, SO16 6YD (View in Google Maps)

About

Dr Susan Wilson is an Associate Professor in Histology and Head of the Histochemistry Research Unit within Medicine at the University of Southampton. Her research focuses on the pathobiology of the allergic inflammatory response and airways remodelling in the lungs in severe asthma. Teaching responsibilities include leading the BM5 project module and technical teaching across the Faculty and University. She is also Chair of Faculty of Medicine Ethics Committee.  

Susan Wilson initially trained as a Biomedical Scientist in histopathology within the National Health Service. After gaining her Fellowship of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences in Cellular Pathology, she took a position at the University of Southampton. Susan was a founding member of Professor Holgate’s asthma bronchoscopy research programme and provided histopathology support. This work has been key to developing and furthering our understanding of the pathobiology of asthma. During this time she studied for a PhD in Mucosal Inflammation. Susan has over 30 years' experience in histopathology and now heads the Histochemistry Research Unit (HRU) within the Faculty of Medicine and has her own program of research.

The HRU (http://www.som.soton.ac.uk/research/sites/hru/) is a core facility and offers a full histopathology support service for work being undertaken Faculty of Medicine and wider University. The Unit is internationally recognised for its histopathology expertise, having numerous external collaborative links both with academic and commercial organisations across Europe and the USA. It is particularly known internationally for the use of glycol methacrylate (GMA) resin embedding of mucosal biopsies taken from the lung, nose, gut, conjunctiva and skin for immunohistochemistry procedures. A range of image analysis techniques are can then be applied to the stained sections. This GMA technique is utilised for many research projects investigating the mechanisms of mucosal inflammation, particularly asthma, rhinitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The HRU also undertakes immunohistochemical and histological analysis for clinical trials, investigating the effects of existing and novel therapeutics on mucosal inflammation.

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