Dr Monique Gangloff

Biography

Her latest research investigates the structure and function of mosquito immune receptors that have diverged and undergone gene duplication under the influence of selective pressure by Malaria-causing Plasmodium parasites and viruses such as Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya.  Her background is in molecular and structural biology, in particular X-ray crystallography. My research interests lie at the intersection between structural biology and signal transduction with the aim of understanding the molecular mechanisms of receptor-ligand interactions and activation of intracellular signalling pathways with atomic details. She enjoy collaborative work and have successfully used protein modelling and docking to unravel the activation mechanism of mammalian TLR4 in collaboration with Professors Nick Gay and Clare Bryant, whose approach is to gain insight in innate immunity based on its species-specific response to molecular patterns of microbial origin. I am also interested in clarifying the mode of action of non-canonical TLR ligands, such as cationic lipids developed for gene therapy and vaccine adjuvancy. This work is done in collaboration with Professors Jean-Marie Ruysschaert and Camilla Foged. Ultimately, She want to explore the structure-function relationships in insect and mammalian species to learn more about the fascinating mechanisms of protein network evolution. 

Research Interest

host-pathogen interaction ; innate immunity ; structural biology ; structure-function studies ; Toll receptors ; bioinformatics ; Toll-like receptors ; X-ray crystallography