Professor Gordon Dougan

Gordon is the Board of Management representative for the area of Pathogens and head of the Microbial Pathogenesis group, which investigates the relationship between pathogens and hosts.

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has an integrated programme to exploit genomic approaches to study host-pathogen interactions and the analysis of microbial populations. As well as focusing on Gordon's research interests, the Microbial Pathogenesis team provides significant support to other Sanger Institute teams including the Pathogen Genomics group and the Mouse Genetic Programme.

As well as representing the Pathogen area on the Sanger Institute Board of Management, Gordon is an Honorary Professor at the University of Cambridge, linked with the Veterinary School, and a Fellow of Wolfson College. Before joining the Sanger Institute he was the Director of the Centre for Molecular Microbiology and Infection at Imperial College London where he remains a visiting Professor. There, Gordon was responsible for securing multi-million pound funding for a new building in Kensington and providing infrastructure for the science. During his career, Gordon has served as a referee, consultant and board member for numerous respected institutions, universities, research committees, and organisations as well as the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in Britain. He is a visiting Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Veterinary School at the University of Nottingham. Gordon is currently a Trustee of the International Vaccine Institute in Korea and was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2002. He graduated with a degree in Biochemistry and received his PhD from the University of Sussex. He conducted postdoctoral studies at the University of Washington in the laboratory of Stanley Falkow who was at that time a pioneer in the application of molecular techniques to study pathogens. He then worked for over ten years in industry developing vaccines and novel drugs at an internationally renowned multinational company and still consults extensively in the private sector. Gordon has and continues to participate in early and late clinical studies on vaccines and has worked extensively for the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Selected Publications

• The neglected role of antibody in protection against bacteremia caused by nontyphoidal strains of Salmonella in African children.

  MacLennan CA, Gondwe EN, Msefula CL, Kingsley RA, Thomson NR, White SA, Goodall M, Pickard DJ, Graham SM, Dougan G, Hart CA, Molyneux ME and Drayson MT

  The Journal of clinical investigation 2008;118;4;1553-62

  PUBMED: 18357343; PMC: 2268878; DOI: 10.1172/JCI33998

• A linear plasmid truncation induces unidirectional flagellar phase change in H:z66 positive Salmonella Typhi.

  Baker S, Holt K, Whitehead S, Goodhead I, Perkins T, Stocker B, Hardy J and Dougan G

  Molecular microbiology 2007;66;5;1207-18

  PUBMED: 17976161; PMC: 2652032; DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2007.05995.x

• Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium exploits inflammation to compete with the intestinal microbiota.

  Stecher B, Robbiani R, Walker AW, Westendorf AM, Barthel M, Kremer M, Chaffron S, Macpherson AJ, Buer J, Parkhill J, Dougan G, von Mering C and Hardt WD

  PLoS biology 2007;5;10;2177-89

  PUBMED: 17760501; PMC: 1951780; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0050244

• Requirement of bic/microRNA-155 for normal immune function.

  Rodriguez A, Vigorito E, Clare S, Warren MV, Couttet P, Soond DR, van Dongen S, Grocock RJ, Das PP, Miska EA, Vetrie D, Okkenhaug K, Enright AJ, Dougan G, Turner M and Bradley A

  Science (New York, N.Y.) 2007;316;5824;608-11

  PUBMED: 17463290; PMC: 2610435; DOI: 10.1126/science.1139253

Related links

• Global health research