Dr Sally Clayton PhD

• PhD in Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham (2016-2020)
• MSci in Biochemistry, University of Cambridge (2012-2013)
• BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge (2009-2012)

Sally completed her undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge (Girton College), where she specialised in biochemistry and molecular biology. This was followed by a master’s degree in Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.

Sally then worked in the Technology Development Team at Cambridge-based biotech company Horizon Discovery from 2013-2016. Here she focused on optimising methods of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, including in primary T cells, and headed up the guide RNA validation service.

In 2016 Sally moved to the University of Birmingham to undertake her PhD with Professor Andy Clark as part of the Arthritis Research UK Rheumatoid Arthritis Centre of Excellence (RACE) PhD programme. Sally’s PhD project focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory therapeutics glucocorticoids, specifically their action in macrophages.

After completing her PhD in 2020 Sally took a post-doctoral research position with Professor Andy Clark (Department of Inflammation and Ageing) and Professor Dan Tennant (Department of Metabolism and Systems Science) at the University of Birmingham, working on the metabolic regulation of macrophages during inflammation.

In late 2023 Sally was awarded a Wellcome Trust Early Career Award to investigate mitochondrial regulation of myeloid cells during acute inflammation. She started this position in early 2024, working in the Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy in collaboration with Dr Sarah Dimeloe.

Sally is interested in supervising Doctoral and Master’s research students in the areas of mitochondrial regulation and immunometabolism.

Please email s.clayton@bham.ac.uk for enquiries.

Dr Clayton studies the molecular regulation of immune cells during acute and chronic inflammatory conditions. Specifically, Sally’s work focuses on the dynamic regulation of mitochondria and other metabolic pathways in inflammation, interrogating how these pathways control the function of myeloid cells such as macrophages, and how this contributes to harmful processes during disease.

In her previous work, Sally identified the function of a previously un-characterised protein that acts as a subunit of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (Clayton et al. Science Advances 2021). This protein is a novel member of the NDUFA4 (aka COXFA4) subunit family, and is highly expressed during inflammation. With her Wellcome Trust Early Career Award, Sally is working to uncover how this mitochondrial pathway impacts immune cell activity, and what role it plays in acute inflammatory disease.

Sally also co-supervises PhD students with Dr Sarah Dimeloe and Professor Andy Clark, looking into various aspects of macrophage metabolic regulation, and how these pathways are impacted by therapeutics commonly used to treat inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.

Current Research Themes

Immunometabolism; Mitochondria; Inflammation; Inflammatory disease; Myeloid cells; Macrophages

Other Research Interests

Rheumatoid arthritis; Glucocorticoids; microRNAs