Dr Claire Shannon-Lowe PhD

• Associate Professor in Virology
• PhD in Virology 2002, The Royal Free and University College Hospital
• MSc in Medical Microbiology 1997, The University of Surrey
• BSc Hons in Applied Biology 1993

Dr Shannon-Lowe initially trained as a clinical virologist at The Royal Free Hospital, London where she gained extensive training in a broad range of pathogenic viruses and research techniques. Following her PhD in Virology, she took up a postdoc position at the University of Birmingham to study the entry mechanisms of EBV into epithelial cells with Professors Alan Rickinson and Henri-Jacques Delecluse. During this time she realised very little was known about how EBV entered T cells and NK cells and how EBV drove the pathogenesis of the T/NK cell lymphoproliferative diseases.

Dr Shannon-Lowe was awarded an MRC New Investigator award and established her own research group examining how EBV contributes the pathogenesis of T/NK cell LPDs and malignancies. Importantly, her group has established a diagnostic method to identify patients with Chronic active EBV, EBV-associated haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and aggressive NK leukaemia. Her research group has since established gastric organoids to study how EBV contributes to gastric carcinoma.

• Immunity and Infection, BMedSci, year 2
• Immunity, Infection and Haematology, MBChB, year 2
• Biosciences
• Dentistry
• Intercalated MBChB
• Lymphoma year 3 BMedSci
• Cancer BMedSci year 2
• MSc Immunology and Immunotherapy

If you are interesting in studying any of these subject areas please contact Dr Claire Shannon-Lowe directly, or for any general doctoral research enquiries, please email mds-gradschool@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

For a full list of available Doctoral Research opportunities, please visit our Doctoral Research programme listings.

Research interests

Epstein Barr virus associated T cell and natural killer cell lymphoproliferative diseases. Dr Shannon-Lowe is an expert in EBV infections of T cells and NK cells, where infection usually results in a range of diseases including chronic active EBV (CAEBV) and haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), through to the highly aggressive malignancies including extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma (ENKTL) and aggressive NK leukaemia (ANKL).

Myeloid derived suppressor cells.

Dr Shannon-Lowe’s team have shown that EBV-infected T cells and NK cells are not eradicated from patients despite the presence of EBV-specific cytotoxic T cells due to the large expansions of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) in the patient blood. These MDSC inhibit the growth and function of CTLs, enabling the survival and transformation of EBV-infected T/NK cells. Furthermore, the EBV-infected cells are resistant to the current chemotherapy regimens. Dr Shannon-Lowe’s team is therefore investigating how the infected cells drive the expansion of the MDSCs and novel treatments for CAEBV and HLH.

Resistance to chemotherapy.

In collaboration with Dr Gemma Kelly at the WEHI in Melbourne, Australia, the Shannon-Lowe team has shown CAEBV and the EBV-associated T/NK cell malignancies are highly resistant to conventional chemotherapies. Using the novel BH3 mimetics, the teams showed the infected cells are reliant on the anti-apoptotic protein, BCL-XL, for their survival. They are currently investigating how BCL-XL can be used synergistically with other drugs to treat these highly aggressive diseases.    

Identification of novel effective drug combinations.

The EBV-associated T/NK LPDs have proven to be resistant to many types of drugs, not just the DNA damaging agents. Therefore, to identify effective drugs or combinations of drugs, we are using alternative identification strategies.

EBV-associated gastric carcinoma.

The Shannon-Lowe group has had a long-term interest in EBV infection of epithelial cells. We have now established gastric organoids to help answer how EBV contributes to the pathogenesis of gastric carcinoma.

• Editor, Microbiology Spectrum, ASM Virology
• External Course Examiner, University of Sheffield, MRes in Clinical Oncology
• Virology Division Member, Microbiology Society
• International EBV Association Committee Member