Dr Philip Padfield BSc (Hons), PhD

Biochemical Society (UK)

Nutrition Society (UK)

My current research interests are centred on improving our limited understanding of how indiviudal components of the human diet modify the internal biochemistry of the body's cells to either promote health and well being or faciliate the progression of disease. Resaerch project currently ongoing in my lab include:

1) Can diet modify of the profile of eicosanoid synthesis? This project employs a nutriomic based systems approach to expand our understanding of how dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) influence the profile of eicosanoid synthesis elicited by an inflammatory stimulus. The primary aim of the project is use in experimental data generated in vitro to develop a new dynamic flux model of eicosanoid synthesis. This will be used to examine in silico how dietary supplementation with arachidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid influences the PUFA content of cell lipids and the expression of the individual enzymes components of the eicosanoid biosynthetic machinery, and how these changes influence the pattern of eicosanoids generated by an inflammatory stimulus.

2) Does the fatty acid content of the diet alter the inflammatory phenotype of the colonic mucosa?  We are investigating how the fatty acid content of the diet, specifically the relative concentrations of saturated fatty acids, omega-3 PUFAs and omega-6 PUFAs, influence the transcriptome and proteome of colonic epiithelial cells, and how any changes impact the inflammatory phenotype of the colonic epithelium.

Over the past 25 years I've amassed a detailed knowledge and expertise in many areas of cell biology and biochemistry, including the use of biochemical and morphological based assays to explore the molecular requiremenst of vesicle mediated protein transport, protein-protein interactions and intracellular signalling. Techniques that have been, or are being, routienaly used in my laboratory include: isolation and primary culture of colonic epithelail cells and pancreatic acinar cells, culture of assorted immortalised epithelial cell lines, subcellular fractionation, fatty acid anlysi by TLC and GC, protein isolation and purification by LC and HPLC, western blot analysis, immunoprecipitation and various assays for enzyme activity.

Programme Director   MSc/Dip in Clinical Biochemistry

Programme Director   PG Certificate in Research Methods in Translational Medicine

Programme Director   MRes in Tanslational Medicine

Postgraduate Teaching Director for School of Translational Medicine

1999 - Present     Senior Lecturer, School Translataional Medicine, University of Manchester, UK

1993 – 1999        Assistant Professor, Departments of Internal Medicine and Pathology, St. Louis university, St. Louis, MO USA
1990 – 1993        Assistant Research Scientist, Department of Cell Biology, Yale University, CT USA
1988 – 1990        Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Cell Biology, Yale University, CT USA
 

BSc (Hons) Biochemistry, University of Bristol, UK

PhD (Physiology), University of Manchester, UK

Collaborators

Dr Cath O'Neill, School of Translational Medicine, University of Manchester

Dr John McLaughlin, School of Translational Medicine, University of Manchester

Prof Anna Nicoloau, School of Life Sciences, University of Bradford

Dr Stephen Wilkinson, Dept. Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Sheffield