research interest
I am a marine evolutionary biologist interested in the coevolutionary relationship between male pregnancy and the immune system in syngnathid fishes. Drastic genomic rearrangements of immune system components in some syngnathid species have raised questions concerning their immunological capabilities and potential links to other physiological processes such as the evolution of advanced male pregnancy. During my PhD, I aimed to help elucidate these evolutionary peculiarities by way of a series of transcriptome-driven experiments, exploring the concepts of immunological tolerance and immune cell dynamics.
Male pregnancy and immunological tolerance
Syngnathid fishes are the sole evolutionary exponents of the unique male pregnancy of which they have established an array of morphological brooding phenotypes and strategies. With a shared common ancestor this brooding variation renders syngnathids as a useful model group for assessing evolutionary adaptation. Immunological tolerance represents a crucial change required for successful pregnancy in viviparous species, and it appears this is also the case for advanced forms of male pregnancy in Syngnathiformes. My research aims to further understand the mechanics of such immunological processes and disentangle the intricacies found between different brooding strategies.
Immune cell dynamics
Genomic losses and rearrangements associated with the syngnathid immune system could have led to changes in immune cell composition and diversity. Recently we characterized the first pipefish immune cell repertoire by using single-cell transcriptomics. This represents the first step in a new research direction that aims to understand the cellular repercussions of the genomic losses within the lineage. Identifying the presence or absence of specialized immune cell types could provide further context to their immune response strategies and their approaches to maintaining immunological homeostasis.
CV
- Feb 2022 – Present: PostDoc Researcher in Prof. Olivia Roth's working group, Kiel University (CAU), Germany.
- Nov 2017 - Feb 2022: PhD Researcher in Prof. Olivia Roth's working group, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR), Germany. Research topic: "Male Pregnancy and the Evolutionary Importance of Immunological Tolerance in Syngnathid Fishes".
- Sept 2014 - July 2015: Master of Science (MSc) in Tropical Marine Biology, University of Essex, UK.
- Sept 2009 - July 2012: Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Medical Genetics, Queen Mary University of London, UK.
Publications
- Parker, J., Dubin, A., & Roth, O. (2023) Genome Rearrangements, Male Pregnancy and Immunological Tolerance-the Curious Case of the Syngnathid Immune System. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 122.
- Parker, J., & Roth, O. (2022). Comparative assessment of immunological tolerance in fish with natural immunodeficiency. Developmental & Comparative Immunology, 132, 104393.
- Parker, J., Guslund, N. C., Jentoft, S., & Roth, O. (2022). Characterization of pipefish immune cell populations through single-cell transcriptomics. Frontiers in Immunology, 131.
- Parker, J., Dubin, A., Schneider, R., Wagner, K. S., Jentoft, S., Böhne, A., . . . Roth, O. (2022). Immunological tolerance in the evolution of male pregnancy. Molecular Ecology. doi:10.1111/mec.16333
- Nürnberg, D. J., Mariscal, V., Parker, J., Mastroianni, G., Flores, E., & Mullineaux, C. W. (2014). Branching and intercellular communication in the S ection V cyanobacterium M astigocladus laminosus, a complex multicellular prokaryote. Molecular Microbiology, 91(5), 935-949.
Gallery
Research interest
I am a marine evolutionary biologist interested in the coevolutionary relationship between male pregnancy and the immune system in syngnathid fishes. Drastic genomic rearrangements of immune system components in some syngnathid species have raised questions concerning their immunological capabilities and potential links to other physiological processes such as the evolution of advanced male pregnancy. During my PhD, I aimed to help elucidate these evolutionary peculiarities by way of a series of transcriptome-driven experiments, exploring the concepts of immunological tolerance and immune cell dynamics.
Male pregnancy and immunological tolerance
Syngnathid fishes are the sole evolutionary exponents of the unique male pregnancy of which they have established an array of morphological brooding phenotypes and strategies. With a shared common ancestor this brooding variation renders syngnathids as a useful model group for assessing evolutionary adaptation. Immunological tolerance represents a crucial change required for successful pregnancy in viviparous species, and it appears this is also the case for advanced forms of male pregnancy in Syngnathiformes. My research aims to further understand the mechanics of such immunological processes and disentangle the intricacies found between different brooding strategies.
Immune cell dynamics
Genomic losses and rearrangements associated with the syngnathid immune system could have led to changes in immune cell composition and diversity. Recently we characterized the first pipefish immune cell repertoire by using single-cell transcriptomics. This represents the first step in a new research direction that aims to understand the cellular repercussions of the genomic losses within the lineage. Identifying the presence or absence of specialized immune cell types could provide further context to their immune response strategies and their approaches to maintaining immunological homeostasis.
Research interest
I am a marine evolutionary biologist interested in the coevolutionary relationship between male pregnancy and the immune system in syngnathid fishes. Drastic genomic rearrangements of immune system components in some syngnathid species have raised questions concerning their immunological capabilities and potential links to other physiological processes such as the evolution of advanced male pregnancy. During my PhD, I aimed to help elucidate these evolutionary peculiarities by way of a series of transcriptome-driven experiments, exploring the concepts of immunological tolerance and immune cell dynamics.
Male pregnancy and immunological tolerance
Syngnathid fishes are the sole evolutionary exponents of the unique male pregnancy of which they have established an array of morphological brooding phenotypes and strategies. With a shared common ancestor this brooding variation renders syngnathids as a useful model group for assessing evolutionary adaptation. Immunological tolerance represents a crucial change required for successful pregnancy in viviparous species, and it appears this is also the case for advanced forms of male pregnancy in Syngnathiformes. My research aims to further understand the mechanics of such immunological processes and disentangle the intricacies found between different brooding strategies.
Immune cell dynamics
Genomic losses and rearrangements associated with the syngnathid immune system could have led to changes in immune cell composition and diversity. Recently we characterized the first pipefish immune cell repertoire by using single-cell transcriptomics. This represents the first step in a new research direction that aims to understand the cellular repercussions of the genomic losses within the lineage. Identifying the presence or absence of specialized immune cell types could provide further context to their immune response strategies and their approaches to maintaining immunological homeostasis.
CV
- Feb 2022 – Present: PostDoc Researcher in Prof. Olivia Roth's working group, Kiel University (CAU), Germany.
- Nov 2017 - Feb 2022: PhD Researcher in Prof. Olivia Roth's working group, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR), Germany. Research topic: "Male Pregnancy and the Evolutionary Importance of Immunological Tolerance in Syngnathid Fishes".
- Sept 2014 - July 2015: Master of Science (MSc) in Tropical Marine Biology, University of Essex, UK.
- Sept 2009 - July 2012: Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Medical Genetics, Queen Mary University of London, UK.
Publications
- Parker, J., Dubin, A., & Roth, O. (2023) Genome Rearrangements, Male Pregnancy and Immunological Tolerance-the Curious Case of the Syngnathid Immune System. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 122.
- Parker, J., & Roth, O. (2022). Comparative assessment of immunological tolerance in fish with natural immunodeficiency. Developmental & Comparative Immunology, 132, 104393.
- Parker, J., Guslund, N. C., Jentoft, S., & Roth, O. (2022). Characterization of pipefish immune cell populations through single-cell transcriptomics. Frontiers in Immunology, 131.
- Parker, J., Dubin, A., Schneider, R., Wagner, K. S., Jentoft, S., Böhne, A., . . . Roth, O. (2022). Immunological tolerance in the evolution of male pregnancy. Molecular Ecology. doi:10.1111/mec.16333
- Nürnberg, D. J., Mariscal, V., Parker, J., Mastroianni, G., Flores, E., & Mullineaux, C. W. (2014). Branching and intercellular communication in the S ection V cyanobacterium M astigocladus laminosus, a complex multicellular prokaryote. Molecular Microbiology, 91(5), 935-949.