Meet Dr Rebecca ‘Becky’ Dodd, a postdoc in Professor Judi Allen’s lab with a sweet spot for glycosaminoglycans! Becky shares her research on lung repair, her role championing fellow postdocs, and life beyond the lab – from gym sessions to keeping her Duolingo streak alive.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your background in research.

I’m Becky, a postdoctoral Research Associate working in Professor Judi Allen’s lab. My research background is in matrix biology; I did my Undergraduate degree here in Manchester too and took the infamous Glycobiology lecture where we were introduced to the world of glycosaminoglycans (sugars essentially, way more interesting than proteins!). I got hooked and was lucky enough to get a PhD position with Professor Tony Day here in Manchester to work on the extracellular matrix polysaccharide, hyaluronan. I’ve never wanted to leave hyaluronan behind and continue working on hyaluronan biology in my post-doc position where we try to understand how the hyaluronan matrix is regulated by the immune system.

Can you tell us about the research you’re currently involved in?

My current research focuses on how type 2 immune responses regulate hyaluronan matrices in the lung after inflammation and injury. We’re currently working to describe how the cytokine IL-13 does this after showing in several lung challenge models like SARS-CoV2, influenza or injury after parasite infection that IL-13 is required for hyaluronan build up. A major focus of the work is to also understand the composition (e.g. what proteins and cells they interact with) and function of those hyaluronan matrices to figure out if they contribute to tissue repair or pathological processes.

What do you enjoy most about the work you do?

I enjoy the creativity of designing, planning, and then executing experiments. Even if they are relatively small or simple, it’s still satisfying to run them well, and each one tells you something – even if that’s that you need to do another experiment!

You’re also a postdoc representative. What motivated you to take on the role?

I think the postdoctoral stage can be both really exciting and quite challenging. There are lots of decisions around career development, funding and what comes next, so I wanted to help postdocs have a voice and know what opportunities and support are available to them. I also liked the idea of helping to build more of a community between researchers across different groups.

What’s your favourite thing about being part of the immunology community at Manchester?

I really enjoy being somewhere where there’s so much interesting immunology happening. Through conversations or seminars, we regularly get to hear about research beyond our own areas, and I really value hearing about different questions and approaches. It keeps you curious and often makes you think about your own research from a different perspective.

And finally, what do you like to do in your spare time?

Outside the lab, I am currently pretty committed to going to the gym, which is a good way of switching off from work at the end of the day. I also maintain a (pretty good) streak on Duolingo. Other than that, I love spending time with friends and family and sampling the many great restaurants and bars Manchester has.

Photo: Brian Chan

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