Dr Mathew Clement

Biography

Education:

2013 - PhD in Immunology, Cardiff University, Cardiff

2001 - BSc in Biomedical Sciences, UWIC, Cardiff

Career overview:

Cardiff University:

2003 - present - Division of Infection & Immunity

2002 - 2003 - Dept of Psychological Medicine

Honours and awards

2022 - CMV 2022 merit based award

2021 - ICIS - International Cytokine & Inteferon Society annual meeting Milstein award

2021 - Cardiff University Infection & Immunity annual meeting oral presentation award

2019 - CMV 2019 merit based award

2019 - CURE Infection annual meeting oral presentation award

2018 - Hodge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Immunology project grant award

2017 - Hodge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Immunology seedcorn award

2016 - BSI Bright Spark in Immunology oral presentation award (post-doc session)

2016 - Cardiff University Animal Welfare Symposium NC3Rs award

2015 - BSI travel award

2014 - Cardiff University Infection & Immunity annual meeting oral presentation award

2013 - Cardiff University Independent Researcher Secondment Lecturer position

Professional memberships

British Society of Immunology

International Cytokine & Interferon Society 

Academic positions

Cardiff University:

2013 - present - Research Asscoiate - Division of Infection & Immunity, Cardiff University

2003 - 2013 - Research Assistant - Division of Infection & Immunity, Cardiff University

2002 - 2003 - Research Technician - Division of Psychological Medicine, Cardiff University

Speaking engagements

Oral presentation:

2022 - Cardiff Metropolitan University seminar series, Cardiff, UK - invited speaker

2022 - CMV 2022, online, hosted by Cambridge, UK - invited speaker

2021 - British Society of Immunology annual meeting, Edinburgh, UK - invited speaker

2021 - Hodge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Immunology, Cardiff University - invited speaker

2019 - CMV 2019, Birmingham, Alabama, USA - invited speaker

2018 - Systems Immunity Research Institute Technologies event, Cardiff University - invited speaker

2018 - Hodge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Immunology, Cardiff University - invited speaker

2017 - Cardiff University Infection & Immunity annual meeting - invited speaker

2016 - UK CMV meeting, Cardiff - invited speaker

2016 - International Herpesvirus Workshop, Madison, Wisconsin, USA - invited speaker

2016 - British Society of Immunology annual meeting, Liverpool, UK - invited speaker

2015 - International Cytokine & Interferon Society annual meeting, Bamberg, Germany - invited speaker

2014 - UK CMV meeting, Birmingham, UK - invited speaker

2014 - Cardiff University Infection & Immunity annual meeting - invited speaker

2011 - Cardiff University Infection & Immunity annual meeting - invited speaker

Poster presentation:

2022 - CMV 2022, online, hosted by Cambridge, UK

2021 - British Society of Immunology annual meeting, Edinburgh, UK

2021 - International Cytokine & Interferon Society 2021, Cardiff, UK

2019 - CMV 2019, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

2016 - International Herpesvirus Workshop, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

2011 - AAI Immunology annual meeting, San Francisco, USA

2011 & 2013 - British Society of Immunology annual meeting, Liverpool, UK

2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2021 - Cardiff University Infection & Immunity annual meeting

Committees and reviewing

I am a regular peer reviewer for journals including Immunology, Scientific Reports and have assisted in the review of multiple articles in Journal of Virology, Journal of General Virology, Journal of Immunology and Therapy Cancer, European Journal of Immunology, Journal of Pathology and PNAS.

I have also chaired sessions at the British Society of Immunology Annual meetings.

I am also the Early Career Representative for the Division of Infection and immunity

Publications

We are currently unable to retrieve the list of publications. Visit our institutional repository.

Teaching

Year 1 - Small Group (PCS) Tutor, Applied Immunology, C21

Year 1 - Literature review component tutor, C21

Year 2 - Virology Tutor, C21

SSC Year 2 – Interactive Immunology Laboratory Placement Supervisor, C21

SSC Year 2 – Applied Interactive Immunology lectures, C21

MSc in Applied Experimental and Clinical Immunology.

To effectively study antiviral immunity, we employ the use of multiple in vivo models of viral infection. Currently my research focuses on the pathogen Cytomegalovirus (CMV).

CMV is a fairly ubiquitous β-Herpesvirus infecting approximately 50-80% of the world's population where the infection will remain asymptomatic in immuno-competent individuals. However in immune-compromised individuals such as HIV and AIDS patients, post-transplant recipient patients and during pregnancy, infection can cause morbidity and mortality. Further congential CMV infection can result in infants born with blindness, mental retardation and is the leading cause of congenital deafness. The significant area of my research is to study the immune responses to the virus within the mucosa of infected individuals in organs such as the Salivary Glands, a key area which we have identified that allows the virus to persist and replicate, and how the virus has developed immune escape mechanisms that promotes persistent infection. We have recently discovered using the MCMV model of infection that the immune regulatory cytokine IL-10 (which has been shown to suppress antiviral immunity (Humphreys et al, J Exp Med, 2007, Jones et al, J Immunol, 2010)) is produced by T-cells in both mouse and human mucosa which in turn is induced by IL-27. This then promotes viral persistence and viral shedding as a result of a suppressive response upon antiviral immunity (Clement et al PLoS Pathogens 2016).

Another area of my research is to identify the exact mechanisms that drive this cytokine induced antiviral immunity and how these cytokines can have both protective and pathological effects during infection (Clement & Humphreys, Front Immunol, 2019). We have identified an immune protein interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (ifitm3) that can restrict viral pathogenensis. The absence of such protein dramatically impacts on organ pathology as driven by the inflammatory cytokine IL-6 (Stacey, Clement et al, J Clin Invest, 2017). This has important implications in understanding how you can therapeutically target infected individuals with anti-inflammatory agents. This is especially important in ifitm3 as natural genetic polymorphisms which reduce the protective function of ifitm3 have been identified within specific human subsets.

Supervision

Past projects

Engagement

2010 - Participation in the Wellcome Trust funded Researchers in Residence scheme, which included a featured article written about my teaching experience; http://wellcometrust.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/guest-post-researchers-in-residence/

(2006-Present) - Participated in coordination of the Immunology section of Cardiff University's Annual Science in Health Day, promoting biomedical research to students from South Wales and Southwest England.

2018 - Participated in St Brides Major primary school life sciences event, highlighting infectious diseases to Year 4 students, including practical use of Microscopes, buiding Lego antibodies and having fun making various types of 'snot & slime'.

2019 - Presented at the annual 'Pint of Science' series of public lectures.

2019 - Presented as guest sepaker and subsequent panel discussion at the Royal Society of Biology South Wales division annual meeting.

2019 - Participated in the 'future leavers career fayre' as a representative of Cardiff University School of Medicine, promoting an academic career to Yr11 and Yr12 students at St Martins High School, Caerphilly.