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Staff Profile

Dr Elizabeth Veal

Reader in Molecular Biology

  • Email: elizabeth.veal@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44 191 208 7596
  • Address: Newcastle University Biosciences Institute
    Medical School
    Newcastle University
    Framlington Place
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE2 4HH
Background

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Liverpool 1992

PhD Liverpool 1996

Previous and Current Positions

1996-1998 Grace Gill's lab at Harvard Medical School where I worked on regulation of mammalian transcription and CREG (cellular repressor of EIA-like genes).

1998-2003 Brian Morgan's lab at University of Newcastle investigating the regulation of eukaryotic oxidative stress responses

2004-2008 MRC Career Development Fellow, Newcastle University including Visiting Fellow at Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School in Keith Blackwell's lab.

2006-2011 RCUK Academic Fellow, Newcastle University

2012 Reader in Molecular Biology

2023 Co-lead supporting Early Career Researchers in the Biosciences Institute

Memberships

Biochemical Society, Genetics Society, Genetics Society of America, British Society for Research on Ageing, Society for Redox Biology and Medicine, Society for Free Radical Research Europe

Honours and Awards

MRC Career Development Award (2003-2008)

2024 Elected Vice Chair Gordon Research Conference on Thiol-Based Redox Regulation and Signaling

2026 Co-Chair Gordon Research conference on Thiol-Based Redox Regulation and Signaling: Bridging Chemistry to Biology, Aging and Disease


https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elizabeth_Veal

 

Research

Research Interests

Exposure to sunlight, immune cell attack and aerobic metabolism all generate highly toxic chemicals known as 'reactive oxygen species (ROS)'. These ROS, such as peroxide, cause cell damage (oxidative stress) that has been implicated in the initiation and development of many diseases, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Increased oxidative damage is also associated with ageing. We are interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms by which eukaryotic cells sense and respond to ROS, for example, to signal an increase in the production of protective proteins. We use the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans as genetically amenable model eukaryotes in which to study these ROS-sensing and signalling mechanisms. In multicellular organisms, in addition to causing oxidative stress, ROS are also generated and employed as signalling molecules to regulate various biological processes as well as part of the innate immune response to infection. The simplicity, ease of genetic manipulation and analysis, as well as the wide-range of post-genomic resources available, render C. elegans an ideal multicellular organism in which to identify cell-type specific roles for ROS-signalling mechanisms in development and ageing. Our research also exploits C. elegans as a convenient and ethical host in which to study how innate immune defences protect against pathogens, such as the opportunistic human pathogens Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, we combine experimental and mathematical modelling approaches as we examine how ROS-sensing mechanisms identified in model yeast and worms are conserved in pathogenic fungi and human cells.


Lab Members

Joanne Stamford, Emilie Dwyer, Tom Foy, Sara Ilic


Former lab members and what-they-did-next/now:

Alison Day PhD (2004-13) moved to postdoc position after postdoc in Veal lab/ Now lecturer at Newcastle University

Sarah Taylor PhD (2005-8) became NHS cytogeneticist after PhD in Veal lab;

Monika Olahova PhD (2005-11) Awarded faculty medal for PhD in Veal lab, postdoc in Veal lab, then postdoc fellow in USA and now lecturer at Northumbria University

Helen Crook PhD (2007-12) trained as high school science teacher after MRes/PhD and short postdoc in Veal lab

Emma Button PhD (2009-13) moved to Industrial R&D position after MRes/PhD in Veal lab. Now Senior Research Funding Development Manager at Newcastle University

Jonathan Rand PhD (2007-10) moved to industrial R&D position after postdoc in Veal lab;

Jonathon Brown PhD (2009-13) moved to postdoc position after postdoc in Veal lab;

Lewis Tomalin PhD (2011-15) postdoc at Rockefeller University, USA after PhD in Veal lab, Now tenure-track Assistant Professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Heather Latimer PhD (2012-16) became a medical writer after MRes/PhD in Veal lab

Marti Cadena Sandoval PhD student at University of Groningen

Johnathan Winter PhD (2012-16) position in biomedical research company after PhD in Veal lab

Zoe Underwood PhD (2015-18) research position at Public Health England after PhD in Veal lab. Now Senior Research Scientist at AstraZeneca.

Martin Galler PhD (2017-22) moved to postdoc position after PhD in Veal lab.

Elise Bennett (2020-23) research technician at Newcastle University

Min Cao PhD (2019-2024) moved to postdoc position at Newcastle University after postdoc in Veal lab


Funding

Our work has been funded by the MRC, BBSRC, Research Councils UK and Cancer Research UK. Current work is funded by the BBSRC. We are always interested in considering applications from prospective international students or postdocs.


*iCASE PhD studentships available in Veal lab! Please contact e.a.veal@ncl.ac.uk ASAP for further details*


Latest News


2025:

  • More than 10 years after Emma discovered that peroxiredoxin 6 mutant C. elegans were resistant to infection and long-lived we finally figured out why! A real team effort co-led by Emilia and involving undergraduate students Jake, Alice, Eloise and Fiona and collaborators Jennifer Watt and Madison Mortensen at Washington State University https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2025.103992
  • Congratulations to Sara and her Diagnostree team on winning Best Consideration of IP Strategy and the Social Media prize for active engagement throughout the competition awards at the national YES competition finals https://experience.ncl.ac.uk/pgr-students-triumph-at-yes-competition

2024:

  • Congratulations to Tom on winning best poster award at the Thiol Redox Gordon Research Seminar!
  • Review published in Current Opinion in Chemical Biology https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.102496 Pleased Christine Winterbourn and Yimon Aye's invite also provided opportunity to work with Paraskevi Kritsiligkou.
  • Very pleased to see Diane's work published 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.04.004 and that Lewis and I were able to contribute to this collaboration with Che Pillay at University of Kwa Zulu Natal and Johann Rohwer at Stellenbosch University.

2023:

  • Great to have Sara join the lab as a BBSRC-funded NLD iCASE PhD student.
  • Excited that we finally figured out how disulphide complexes between peroxiredoxin and MAPK activate the MAPK 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.07.018

2022:

  • Congratulations Min on becoming a Mum and gaining a Returner's Support Grant!
  • Congratulations Martin on successful PhD defence and becoming a Dad!

2021:

*iCASE PhD studentships available in Veal lab! Please contact e.a.veal@ncl.ac.uk ASAP for further details*

2020:

  • Congratulations Martin and Min on publication of collaborative paper with Pat Eyers group at Liverpool in Science Signaling 10.1126/scisignal.aax2713

2019:

  • New BBSRC grant funding for postdoc and technician

2018:

  • Registration for Biochemistry Society Redox meeting in Newcastle July 1-3rd 2019 now open: https://www.biochemistry.org/Events/tabid/379/MeetingNo/SA221/view/Conference/Default.aspx   
  • MRC iCASE studentship available for start in September 2019! Informal enquiries welcomed!
  • Congratulations to Zoe on a successful PhD thesis defence and her new job at Public Health England
  • Congratulations to Johny on publication of his joint first author paper in Aging Cell 

2016:

  • Congratulations to Monika on receiving the Aging Cell Runner-Up Best Paper Prize for 2015!

http://www.anatsoc.org.uk/funding-and-awards/grants-and-prizes/aging-cell-best-paper-prize/latest-recipient-aging-cell-best-paper-prize for her paper: Oláhová M, Veal EA. A peroxiredoxin, PRDX-2, is required for insulin secretion and Insulin/IIS-dependent regulation of stress resistance and longevity. Aging Cell 2015, 14(4), 558-568. 

 

Teaching


Stage 3 Integrated Biochemistry module leader and undergraduate project supervisor

Stage 2 BGM2063 Genetics practical leader and lecturer and BGM2060 Biochemistry lecturer

Stage 1 CMB1005 practical leader


Publications