Martin Sheldon

Born in Yorkshire, Sheldon studied at Bradford Grammar School and then at the University of Liverpool School of Veterinary Science. He graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and membership of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1984. He spent 14 years in clinical veterinary practice in Carmarthen, West Wales, where he became a partner in 1986. Sheldon was awarded the Diploma in Bovine Reproduction from the University of Liverpool in 1992; became a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Specialist in 1993;{{cite web | title = 2013 AMCB {{sic|nolink=y|reason=error in source|Distinquished}} Lecturer: Martin Sheldon | work = Eleventh Annual Research Symposium | department = Animal Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program | publisher = University of Florida | url = http://animal.ufl.edu/amcb/symposia/docs/2013_proceedings.pdf }} and, was awarded the Diploma in Cattle Health and Production from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1997.{{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/view/professor-martin-sheldon/|title=Biography - Professor Martin Sheldon - Swansea University|website=sites.google.com|access-date=2019-12-13}}

Sheldon joined the Royal Veterinary College in 1998 to teach veterinary reproduction, and he was awarded the James Bee Educator Prize twice. He completed a PhD with Professor Hilary Dobson in 2002 through the University of Liverpool. Research project funding from the Wellcome Trust and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) formed the foundation for his research. Whilst in London, Sheldon spent some time on an OECD fellowship at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, USA; as a visiting lecturer at the University of Bologna, Italy; and, on the Frontiers in Reproduction Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, USA. In 2006, Sheldon was awarded a 3-year BBSRC Research Development Fellowship{{cite web | url = http://www.rvc.ac.uk/Media/Default/publications/rvc-annual-review-2005-2006.pdf | title = Annual Report 2005-06 | work = Royal Veterinary College, London }} and in 2008 he moved from London to a new Personal Chair at the Institute of Life Science in Swansea University Medical School.{{cite web |url=http://esri.org.hu/2015-meeting-speakers-biographies |title=Speakers' biographies | work = European Society for Reproductive Immunology |access-date=2017-05-27}} In 2013, Sheldon was a Distinguished Lecturer at the University of Florida. Sheldon has published more than 100 papers in academic journals;{{Cite web|url=https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=yDpeRlUAAAAJ&hl=en|title=I Martin Sheldon FRCVS - Google Scholar Citations|website=scholar.google.co.uk|access-date=2017-05-27}} and is on the editorial board of the American Journal of Reproductive Immunology.[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1600-0897/homepage/EditorialBoard.html American Journal of Reproductive Immunology - Editorial Board - Wiley Online Library]

Sheldon works on infection and immunity. His initial work was on bacterial infection of the female reproductive system, particularly postpartum metritis.{{cite journal | vauthors = Sheldon IM, Cronin J, Goetze L, Donofrio G, Schuberth HJ | title = Defining postpartum uterine disease and the mechanisms of infection and immunity in the female reproductive tract in cattle | journal = Biology of Reproduction | volume = 81 | issue = 6 | pages = 1025–32 | date = December 2009 | pmid = 19439727 | pmc = 2784443 | doi = 10.1095/biolreprod.109.077370 }} Using dairy cattle, he identified the bacteria that cause uterine disease, including novel strains of Escherichia coli that are adapted to the uterine environment.{{cite journal | vauthors = Sheldon IM, Rycroft AN, Dogan B, Craven M, Bromfield JJ, Chandler A, Roberts MH, Price SB, Gilbert RO, Simpson KW | display-authors = 6 | title = Specific strains of Escherichia coli are pathogenic for the endometrium of cattle and cause pelvic inflammatory disease in cattle and mice | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 5 | issue = 2 | pages = e9192 | date = February 2010 | pmid = 20169203 | pmc = 2820550 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0009192 | bibcode = 2010PLoSO...5.9192S | doi-access = free }} In addition, Sheldon showed that the bacterium Trueperella pyogenes becomes a pathogen in the uterus by secreting a cholesterol-dependent cytolysin that damages stromal cells, once the epithelium is damaged after parturition.{{cite journal | vauthors = Amos MR, Healey GD, Goldstone RJ, Mahan SM, Düvel A, Schuberth HJ, Sandra O, Zieger P, Dieuzy-Labaye I, Smith DG, Sheldon IM | title = Differential endometrial cell sensitivity to a cholesterol-dependent cytolysin links Trueperella pyogenes to uterine disease in cattle | journal = Biology of Reproduction | volume = 90 | issue = 3 | pages = 54 | date = March 2014 | pmid = 24478394 | doi = 10.1095/biolreprod.113.115972 | doi-access = free }} Oxysterols, such as 25-hydroxycholesterol, are found in the reproductive tract and protect tissue cells against cholesterol-dependent cytolysins. {{cite journal | vauthors = Ormsby TJ, Owens SE, Horlock AD, Davies D, Griffiths WJ, Wang Y, Cronin JG, Bromfield JJ, Sheldon IM | title = Oxysterols protect bovine endometrial cells against pore-forming toxins from pathogenic bacteria | journal = FASEB Journal | volume = 35 | issue = 10 | pages = e21889 | date = Oct 2021 | pmid = 34569656 | pmc = 9272411 | doi = 10.1096/fj.202100036R | doi-access = free }} Sheldon uncovered the role for the innate immune system in the endometrium of the uterus, showing that epithelial and stromal cells, as well as the expected immune cells, have roles in host-pathogen interactions.{{Cite news|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/welsh-success-battle-stop-causes-1899234|title=Welsh success in battle to stop causes of infertility|last=WalesOnline|date=2010-09-22|work=walesonline|access-date=2017-05-27}} Sheldon was the first to show that infections in the uterus disrupt the structure and function of the mammalian ovary.{{cite journal | vauthors = Sheldon IM, Noakes DE, Rycroft AN, Pfeiffer DU, Dobson H | title = Influence of uterine bacterial contamination after parturition on ovarian dominant follicle selection and follicle growth and function in cattle | journal = Reproduction | volume = 123 | issue = 6 | pages = 837–45 | date = June 2002 | pmid = 12052238 | doi = 10.1530/rep.0.1230837 | doi-access = free }} Sheldon also identified that ovarian cells sense and respond to pathogen-associated molecular patterns, leading to inflammation, and even damaging the oocyte.{{cite journal | vauthors = Price JC, Bromfield JJ, Sheldon IM | title = Pathogen-associated molecular patterns initiate inflammation and perturb the endocrine function of bovine granulosa cells from ovarian dominant follicles via TLR2 and TLR4 pathways | journal = Endocrinology | volume = 154 | issue = 9 | pages = 3377–86 | date = September 2013 | pmid = 23825132 | doi = 10.1210/en.2013-1102 | doi-access = free }} Work on cholesterol-dependent cytolysins has led to discoveries about how host tissue cells can be protected against toxins.{{cite journal | vauthors = Preta G, Lotti V, Cronin JG, Sheldon IM | title = Protective role of the dynamin inhibitor Dynasore against the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin of Trueperella pyogenes | journal = FASEB Journal | volume = 29 | issue = 4 | pages = 1516–28 | date = April 2015 | pmid = 25550455 | pmc = 4396600 | doi = 10.1096/fj.14-265207 | doi-access = free }}{{cite journal | vauthors = Griffin S, Healey GD, Sheldon IM | title = Isoprenoids increase bovine endometrial stromal cell tolerance to the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin from Trueperella pyogenes | journal = Biology of Reproduction | volume = 99 | issue = 4 | pages = 749–760 | date = October 2018 | pmid = 29688258 | pmc = 6203874 | doi = 10.1093/biolre/ioy099 }}

Fellowship Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (2013) for meritorious contributions to understanding the mechanisms of infection and immunity in the female genital tract{{Cite news|url=http://www.rcvs.org.uk/news-and-events/news/celebration-and-change-at-rcvs-day-2013/|title=Celebration and change at RCVS Day 2013|work=RCVS|access-date=2017-05-27|language=en}}

Schofield Medal: a prize given in honor of Frank Schofield, by Ontario Veterinary College, Canada (2015){{Cite web | url=http://iamnews.co.uk/education/leading-canadian-university-honours-swansea-professor-for-reproductive-immunology-research/ | title=Iamnews.co.uk}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Martin}}

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:Living people

Category:British veterinarians

Category:Academics of Swansea University

Category:Alumni of the University of Liverpool

Category:People educated at Bradford Grammar School