Dr Jacqueline Elsom

Principal Lecturer

contact:
Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences
Moulsecoomb
Brighton
BN2 4GJ

Telephone: +44 (0)1273 642041

Email: J.Elsom@brighton.ac.uk

Research Interests

• The development of organotypic oral epithelial models for the investigation into potential synergistic effects of exipients used in oral healthcare formulations.
• Investigation of the interactions of nanoparticle formulation constituents on the oral mucosae
• Investigation of the inflammatory mediators secreted by oral keratinocytes after treatment with commonly used surfactants.
• The use of quartz crystal resonant sensors to follow dynamic binding events between polymeric micro- and nanoparticles and thiol modified sensors and living cells.

Scholarly activities

• Winner 2010 Teaching Excellence Award
• Education Unit Lead for Biosciences
• Invites Member of Conference Organising Committee for Centre for Learning and Teaching
• Course leader for Biomedical Science BSc(Hons)
• Member of the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences School Board
• Invited speaker at the 16 International conference on learning, University of Barcelona 2009 on The use of digital technologies to provide creative learning opportunities for biochemistry students
• Invited speaker at the CLT Conference 2008
• Academic tutoring Year 1 Biomedical Science
• Member: University of Brighton Biology and Biomedical Science divisional Board
• Member: University of Brighton biology and Biomedical Sciences course board
• Member: University of Brighton Centre for Postgraduate and Professional Studies course board
• Member: Professional Doctorate in Health and Social Care Course Board
• Member: Faculty of Health and Social Science Academic Board
• Science and Engineering Ambassador for SETNET Sussex

Fellowships

• Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Current research projects

Development of organotypic (3-D) models of the human oral mucosae for in vitro studies into cellular responses to oral healthcare formulation excipients.
Funded by the University of Brighton and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Research and Development Division

The use of in vitro cell culture has shown enormous promise as an emerging tool to evaluate potential irritants1.Recent studies suggest that responses to some agents may be mediated, at least in part, by eicosanoids derived from arachidonic acid2 and also by pro-inflammatory cytokines.  Such irritancy models for the oral mucosae however, are in their relative infancy and many irritancy studies still rely on animal testing including the hamster cheek pouch model.  Recent developments in three dimensional cell culture systems have shown this approach to provide more faithful replicas of the physiological architecture (see figure 1) biological activity and gene expression of cell behaviour in vivo3.  The aims of the present project are (i) to use immortalised oral keratinocytes in 3-D culture format to measure irritant response to new or existing oral care excipients and/or formulations; (ii) to investigate the role of lipoxygenase/cycloxygenase pathways in mediating the effect of selected irritants.
 
Figure 1 Transmission electron micrographs to show stratification and differentiation of immortalised human oral epithelial cells grown in organotypic culture which provides an in vitro replica of the human oral mucosae in vivo. (Courtesy of Louise Taylor).

1. Sanchez L., Mitjans M., Infante M.R. and Vinardell M.P. Pharm Res. 2004; 21(9): 1637-1641.
2. Gaffar A., Scherl D., Afflitto J. and Coleman E.J. J Clin Periodontol. 1995; 22(6): 480-484.
3. Abbott A. Nature 2003; 424: 870-872.

Using media techniques to improve communication and confidence in students studying human biochemistry
Funded by the University of Brighton, Centre for Teaching and Learning, Teaching Fellowship scheme

This study was designed to allow students taking a human biochemistry module to develop their creative, communicative and collaborative skills by producing a short film related to a very specific topic in biochemistry. The rationale was to allow the students to ‘see’ themselves communicating and therefore reflect more on the design, research and planning required for effective scientific communication. It was also envisaged that this strategy would provide a more permanent record of the communication for later reflection by students and tutors alike and allow the students to focus more on the content and delivery of the presentation rather than the performance related anxiety that often accompanies student-presentation/communication exercises.  Examples are given below to illustrate the diversity and creativity displayed by students in this preliminary study which was focused towards understanding biochemistry of human endocrine systems.

Allosteric Enzymes

Investigation into the attitudes of staff and students into the value of student personal development planning in higher education
Funded by the University of Brighton, Centre for Teaching and Learning, Teaching Fellowship scheme

I was an invited speaker at the CLT Conference 2008 and gave a talk entitled 'Developing Creativity in Learning Through Multimedia Presentations'. Click here for the abstract and Power Point presentation.

Recent Publications