Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Social media

Websites

The Oxford Kidney Unit

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Matthew Bottomley

BM BCh, MA (Oxon), D.Phil, MRCP (UK)


Clinical Career Development Fellow in Renal Medicine

  • Consultant Nephrologist, Oxford Kidney and Transplant Unit, Churchill Hospital
  • CAMS Oxford Institute Nanostring Hub Lead

Clinician Scientist with an interest in using immunological biomarkers to improve long-term organ transplant recipient outcomes

Using immunological biomarkers to improve outcomes for organ transplant recipients

My research focuses using markers in the immune system to identify patients who may be at risk of complications after a renal transplant. I am particularly focused on exploring the effect of ageing in the immune system on transplant outcomes.  As we age the immune system undergoes several changes through long-term exposure to viruses and other factors in the environment. We refer to these changes as ‘immunosenescence’ (immune ageing).  Over time, this can lead to the immune system being less effective at protecting us from infection and less responsive to vaccination.

Skin cancer is a major problem for organ transplant recipients and our current work focuses on changes that occur within the immune cells present in the skin prior to the development of skin cancer; specifically we are interested in the impact of immune ageing combined with the use of immunosuppression after transplantation. To evaluate this we use a combination of functional immunological assays and high-resolution spatial transcriptomic analysis.

The work we are undertaking in this area may allow us to use the immune system in clinical practice in the future, to guide the type and amount of immunosuppression we give to transplant recipients.  

My research has been generously funded by the Wellcome Trust, British Skin Foundation, Oxford Hospitals Charity, University of Oxford and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Within the CAMS-COI I lead our Nanostring Hub, which offers the nCounter Pro bulk RNA profiling platform as well as the complementary GeoMx DSP and CosMx SMI spatial profiling platforms. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss potential collaborations using these approaches.

Alongside my research, I am a practicing physician, qualified in nephrology and acute general medicine, and work clinically in the Oxford Kidney Unit at the Churchill Hospital. I am passionate about expanding opportunities for and experience in clinical research amongst early-career doctors, nurses and allied health professionals and am a founding member of the UK Kidney Research Consortium (UKKRC) Early Career Researcher Committee.

I also sit on the board of the British Society for Skin Care in Immunocompromised Individuals (BSSCII).

Outside of work I live in North Oxfordshire with my wife and two sons, and in my spare time enjoy running, reading and cooking.

Recent publications

More publications