Newcastle University

Background

I received my first Degree in Food and Human Nutrition from the University of Newcastle in 1999 and a PhD in Molecular Biology in 2002. I believe the combination of these two disciplines represents a powerful approach through which to increase understanding of the relationship between diet and health. I have research interests in nutrient gene interactions with a particular focus on the micronutrient, zinc; the function and distribution of zinc transporters in the intestine and placenta and the role of zinc nutrition in pregnancy.

Qualifications

PhD, BSc, Registered Nutritionist (R.Nutr), Postgraduate Certificate: Academic and Professional Learning,

Previous Positions

Lecturer: Molecular Biology. Northumbria University, Division of Biological and Food Science, School of Applied Sciences.

Post Doctoral Research Associate. University of Newcastle. The molecular basis of differential intestinal and placental responses to zinc nutrition.

Memberships

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
The Nutrition Society
The European Nutrigenomics Organisation (NuGO)

Honours and Awards

2002: First prize awarded for abstract submitted to International Society for Trace Element Research in Humans (ISTERH) VI International Conference ‘Trace element research for a new century’. Quebec city, Canada.

2001: Young Physiologist Symposium Prize awarded for oral communication at the Young Physiologist’s Symposium ‘Membrane and Epithelial Function in Health and Disease’. The Physiological Society

Research Interests

Cellular and Molecular Nutrition.

Member of the Epithelial Research Group (research.ncl.ac.uk/epithelia/index.html)
Human Nutrition Reseach Centre (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/hnrc/)

Current Work

Zinc is an essential component of the diet and plays a role if a vast array of functions in cells and tissues. There is evidence that sub-clinical zinc deficiency may be important with respect to aging, immune function and neonatal health. Zinc can also be toxic if over accumulated.

We are currently investigating the intracellular trafficking of splice variants of the zinc transporter SLC30A5 in response to zinc. Achieving the project aims will contribute to a detailed understanding of the role of the splice variants of the zinc transporter SLC30A5 in cellular zinc homeostasis in terms of zinc induced sub-cellular localization, and will identify motifs involved in trafficking and mechanisms through which intracellular SLC30A5 trafficking is controlled by zinc availability.

It has recently emerged that epigenetic alterations may be crucial in regulating genes governing cell proliferation in atherogenesis. Foetal zinc supply is important for the health of the neonate and may influence susceptibility to a range of non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD).Our studies will investigate the hypothesis that inadequate foetal zinc status alters global DNA methylation, along with site-specific methylation of genes that are candidates for the development of cardiovascular disease. Achieving the project aims will contribute to a detailed understanding of the response of genes involved in CVD progression to changes in foetal zinc nutriture.

Research Roles

I am an assessor for the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists. In this role I assess portfolios of evidence on behalf of and make recommendations to the Registration Committee about admission to the UK Register of Nutritionists.

Postgraduate Supervision

Role of Zinc transporters in dental pulp tissue. 

Effect of extracellular zinc on alternative splicing of proteins implicated in aetiology of Alzheimer’s Disease (MRC funded)

Esteem Indicators

Invited to speak at a Rank Mini Symposium on the Transport of Micronutrients in Animals and Plants, held in October 2008

Funding

RA Valentine, D Ford, M Walker, S Campbell. Heterologous expression of ZnT8 allelic variants associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes in an insulin-secreting beta cell line model. £12, 658. Diabetes UK March 2009-August 2009.

RA Valentine. Intracellular trafficking of splice variants of the zinc transporter SLC30A5 in response to zinc. £330 215. BBSRC 2006-2009

RA Valentine. The effect of heteromeric protein complexes of hZTL1 and ZnT5 on zinc transport. £1130. Nuffield Foundation Undergraduate Research Bursary. July 2006

RA Valentine. Development of a non radioactive technique of measuring zinc transport in human cell lines.£25 000. HEFCE Promising Research Fellowship Scheme. September 2005-August 2006

S.Kury et al. Molecular investigation of the pathogenesis of Acrodermatitis Enteropathica. (RA Valentine Co investigator). 8000 Euros. Groupment d’Interet Scientifique (GIS). October 2003 – September 2005

Projects

• Heterologous expression of ZnT8 allelic variants associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes in an insulin-secreting beta cell line model
  Project Leader(s): Dr Ruth Valentine
• Intracellular trafficking of splice variants of the zinc transporter SLC30A5 in response to zinc
  Project Leader(s): Dr Ruth Valentine

Undergraduate Teaching

My major block of teaching is in the first year of BDS, where I am course leader on the Physiology course and teach the Gastrointestinal Tract element of this course. I am also involved in BMS final year project.
I organise and run the 'Partners' Assessed Summer School.

• Bosomworth HJ, Thornton JK, Coneyworth LJ, Ford D, Valentine RA. Efflux function, tissue-specific expression and intracellular trafficking of the Zn transporter ZnT10 indicate roles in adult Zn homeostasis. Metallomics 2012, 4(8), 771-779.
• Coneyworth LJ, Jackson KA, Tyson J, Bosomworth HJ, vanderHagen E, Hann GM, Ogo OA, Swann DC, Mathers JC, Valentine RA, Ford D. Identification of the human ZTRE (zinc transcriptional regulatory element) - a palindromic protein-binding DNA sequence responsible for zinc-induced transcriptional repression. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2012, 287, 36567-36581.
• Dang TS, Walker M, Ford D, Valentine R. Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics; the role of nutrition in gene expression. Periodontology 2000 2013. In Press.
• Thornton JK, Taylor KM, Ford D, Valentine RA. Differential Subcellular Localization of the Splice Variants of the Zinc Transporter ZnT5 Is Dictated by the Different C-Terminal Regions. PLoS One 2011, 6(8), e23878.
• Jackson KA, Valentine RA, Mckay JA, Swan DC, Mathers JC, Ford D. Analysis of differential gene-regulatory responses to zinc in human intestinal and placental cell lines. British Journal of Nutrition 2009, 101(10), 1474-1483.
• Jakubovics NS, Valentine RA. A new direction for manganese homeostasis in bacteria: identification of a novel efflux system in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Molecular Microbiology 2009, 72(1), 1-4.
• Jackson KA, Valentine RA, Coneyworth LJ, Mathers JC, Ford D. Mechanisms of mammalian zinc-regulated gene expression. Biochemical Society Transactions 2008, 36(6), 1262-1266.
• Valentine RA, Jackson KA, Christie GR, Mathers JC, Taylor PM, Ford D. ZnT5 variant B is a bidirectional zinc transporter and mediates zinc uptake in human intestinal Caco-2 cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2007, 282(19), 14389-14393.
• Cragg RA, Phillips SR, Piper JM, Varma JS, Campbell FC, Mathers JC, Ford D. Homeostatic regulation of zinc transporters in the human small intestine by dietary zinc supplementation. Gut 2005, 54(4), 469-478.
• Cragg RA, Christie GR, Phillips SR, Russi RM, Kury S, Mathers JC, Taylor PM, Ford D. A novel zinc-regulated human zinc transporter, hZTL1, is localized to the enterocyte apical membrane. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2002, 277(25), 22789-22797.
• Valentine RA, Ford D. Epithelial transport mechanisms involved in zinc nutrition. Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews Series A: Human and Experimental 2005, 75(6), 15N-24N.
• Davison G, Mathers JC, Ford D, Valentine RA. [Meeting Abstract] Effects of Dietary Zinc Supply During Pregnancy on Global DNA Methylation. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 2009, 55(s1), 461.
• Moat SJ, Bonham JR, Cragg RA, Powers HJ. Elevated plasma homocysteine elicits an increase in antioxidant enzyme activity. Free Radical Research 2000, 32(2), 171-179.
• Bosomworth HJ, Adlard PA, Ford D, Valentine RA. Altered expression of the zinc transporter ZnT10 in Alzheimer’s disease brain.. PLOS ONE 2013. Submitted.
• Ions LJ, Wakeling LA, Bosomworth HJ, Hardyman JEJ, Escolme SM, Swan DC, Valentine RA, Mathers JC, Ford D. Effects of Sirt1 on DNA methylation and expression of genes affected by dietary restriction. Age 2013, (epub ahead of print).