Associate Dean Student Experience & Recruitment, Faculty of Creative Arts Technologies & Science

John’s academic career and training began with the award of a BSc (Hons) degree in Biology from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, followed by a PhD in Experimental Medicine studying the regulation of experimental autoimmune kidney disease at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School that now forms part of the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London. Thereafter, John secured several years postdoctoral experience at Imperial College working on the investigation of the immunopathogenesis of kidney disease, followed by a sabbatical at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre at Harvard Medical School in Boston studying the effect of novel antibody-based therapeutic approaches in the treatment of autoimmune glomerulonephritis.

Many of these new therapeutic approaches are now in phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials. John has published an extensive range of high-quality specialist and general papers in peer reviewed journals, and is a recipient of numerous grants from organisations such as the National Kidney Research Fund, Kidney Research UK, Action Research UK and The Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust.

In March 2010 John was appointed as a Senior lecturer in Biomedical Science in the School of Life Sciences within the Faculty of Creative Arts, Technologies & Science at the University of Bedfordshire. He was promoted to Principal Lecturer in Biomedical Science in August 2011, and appointed as the Deputy Director of the Institute of Biomedical and Environmental Science and Technology (iBEST) in March 2012, which gave him the opportunity to lead on the Biomedical Science submission from iBEST for the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2014.

John then moved from his academic role in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Bedfordshire onto faculty management roles. In January 2014, he was appointed Sub Dean Quality, then in September 2015 Sub Dean International, followed by the appointment of Associate Dean Recruitment & Partnerships in March 2019, and then finally Associate Dean Student Experience & Recruitment in January 2021.

Externally, he is a member of the Renal Association, the American Society of Nephrology and the British Society of Immunology. He is also ex-Chairman of the Renal Scientists Working Party, and was the Scientific Representative on the National Executive Committee, the Academic Affairs Committee, the Education & Training Committee and the Research Committee of the Renal Association.

Selected publications

Submitted for Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014

• Reynolds J, Haxby J, Juggapah JK, Evans DJ, Pusey CD. Identification of an immunodominant B and T cell epitope in experimental autoimmune glomerulonephritis. Clin Exp Immunol 155:311-319,2008. (Impact Factor 3.4)
• Reynolds J, Abbott DS, Karegli J, Evans DJ, Pusey CD. Mucosal tolerance induced by an immunodominant peptide from rat α3(IV)NC1 in experimental autoimmune glomerulonephritis Am J Pathol 174:2202-2210,2009. (Impact Factor 4.6)
• Reynolds J, Cook PR, Behmoaras J, Smith J, Bhangal G, Tadros S, Tee J, Salama AD, Evans DJ, Aitman TJ, Cook HT, Pusey CD. Genetic susceptibility to experimental autoimmune glomerulonephritis in the WKY rat. Am J Pathol 180:1843–1851,2012. (Impact Factor 4.6)
• Reynolds J, Sando GS, Marsh O, Salama AD, Cook HT, Pusey CD. Manipulation of the PD1/PDL1 negative T cell costimulatory pathway in treatment of established experimental autoimmune glomerulonephritis. Nephrol Dial Transplant 27:1343-1350,2012. (Impact Factor 4.1)

Submitted for Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021

• McAdoo SP, Reynolds J, Bhangal G, Smith J, McDaid JP, Tanna A, Jackson WD, Masuda ES, Cook HT, Pusey CD, Tam FW. Spleen Tyrosine Kinase Inhibition Attenuates Autoantibody Production and Reverses Experimental Autoimmune GN. J Am Soc Nephrol. 25:2291-302,2014. (Impact Factor 7.5)
• Reynolds J, Preston GA, Pressler BM, Hewins P, Brown M, Roth A, Alderman E, Bunch D, Jennette JC, Cook HT, Falk RJ, Pusey CD. Autoimmunity to the alpha 3 chain of type IV collagen is triggered by ‘autoantigen complementarity’ J. Autoimmunity 59:8-18,2015. (Impact Factor 8.4)

Contact details

E: john.reynolds@beds.ac.uk