Gillian E. Wu

Gillian Elizabeth (née Edwards) Wu (born 1943) is a Canadian immunologist and the former Dean of Pure and Applied Science at York University. She is currently Professor Emerita in York University's Faculty of Science (Department of Biology) and Faculty of Health and also at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine.

Early life and education Wu was born in London, England and emigrated to Canada in 1951. Her family settled in Southern Ontario, where her father was a shipbuilder and her mother was a homemaker who encouraged her children in their studies Wu's early interest in immunology was encouraged by Hardy Cinader. Wu took over the evolution of the new engineering programme that was introduced by Dean Prince, overseeing a name change for the faculty that she led, from Pure and Applied Science to Science and Engineering.

Despite shutting down her research laboratory, Wu remains active in research. In May 2020, Wu received research funding to collaborate with York University Biology professor Vivian Saridakis, to investigate the hypothesis that variations in the genomic sequences of the virus play a pivotal role in geographic differences in rates of COVID-19 infection, transmission and deaths.

Over the decades of her scientific career, Wu has been a visiting scientist and professor at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France (1996) and at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge (2007), where she has been a Life Member since 2008.

Research Wu studies how diversity in antigen-specific B-cell and T-cell receptors are generated. As part of her PhD research, she identified a natural mutation in a cell line that inhibited the secretion of immunoglobulins (Ig). Research from her laboratory determined that variation in the strength of V(D)J recombination signal sequence affects the pattern of Ig gene rearrangement and expression. She also examines the role of the immune system in autoimmune diseases and cancers.

Wu's research focuses on the mechanisms of normal and abnormal development in the immune system. To this end, her research is directed in two major areas: 1. Understanding normal B Cell development with particular emphasis on the process of V(D)J recombination; and 2. Understanding abnormal development in the immune system with particular emphasis on studying human cancers and autoimmune diseases. Approaches include in vivo and bioinformatics analyses.

Personal life Wu married Alan Ming-ta Wu, a fellow graduate student who was in Ernest McCulloch's laboratory. Aventis Pasteur CSI Bernhard Cinader Prize for Research and Education, 2003 Scientist, Medical Research Council of Canada, 1994 - 1999 Scholar, Medical Research Council of Canada, 1989 - 1994 Studentship, Medical Research Council of Canada, 1980 - 1984 Graduate Scholarship, Medical Research Council of Canada, 1968 - 1969 Graduate Scholarship, National Research Council of Canada, 1967 - 1968

Selected publications Wu, G. E., Hozumi, N., & Murialdo, H. (1983). "Secretion of a λ2 immunoglobulin chain is prevented by a single amino acid substitution in its variable region." Cell 33(1):77–83. Ramsden, D. A., & Wu, G. E. (1991). "Mouse kappa light-chain recombination signal sequences mediate recombination more frequently than do those of lambda light chain." PNAS 88(23):10721–10725.