Dr Phil Elks

BSc (Hons), PhD

School of Medicine and Population Health

Senior Lecturer in Innate Immunity

Dr Phil Elks
Dr Phil Elks
Profile picture of Dr Phil Elks
p.elks@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 3609
Room F25, Firth Court

Full contact details

Dr Phil Elks
School of Medicine and Population Health
Room F25
Firth Court
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
Profile

For enquiries, please contact – SMPH-West-Operational@sheffield.ac.uk

I graduated with a BSc (hons) in Biochemistry at the University of Warwick in 2004. I moved to Sheffield for the first time in 2004 to pursue a PhD in bone biology in a collaborative project between the then newly forming, Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics (CDBG) (with Dr Henry Roehl) and the Medical School (with Professor Peter Croucher), in which I studied the role of Wnt signalling in osteoblast formation in zebrafish.

After my PhD I did a post-doctoral project with Dr Stephen Renshaw, in which I investigated hypoxia-induced genetic signalling (HIF signalling) and its role in inflammation. During this project I developed the zebrafish as a model to study HIF signalling, and I was awarded a European Respiratory Society (ERS) Long Term Fellowship in 2011 to study HIF’s role in infection.

I moved to the University of Leiden, The Netherlands, to perform the ERS Fellowship, in which I found a role for HIF in the host-defence mechanism against Tuberculosis in a zebrafish model. In 2013 I was awarded a Vice-Chancellor’s Fellowship to return to Sheffield and set up my research group in Infection and Immunity.

In 2015 I was awarded a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship from The Wellcome Trust/Royal Society, which was extended in 2020.

Current PhD opportunities:

Research interests

When the body encounters invading pathogens, such as bacteria, a series of interactions between host immune cells and pathogen is initiated. These interactions are highly dynamic and involve complex genetic signalling pathways deriving from both the host and the pathogen. White blood cells, or leukocytes, of the host are able to phagocytose (internalise) bacteria and have an artillery of killing mechanisms to disarm the infection.

However some bacteria, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, have evolved to survive and proliferate within host immune cells, disarming the leukocytes to make a niche in which to prosper. These types of infection have been historically successfully treated by targeting the bacteria using antibiotics. However, more recently, there has been an alarming rise in strains which are multi-drug resistant. Further understanding of the host response to infection is required to identify genetic targets for much needed future host-targetted therapies.

One host-genetic pathway that I have previously identified as being a modulator of both inflammation and infection is the HIF pathway, an important cellular oxygen sensing pathway. In the normal oxygen situation the HIF transcription factor is silenced by protein degradation, however during inflammatory and infection situations HIF is stabilised in leukocytes, via mechanisms that have yet to be fully elucidated, and has a number of immune activating effects. HIF therefore represents a potential host-derived target for therapeutics against infectious disease.

The zebrafish is my chosen model to study the roles of HIF in host response to infection. The zebrafish embryo is transparent and genetically manipulable, allowing a unique opportunity in which to study the host response to infection in a whole organism setting. Utilizing zebrafish models of infection I hope to shed light on the roles of HIF during infection, and to further understand the complex signalling processes involved in host-pathogen interaction.

Publications

Show: Featured publications All publications

Journal articles

  • Elks PM, Van Der Vaart M, Van Hensbergen V, Schutz E, Redd MJ, Murayama E, Spaink HP & Meijer AH (2014) . Plos One, 9(6).
  • Elks PM, van der Vaart M, Walmsley SR, van Eeden FJ, Spaink HP, Meijer AH & Renshaw SA (2014) Hypoxic signalling modulates neutrophil nitric oxide in a zebrafish tuberculosis model. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION, 44, 12-12.
  • Elks PM, Brizee S, van der Vaart M, Walmsley SR, van Eeden FJ, Renshaw SA & Meijer AH (2013) . PLoS Pathog, 9(12), e1003789.
  • Thompson AAR, Elks PM, Marriott HM, Eamsamarng S, Higgins KR, Lewis A, Williams L, Parmar S, Shaw G, McGrath EE , Formenti F et al (2013) . Blood, 123(3), 366-376.
  • Santhakumar K, Judson EC, Elks PM, McKee S, Elworthy S, van Rooijen E, Walmsley SS, Renshaw SA, Cross SS & van Eeden FJM (2012) . Cancer Res, 72(16), 4017-4027.
  • Holmes GR, Dixon G, Anderson SR, Reyes-Aldasoro CC, Elks PM, Billings SA, Whyte MKB, Kadirkamanathan V & Renshaw SA (2012) . Adv Hematol, 2012, 792163.
  • Kadirkamanathan V, Anderson SR, Billings SA, Zhang X, Holmes GR, Reyes-Aldasoro CC, Elks PM & Renshaw SA (2012) . Plos One, 7(4).
  • Dixon G, Elks PM, Loynes CA, Whyte MKB & Renshaw SA (2012) . ISRN Hematol, 2012, 915868.
  • Elks PM, Van Eeden FJ, Dixon G, Wang X, Reyes-Aldasoro CC, Ingham PW, Whyte MKB, Walmsley SR & Renshaw SA (2011) . Blood, 118(3), 712-722.
  • Li N, Felber K, Elks P, Croucher P & Roehl HH (2009) . Dev Dyn, 238(2), 459-466.

Book chapters

  • Elks PM, Loynes CA & Renshaw SA (2011) (pp. 261-275).

Conference proceedings

  • Thompson AAR, Elks PM, Marriott HM, Higgins KR, Parmar S, Shaw G, Eamsamarng S, McGrath EE, Formenti F, Van Eeden FJ , Kinnula VL et al (2012) . THORAX, Vol. 67 (pp A1-A1)

All publications

Journal articles

  • Elliot AM, Ribeiro Bravo I, Zhao Y, Wang Z, Astorga Johansson J, Hutton E, Cunningham R, Myllymäki H, Chang KY, Cholewa-Waclaw J , Kelly L et al (2025) . Cell Reports, 44(11), 116478-116478.
  • Norwood JS, Davis JL, Salamaga B, Moss CE, Johnston SA, Elks PM, Kiss‐Toth E & Mesnage S (2024) . Molecular Microbiology, 122(2), 230-242.
  • Hammond FR, Lewis A, Pollara G, Tomlinson GS, Noursadeghi M, Kiss-Toth E & Elks PM (2024) . eLife, 13.
  • Speirs ZC, Loynes CA, Mathiessen H, Elks PM, Renshaw SA & Jørgensen LVG (2024) . Fish & Shellfish Immunology, 148.
  • Mostowy S, Odendall C, Humphreys D, Elks PM & Rohn JL (2023) . Molecular Microbiology, 120(6), 906-909.
  • Hammond FR, Lewis A, Speirs ZC, Anderson HE, Sipka T, Williams LG, Nguyen-Chi M, Meijer AH, Wiegertjes GF & Elks PM (2023) . Disease Models & Mechanisms, 16(6).
  • Burgess TB, Condliffe AM & Elks PM (2022) . Journal of Fungi, 8(8).
  • Vermeren S, Elks PM & Ellett F (2021) . Frontiers in Immunology, 12.
  • Isles HM, Loynes CA, Alasmari S, Kon FC, Henry KM, Kadochnikova A, Hales J, Muir CF, Keightley M-C, Kadirkamanathan V , Hamilton N et al (2021) . eLife, 10.
  • Klionsky DJ, Abdel-Aziz AK, Abdelfatah S, Abdellatif M, Abdoli A, Abel S, Abeliovich H, Abildgaard MH, Abudu YP, Acevedo-Arozena A , Adamopoulos IE et al (2021) . Autophagy, 17(1), 1-382.
  • Stirling DR, Suleyman O, Gil E, Elks PM, Torraca V, Noursadeghi M & Tomlinson GS (2020) . Scientific Reports, 10(1).
  • Hammond FR, Lewis A & Elks PM (2020) . The FEBS Journal, 287(18), 3907-3916.
  • Fenaroli F, Robertson JD, Scarpa E, Gouveia VM, Di Guglielmo C, De Pace C, Elks PM, Poma A, Evangelopoulos D, Canseco JO , Prajsnar TK et al (2020) . ACS Nano, 14(7), 8287-8298.
  • Plant T, Eamsamarng S, Sanchez-Garcia MA, Reyes L, Renshaw SA, Coelho P, Mirchandani AS, Morgan J-M, Ellett FE, Morrison T , Humphries D et al (2020) . Journal of Clinical Investigation, 130(6), 3221-3237.
  • Lewis A & Elks PM (2019) . Frontiers in Immunology, 10.
  • Isles HM, Herman KD, Robertson AL, Loynes CA, Prince LR, Elks PM & Renshaw SA (2019) . Frontiers in Immunology, 10.
  • Hodgkinson JW, Belosevic M, Elks PM & Barreda DR (2019) . Developmental & Comparative Immunology, 96, 111-125.
  • Ogryzko NV, Lewis A, Wilson HL, Meijer AH, Renshaw SA & Elks PM (2019) . Journal of Immunology, 202(2), 494-502.
  • Wiegertjes GF, Wentzel AS, Spaink HP, Elks PM & Fink IR (2016) . Molecular Immunology, 69, 146-156.
  • Felber K, Elks PM, Lecca M & Roehl HH (2015) . PLOS ONE, 10(12).
  • Ellett F, Elks PM, Robertson AL, Ogryzko NV & Renshaw SA (2015) . Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 98(6), 975-981.
  • Elks PM, Renshaw SA, Meijer AH, Walmsley SR & van Eeden FJ (2015) . Disease Models & Mechanisms, 8(11), 1349-1360.
  • Elks PM, Van Der Vaart M, Van Hensbergen V, Schutz E, Redd MJ, Murayama E, Spaink HP & Meijer AH (2014) . Plos One, 9(6).
  • Elks PM, van der Vaart M, Walmsley SR, van Eeden FJ, Spaink HP, Meijer AH & Renshaw SA (2014) Hypoxic signalling modulates neutrophil nitric oxide in a zebrafish tuberculosis model. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION, 44, 12-12.
  • Elks PM, Brizee S, van der Vaart M, Walmsley SR, van Eeden FJ, Renshaw SA & Meijer AH (2013) . PLoS Pathog, 9(12), e1003789.
  • Harris JM, Esain V, Frechette GM, Harris LJ, Cox AG, Cortes M, Garnaas MK, Carroll KJ, Cutting CC, Khan T , Elks PM et al (2013) . Blood, 121(13), 2483-2493.
  • Thompson AAR, Elks PM, Marriott HM, Eamsamarng S, Higgins KR, Lewis A, Williams L, Parmar S, Shaw G, McGrath EE , Formenti F et al (2013) . Blood, 123(3), 366-376.
  • Santhakumar K, Judson EC, Elks PM, McKee S, Elworthy S, van Rooijen E, Walmsley SS, Renshaw SA, Cross SS & van Eeden FJM (2012) . Cancer Res, 72(16), 4017-4027.
  • Holmes GR, Dixon G, Anderson SR, Reyes-Aldasoro CC, Elks PM, Billings SA, Whyte MKB, Kadirkamanathan V & Renshaw SA (2012) . Adv Hematol, 2012, 792163.
  • Kadirkamanathan V, Anderson SR, Billings SA, Zhang X, Holmes GR, Reyes-Aldasoro CC, Elks PM & Renshaw SA (2012) . Plos One, 7(4).
  • Dixon G, Elks PM, Loynes CA, Whyte MKB & Renshaw SA (2012) . ISRN Hematol, 2012, 915868.
  • Elks PM, Van Eeden FJ, Dixon G, Wang X, Reyes-Aldasoro CC, Ingham PW, Whyte MKB, Walmsley SR & Renshaw SA (2011) . Blood, 118(3), 712-722.
  • Renshaw SA, Elks P, Dixon G, Wang X, Ingham PW, van Eeden FJ, Whyte M & Walmsley SR (2011) . B36. AIRWAY IMMUNE MECHANISMS AND INFLAMMATION: ANIMAL MODELS, A2858-A2858.
  • Li N, Felber K, Elks P, Croucher P & Roehl HH (2009) . Developmental Dynamics, 238(3).
  • Li N, Felber K, Elks P, Croucher P & Roehl HH (2009) . Dev Dyn, 238(2), 459-466.

Book chapters

  • Wiegertjes GF & Elks PM (2022) , Principles of Fish Immunology (pp. 203-227). Springer International Publishing
  • Elks PM, Loynes CA & Renshaw SA (2011) (pp. 261-275).

Conference proceedings

  • Szkuta P, Lewis A, Renshaw S, Condliffe A & Elks P (2019) . European Journal of Clinical Investigation, Vol. 49(S1) (pp 67-68). Coimbra, Portugal, 22 May 2019 - 22 May 2019.
  • Rizzello L, Robertson J, Elks P, McHugh T, Renshaw S & Battaglia G (2017) Polymersomes for targeting and eradicating intracellular parasites. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 253
  • Elks P, van der Vaart M, van Eeden F, Spaink H, Walmsley S, Meijer A & Renshaw S (2014) Hypoxia signaling modulates neutrophil nitric oxide in a zebrafish tuberculosis model. EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL, Vol. 44
  • Thompson AAR, Elks PM, Marriott HM, Higgins KR, Parmar S, Shaw G, Eamsamarng S, McGrath EE, Formenti F, Van Eeden FJ , Kinnula VL et al (2012) . THORAX, Vol. 67 (pp A1-A1)
  • Thompson AAR, Elks PM, Marriott HM, Higgins KR, Shaw G, Parmar S, Formenti F, Van Eden FJ, Pugh CW, Sabroe I , Dockrell DH et al (2012) . C31. REGULATION OF LUNG INFLAMMATION (pp A4173-A4173)
  • Felber K, Elks P, Croucher P & Roehl H (2009) . MECHANISMS OF DEVELOPMENT, Vol. 126 (pp S209-S209)
  • Elks PM, Li N, Roehl HH & Croucher PI (2007) WNT signalling upregulates osteoblast differentiation in zebrafish: A novel model for studies in osteoblastogenesis. JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Vol. 22(7) (pp 1115-1115)

Preprints

  • Szydlo-Shein A, de Estrada BS-MD, Rosenheim J, Turner CT, Chandran A, Tsaliki E, Lipman MCI, Kunst H, Pollara G, Elks PM , Levraud J-P et al (2025) , eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd.
  • Szydlo-Shein A, de Estrada BS-MD, Rosenheim J, Turner CT, Chandran A, Tsaliki E, Lipman MCI, Kunst H, Pollara G, Elks PM , Levraud J-P et al (2025) , eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd.
  • Han DJY, Costa DM, Luo G, Wright K, Pandey M, Wee D, Chen Y, Akincilar SC, Tergaonkar V, Dorajoo R , Carissimo G et al (2025) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Szydlo-Shein A, de Estrada BS-MD, Rosenheim J, Turner CT, Chandran A, Tsaliki E, Lipman MCI, Kunst H, Pollara G, Elks PM , Levraud J-P et al (2024) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Norwood JS, Davis JL, Salamaga B, Moss CE, Johnston S, Elks PM, Kiss-Toth E & Mesnage S (2024) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Elliot AM, Ribeiro Bravo I, Astorga Johansson J, Hutton E, Cunningham R, Myllymäki H, Chang KY, Beltran M, Dobie R, Elks P , Hansen CG et al (2023) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Burgess TB, Hammond FR, Szkuta PT, Lewis A, Christou S, Ayscough KR, Johnston SA, Condliffe AM & Elks PM (2023) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Hammond FR, Lewis A, Pollara G, Tomlinson GS, Noursadeghi M, Kiss-Toth E & Elks PM (2023) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Hammond FR, Lewis A, Anderson HE, Williams LG, Meijer AH, Wiegertjes GF & Elks PM (2022) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Stirling DR, Suleyman O, Gil E, Elks PM, Torraca V, Noursadeghi M & Tomlinson GS (2019) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Lewis A & Elks PM (2019) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Isles HM, Loynes CA, Hamilton N, Muir CF, Kadochnikova A, Henry KM, Kadirkamanathan V, Renshaw SA & Elks PM (2019) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Gibson RH, Evans RJ, Hotham R, Bojarczuk A, Lewis A, Bielska E, May RC, Elks PM, Renshaw SA & Johnston SA (2017) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Rizzello L, Robertson JD, Elks PM, Poma A, Daneshpour N, Prajsnar TK, Evangelopoulos D, Canseco JO, Yona S, Marriott HM , Dockrell DH et al (2017) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Isles HM, Herman K, Robertson AL, Loynes CA, Prince LR, Elks PM & Renshaw SA () .
Research group
  • Amy Lewis - Research Assistant
  • Ffion Hammond - PhD
  • Jelle Oskam - PhD
  • Tom Burgess - PhD
  • Josh Norwood - PhD
  • Ben Walker - Sheffield Hallam Placement Student
Professional activities and memberships
  • Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow.
  • Member of the European Respiratory Society.
  • Reviewer of manuscripts.
  • Supervisor of students (BMedSci/ bachelors/ masters)
  • Member of the Zebrafish Disease Models Society.
  • NC3Rs Training Fellowship Assessment Panel (2021-2023).

Links