Institute: Cardiff University
Biography
I have always been interested in the molecular and cellular basis of host-pathogen relationships and the underlying modulation of complex immune responses.
During my PhD I established a screening method to identify CD4+ T cell antigens from cDNA libraries of the parasite Schistosoma mansoni. I then extended these studies during a two-year postdoc, and investigated the cellular and humoral immune response to schistosomes upon infection and vaccination.
My research since 2000 has concentrated on defining the role of human γδ T cells in bridging innate and adaptive immune responses. γδ T cells are the prototype of 'unconventional' lymphocytes in that they are not restricted by classical MHC and display characteristics of 'conventional' T cells, NK cells and myeloid cells. Normally only constituting a minor population in human blood, they occupy a unique niche in microbial recognition and contribute to tumour surveillance.
More recently we have started to characterise early immune responses in acutely infected patients and define pathogen-specific signatures of cellular and soluble biomarkers ('immune fingerprints'). My research is placed at the interface of basic, translational and clinical research and benefits greatly from interdisciplinary collaborations with immunologists, microbiologists, biochemists, epidemiologists and clinicians.
Besides implications for diagnosis and treatment of microbial infections this work has direct consequences for vaccine design and cancer immunotherapy.
Key Publications
A list of publications can be found here.
Web Links of Interest