Project Areas
Current projects are studying the basis of resistance to parasitic infection in the human population with a focus on Schistosoma mansoni. In collaboration with other in-house groups we also develop new polymers for nucleic acid delivery (DNA and siRNA), nanomedical applications for the treatment of allergic lung disease, and high-throughput diagnostic techniques for allergy and parasite infection. In collaboration with AstraZeneca, we investigate Helicobacter pylori gastric adhesion mechanisms and how these can be expolited pharmaceutically.
We currently have five main project areas:
1. Mechanisms of Helicobacter pylori adhesion to the human gastric epithelium
2. Development of new reporter systems for detection of sensitisation with allergen-specific IgE
3. Molecular Immunology of human Schistosomiasis and Echinococcosis
4. Nanomedical approaches for drug and gene delivery
5. The role of chitin and chitinases in innate immunity