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Blizard Institute - Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry

Infection, immunity, and inflammation group

The infection, immunity and inflammation section studies:

(1) inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with both basic and translational research. In addition to examining pathways the initiate inflammation (for example, in dendritic cells), the section also studies the mechanisms whereby inflammation retards growth in children with Crohn’s disease.

(2) The mechanisms whereby variations in psychological stress alter disease activity in IBD complements molecular studies undertaken by the Centre, which also studies novel agents such as growth factors and nutriceuticals in the treatment of IBD. Translational studies examine the efficacy of novel antibodies to proteins previously identified as central to the development of inflammation.

(3) A large group studies the genetic basis of GI disease, particularly coeliac disease and Crohn’s disease. They identify novel immune genes and examine their relevance in functional assays.

(4) Basic immunology focuses on parts of the immune response that are relevant to GI disease. These include T-cell activation, antigen presentation and novel mechanisms for delivering vaccines.

(5) The Centre’s interest in GI infection focuses particularly on parasitology. Tropical gastroenterology forms a strong component of the Centre with formalised links with the University of Zambia. The Centre constitutes the Gastroenterology part of the Wellcome Trust Bloomsbury Centre for Tropical Medicine.

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