My area of expertise immunology and my group is focused on understanding how
the immune system combats fungal infection and what we're particularly
interested in is understanding the sensors on immune cells called receptors that
are able to actually detect microbes and trigger protective immune responses.
Now, we know that these receptors or sensors are critically important because people
who have defects in these molecules are susceptible to infection. One group of
these molecules we are specifically interested in this is the group called
the C-type lectin receptors which we have discovered to play an essential
role in providing protective immunity to fungal infections. My group has made many
discoveries in this area, for example, we have discovered that these receptors mediate
the relative immune cells to actually recognise and eat fungi and kill them.
This research is important because it allows us to understand why certain
people suffer from fungal infections but also lays the foundation for the
development of novel therapies in the future. For example work from my lab has
led to the discovery that a very nasty
skin infection called chromoblastomycosis
results from defects in immune recognition by these sensing molecules
and excitingly we have discovered a drug that can allow us to overcome the sensing
defect and we've tried this in patients
and it works.
So, it is my career ambition to continue to translate our research discoveries
into the benefit of patients who suffer from these devastating infections.
