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Alexander Anthony Deborah Pat Larcombe Kicic Strickland Holt BScEnv (Hons) PhD BSc (Hons) PhD PhD PhD, DSc, FRCPath, FRCPI, FAA Honorary Research
Honorary Research Associate
Researchers have made a world-first discovery on how to prevent severe respiratory infections in babies.
Results from recent clinical studies suggest potential efficacy of immune training (IT)-based approaches for protection against severe lower respiratory tract infections in infants, but underlying mechanisms are unclear.
The immunological changes underpinning acquisition of remission (also called sustained unresponsiveness) following food immunotherapy remain poorly defined. Limited access to effective therapies and biosamples from treatment responders has prevented progress. Probiotic peanut oral immunotherapy is highly effective at inducing remission, providing an opportunity to investigate immune changes.
Human rhinovirus (RV)-induced exacerbations of asthma and wheeze are a major cause of emergency room presentations and hospital admissions among children. Previous studies have shown that immune response patterns during these exacerbations are heterogeneous and are characterized by the presence or absence of robust interferon responses.
Immunotherapy has revolutionised the treatment of cancers by exploiting the immune system to eliminate tumour cells. Despite the impressive response in a proportion of patients, clinical benefit has been limited thus far.
Over the past 20 years natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapies have emerged as a safe and effective treatment option for patients with relapsed or refractory leukemia. Unlike T cell-based therapies, NK cells harbor an innate capacity to eliminate malignant cells without prior sensitization and can be adoptively transferred between individuals without the need for extensive HLA matching.
Acute wheezing is one of the most common hospital presentations for young children. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and rhinovirus (RV) species A, B and the more recently described species C are implicated in the majority of these presentations. However, the relative importance and age-specificities of these viruses have not been defined.
The absence of a diagnostic test for acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is a major impediment in managing this serious childhood condition. ARF is an autoimmune condition triggered by infection with group A Streptococcus.