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Epithelial-dendritic cell interactions in allergic disorders

Airway epithelial cells act through multiple mechanisms to function as an important component of the pulmonary defence strategy that is crucial...

Interactions between innate and adaptive immunity in asthma pathogenesis: new perspectives from studies on acute exacerbations

Atopic asthma, which is at its highest prevalence during childhood/young adulthood, represents the main focus of this review.

The role of dendritic cells and regulatory T cells in the regulation of allergic asthma

Airways hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is one of the major clinical features of allergic airways disease including allergic asthma

Role of stem cell precursors in tissues

We have recently published a paper identifying precursor populations in peripheral lung (2017), and have also discovered that these populations can be found in multiple tissues.

Attenuation of maternal inflammatory responses during pregnancy to promote normal immune and behavioral outcomes in the offspring

This study will identify how the immune system contributes to neurodevelopmental outcomes and will investigate the use of an agent from traditional medicines.

The impact of Influenza infection during early life on immune development

This study will investigate the why disease is worse in infants and how early life viral infection impacts the developing immune system.

Mapping changes in immune cell populations in gestational tissues over the course of pregnancy

This is a strategic “pilot” project in which we are seeking basic information on the immune cell content of gestational tissues.

Long-term derangement of antigen presenting cell populations in the respiratory tract following Influenza A infection

This project investigates how different populations of cells within the respiratory tract immune system are altered during a viral infection.

Deborah Strickland

Head, Pregnancy and Early Life Immunology

The interaction of genetic and environmental contributions to immunological traits and their association with atopic disease remain unclear. Flow cytometry and in vitro cytokine responses were used to characterize immune profiles from 93 school-aged twin pairs. Using an established twin pair analytical strategy, the genetic and environmental influences on immunological traits were evaluated, along with their association with atopy. Our findings suggest strong genetic influence on several traits, particularly B cell abundance. In contrast, cytokine responses from in vitro stimulations appeared mainly shaped by environmental exposures.