Infection and Immunity
Infection and Immunity
The following groups perform research in this area:
DNA repair mechanisms and human disease
Our genome is constantly exposed to various types of DNA damage, both endogenous and exogenous. It has been estimated that the DNA in every cell of our body suffers thousands of DNA lesions per day, which, if left unattended, can lead to mutations and/or cell death. Our cells have evolved a variety of mechanisms to counteract...
From April 2022, Tanmay Bharat's group will be located at the MRC laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, maintaining a small team at the Dunn School.
Structural cell biology of bacterial biofilm formation
Rather than living as single, isolated cells in liquid cultures, most bacteria on this planet form macroscopic, surface-attached,...
Molecular immunology of signal integration by T cell surface receptors
T cells are important white blood cells that continually circulate in the body in search of the molecular signatures ('antigens') of infection and cancer. When encountering such antigens T cells become activated and subsequently initiate immune responses in order to clear these threats. Their...
Influenza virus replication at the molecular level
Influenza viruses are important human and animal pathogens. They cause widespread clinical and veterinary disease and have a considerable economic impact. Our laboratory focuses on the fundamental molecular mechanisms of influenza virus replication, aiming to understand the molecular determinants of host range and...
Cell biology of intercellular signalling
The main questions we study are what cellular mechanisms regulate signalling between animal cells, and how does that signalling control biological functions like physiology, development and pathology?
Regulation of inflammatory responses in vivo
Inflammation is the response of vascularised tissues to injury, metabolic disturbance and infection. Acute inflammation typically lasts only a few days while chronic inflammation can last for months or years, and is a defining feature of many important human diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and coronary heart disease...
Molecular mechanisms of bacterial membrane biogenesis
Using structural biology, biochemistry, and microbiology to study the molecular mechanisms by which Gram-negative bacteria build their outer membranes and protect themselves against antibiotics.
Macrophage modulation during viral infection and neuroinflammation
We are based in the James & Lillian Martin Centre.
The macrophage is a key cell in human health and disease, and we have developed very powerful methods for dissecting both physiological and pathological pathways in both infectious and non-infectious disease. We are currently focusing most on...
The Lea group has now relocated to the Center for Structural Biology at the NIH National Cancer Institute, USA, maintaining a small team at the Dunn School.
Host-pathogen interactions
An understanding of the way in which an invading pathogen interacts with its host at a molecular level is an essential aid to understanding the nature and extent of...
Recognition of abnormal cells by leukocyte receptors
My group studies the mechanisms by which leukocytes, such as T cells, use cell surface receptors to recognise infected or otherwise abnormal cells. The T cell receptor (TCR) plays a major role in this process by probing the surfaces of cells for the presence of 'foreign' peptides presented on MHC molecules in a...