Research groups

There are currently over 30 research groups at the Dunn School, investigating different aspects of the molecular and cellular basis underlying health and disease.
Research area:

DNA Repair Mechanisms and Human Disease

Ivan Ahel

Exploring the pathways underlying genome stability, in particular the role of the post-translational protein modification ADP-ribosylation

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Innate immunity and neuroinflammation

Sally Cowley

Director of the James and Lillian Martin Centre for Stem Cell Research

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Molecular immunology of T cell surface receptors

Omer Dushek

Understanding how the immune system discriminates between normal and abnormal tissues, and harnessing this knowledge to develop new therapies

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Molecular Mechanisms of RNA Virus Replication

Ervin Fodor

Elucidating the fundamental mechanisms underlying the replication of RNA viruses such as Influenza, Nipah, and SARS-CoV-2

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Cell Biology of Signalling

Matthew Freeman

Investigating the interface between membrane proteins, the cell biology of signalling, and mechanisms of human disease

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Ecology and Evolution of Microbial Communities

Kevin Foster

Ecology, evolution and the human microbiome

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Macrophages, Inflammation and Drug Development

David Greaves

Using knowledge of macrophage cell biology to develop new anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial drugs

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Molecular Parasitology

Matt Higgins

Unpicking host-parasite interactions in molecular detail. Matt Higgins has a joint appointment between the Biochemistry Department, the Kavli Institute and the Dunn School. His group is based in the Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building.

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Molecular Mechanisms of Bacterial Membrane Biogenesis

Georgia Isom

Using a combination of structural biology, biochemistry and bacterial genetics to study Gram-negative bacterial membrane transport systems

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Macrophage Modulation During Viral Infection and Neuroinflammation

William James

William James has now retired.

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Recognition of Abnormal Cells by Leukocyte Receptors

Anton van der Merwe

Investigating the mechanisms by which leukocytes use cell surface receptors to recognise infected or otherwise abnormal cells

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Mechanisms of Virus Biogenesis and Immune Evasion 

Sumana Sanyal

Investigating mechanisms of flavivirus biogenesis, using Zika and Dengue as models, and their strategies of evading host immune responses

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Lymphocyte function in health and disease

Quentin Sattentau

The Sattentau group has relocated to the Max Delbruck Centre for Molecular Medicine, Berlin-Buch.

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Molecular Mucosal Immunology

Emma Slack

Elucidating the mechanisms by which the mucosal immune system can control the abundance and pathogenicity of opportunistic pathogens

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Poxvirus Evasion of Innate Immunity

Geoffrey L Smith

Studying the mechanisms by which orthopoxviruses suppress innate immunity

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Mechanisms and Prevention of Antibiotic Resistance and Tolerance

Mathew Stracy

Studying how bacteria respond to antibiotics from multiple perspectives; ranging from molecular biology to infection epidemiology

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Bacterial Pathogenesis: Molecular Mechanisms to Prevention

Christoph Tang

Understanding how pathogens colonise specific niches in the body, evade elimination by the immune system, and cause disease

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Bacterial pathogenesis and innate immune signaling

Teresa Thurston

Elucidating the mechanisms by which intracellular bacteria overcome the host’s innate immune response.

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