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SUMMARY:St Mary’s I & I Seminar Series: Dr Peter Cook – Aspergillus\, a
 sthma and the airway: Why do fungi trigger inflammatory lung diseases?
DESCRIPTION:Join us for the Spring Series \nof the St Mary’s  Infection 
 & Immunity Seminars (hybrid)\n \nDr Peter Cook\nAbstract:\nOur lungs are 
 exposed to thousands of fungal spores everyday\, particularly Aspergillus 
 fumigatus (Af)\, which can trigger asthma and lead to severe fungal asthma
  (impacting 10 million people worldwide). Despite the rising number of cas
 es and developing resistance to current anti-fungal therapies\, we do not 
 understand the immune mechanisms that underpin the development of fungal s
 ensitization. My group focuses on understanding spore-innate cell interact
 ions in the context of the lung environment to enable us to identify novel
  mechanism(s) that mediate anti-fungal allergic inflammation. We have util
 ized a mouse model of repeated Af spore exposure and single cell technolog
 ies (single cell RNAseq\, 30+ parameter flow and mass cytometry) to identi
 fy the specific dendritic cells (DCs) subsets which are critical to elicit
  CD4+T cell driven anti-fungal allergic inflammation.We have also profiled
  DC subsets and their activation status in the sputum of fungal asthma pat
 ients to confirm these murine results translate to human disease. The spor
 es themselves expose a complex array of mediators upon germination though 
 previously it has been unclear whether this an important step in triggerin
 g allergic responses. We have determined that a precise spore morphotype i
 s essential to trigger DCs to mediate allergic inflammation. Identificatio
 n of the precise fungal motifs on this morphotype that stimulate these res
 ponses are underway. Finally\, our previous work has identified that the l
 ung airways govern immune cell responses via modifying their metabolic sta
 te. Ongoing work has identified that metabolism is a governs DC ability to
  mount anti-fungal responses. Together this work will provide a new level 
 of insight of how fungi elicit innate immune cells to mediate allergic dis
 ease\, with the aim to revealing promising new therapeutic targets.\n\nBio
 graphy:\nDr Peter Cook is a WellcomeTrust Sir Henry Dale Fellow at the MRC
  Centre for Medical Mycology (MRC CMM)\, University of Exeter. After gradu
 ating from University of York with a BSc (Hons) in Genetics\, Peter remain
 ed in York and undertook his PhD to understand how helminth infection skew
 s immune events in the skin. His postdoctoral research at University of Ed
 inburgh and University of Manchester discovered novel mechanisms that inna
 te cells utilise to drive type 2 inflammation\, a key part of allergic and
  anti-helminth responses. In 2016 he was awarded the University of Manches
 ter Dean’s Prize and a Springboard award from the Academy of Medical Sci
 ences (in 2017) to establish his research group. This work generated insig
 hts into how the lung airway environment governs the response of innate ce
 lls via regulating their metabolic activity. In 2020 he relocated to the M
 RC CMM in Exeter where his group focuses on understanding how the spores o
 f the ubiquitous environmental mould\, Aspergillus fumigatus\, triggers ou
 r immune response to mediate chronic airway allergic diseases such as asth
 ma. Despite the huge clinical burden caused by fungi\, the processes that 
 elicit these responses are poorly understood. This work will provide insig
 hts with the aim to improve therapeutic strategies for asthmatic and funga
 l diseases.\njoin us in person:\nRoger Bannister LT\, Medical School\, St 
 Mary’s Campus\nand online via teams:\nJoin on your computer\, mobile app
  or room device\nClick here to join the meeting\n
URL:https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/161012/st-marys-i-i-seminar-series-dr
 -peter-cook-aspergillus-asthma-and-the-airway-why-do-fungi-trigger-inflamm
 atory-lung-diseases/
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20230516T123000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20230516T133000
LOCATION:Roger Bannister LT\, 1st Floor & Online\, Medical School\, St Mary
 's Campus\, Imperial College London\, London\, W2 1NY\, United Kingdom
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