Overview
During my PhD study, I was among the first to demonstrate that systemic sensitization to food proteins can occur through atopic (barrier-disrupted) skin and that this can break oral tolerance. The significance being that exposure to allergens on eczematous skin may initiate ‘the atopic march’. This concept was published in a series of papers in immunology and allergy journals. These findings also led to important clinical studies in children (Du Toit-G et al., N Engl J Med 2015, 2016). I was appointed as member of the ‘expert advice’ committee commissioned by the UK Food Standard Agency that guided the government to implement new policies in 2009 (http://www.food.gov.uk/policy-advice/allergyintol/peanutspregnancy). My work also led to a successful patent on ‘skin immunization system’.
As a post-doctoral fellow, I delved deeper into skin immunity and demonstrated that skin resident T cells can be activated by sole recognition of autologous stress-molecules on epithelial cells and that intraepithelial T cells are key for host protection against cutaneous carcinogenesis (Nat Immunol 2008). These findings underpin the tumour immune-surveillance hypothesis and were a paradigm shift in the field at the time. I subsequently showed that the intraepithelial T cell response to stress-ligands also induces potent type-2 and IgE responses (Science 2011). The demonstration of links between pathways initiating early phases of tumour-surveillance and those initiating atopic IgE responses was an important conceptual breakthrough. As a result, I was awarded the Hardiman-Redon prize for outstanding contribution to cancer research.
Over the last ~ 6 years I have continued to study tissue immune-surveillance in the skin and particularly the role of type-2 immunity in tissue homeostasis, epidermal integrity, inflammation and carcinogenesis. Recent key findings include the role of IL-13 in T cell-epithelial cell cross-communication and regulation of epithelial cell transit through the skin (Nat Commun 2016); and the discovery of a novel role for IgE in protecting against epithelial cell damage caused by environmental DNA-damaging xenobiotics (Nat Immunol 2018). These findings have shed new light on the role of this ancient immunoglobulin and raised wide interest (‘News and Views, Nat Immunol; ‘Research Highlight’ Nat Review Immunol; global press coverage).
Ongoing research projects:
- Defining initiation of 'lymphoid stress-surveillance' in the tissue and its integration with downstream innate and adaptive immunity
- Identifying the mechanism(s) of IgE mediated tissue immune-surveillance
- Characterising the IgE/FcεRI axis in human skin cancer
- Investigating the role of B cells and characterising the immunoglobulin repertoire in human skin cancer
- Understanding the function of the IL-33/ST2 pathway in skin homeostasis, epithelial repair and tissue inflammation
- Exploring how the immune system aids DNA-repair processes
- Characterising the role of eosinophils in tissue homeostasis and cancer
- Identifying how complement proteins regulate tissue inflammation and cancer
- Understanding how tissue resident immune cells communicate with epithelial cells and thus aid their differentiation, turn-over and movement through the tissue
Guest Lectures
Invited speaker at the Keystone Symposia on Skin-Immune Crosstalk, Colorado, USA, February 2021 – Cancelled due to COVID-19, 2021
Invited keynote speaker at the EAACI Immunology Winter School, Digital, 2021, 2021
Invited speaker at the Gordon Research Conference on Epithelial Differentiation and Keratinization, Barcelona, Spain, 2021 – delayed due to COVID-19, 2021
Invited speaker at the Gordon Research Conference on Food Allergy and Type 2 Immunity, California, USA, 2020, 2020
Lecture for the ‘Immunologisches Kolloquium” seminar series at Hannover Medical School, Germany, 2020, 2020
Invited speaker at the Cancer Immunology Symposium, CRICK, London, UK, 2019, 2019
Invited speaker at the ‘Type 2 Immunity in Homeostasis and Disease’ conference, Bruges, Belgium, 2019, 2019
Invited speaker at the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Congress, Lisbon, Portugal, 2019, 2019
Invited speaker at the Nature Conference ‘Grand Challenges in Immunology: Immunotherapy for Cancer and Beyond’, Qingdao, China, 2019, 2019
Invited speaker at the ‘IIT Symposium, UCL, London, UK, 2019, 2019
Invited speaker at the ‘From Lab to Clinic: Generating New Therapeutic Targets for Unmet Needs’ meeting, Oxford, UK, 2019, 2019
Invited speaker at the ‘West of Scotland Immunology Group Showcase Event’, Glasgow, UK, 2019, 2019
Invited speaker at the Key Symposium on ‘The Origin of Cancer’, Stockholm, Sweden, 2019, 2019
Invited speaker at the British Society for Immunology Congress, Liverpool, UK, 2019, 2019
Invited speaker at the ‘ 120th International Titisee Conference’ on ‘Evolution of immune defence mechanisms’, Titisee, Germany, 2019, 2019
Invited speaker at EMBO workshop ‘Perspectives on skin cancer prevention’, Les Diablerets, Switzerland, 2018, 2018
Invited Chair for keynote lecture, European Congress of Immunology, Amsterdam, 2018, 2018
Lecture at the CRICK, London, UK, 2018, 2018
Lecture at the Institute of Infection and Immunity at St George's, University of London, UK, 2018, 2018
Lecture at the Manchester Immunology Group BSI seminar series, University of Manchester, UK, 2018, 2018
Lecture at the Edinburgh Immunology Group seminar series, University of Edinburgh, UK, 2018, 2018
Lecture at the CRICK for postdocs on ‘careers’, London, UK, 2018, 2018
Lecture at the South Wales Immunology Group seminar series, Cardiff, UK, 2018, 2018
Lecture at the Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK, 2018, 2018
Lecture at the ‘Immunology North East’ seminar series group at Newcastle University, UK, 2018, 2018
Lecture at seminar series, University of Surrey, UK, 2018, 2018
Lecture at the ‘LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center’, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 2018, 2018
Lecture at the Wellcome’s Researcher Meeting on Immunology and Infection Biology, UK, 2018, 2018
Lecture at the BSI Immunology seminar series, Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, UK, 2017, 2017
Invited speaker at the Medical Research Club, London, UK, 2017, 2017
Lecture at the International Center for Infectiologie Research (CIRI), Inserm, Lyon, France, 2017, 2017
Invited speaker at the British Society for Immunology Congress, Brighton, UK, 2017, 2017
Invited Chair for 2 sessions at the British Society for Immunology Congress, Brighton, UK, 2017, 2017
Public seminar at Imperial College London Festival, London, UK, 2016, 2016
Lecture at the Cancer Sciences Seminar Series, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK, 2016, 2016
Invited Chair for 2 sessions at the British Society for Immunology Congress, Brighton, UK, 2016, 2016
CRUK lab tour and talk for sponsors, Imperial College London, London, UK, 2016, 2016
Lecture at CRUK Cancer Immunology workshop, Imperial College London, London, UK, 2016, 2016
Invited speaker at the European Society for Dermatological Research Congress, Rotterdam, Holland, 2015, 2015
Lecture at the Tayside Immunology Group/Cell signalling and Immunology Division Seminar Series, Dundee, UK, 2015, 2015
Invited speaker at the British Society for Rheumatology Congress, Manchester, UK, 2015, 2015
Lecture at the ‘Wright-Fleming Institute Seminar Series’, St Mary, Imperial College London, UK, 2015, 2015
Invited speaker at the Congress of European Societies of Toxicology, EUROTOX, Porto, Portugal, 2015, 2015
Lecture at the Wellcome Trust’s Researcher Meeting in ‘cell biology and physiology in health and disease’, Edinburgh, UK, 2015, 2015
Lecture at ‘Stem Cells @ Lunch’, King’s College London, UK, 2014, 2014
Lecture at the Division of Asthma, Allergy & Lung Biology, King’s College London, UK, 2014, 2014
Lecture at the ‘Immune Systems Seminars’ at Barts and the London Medical School, Queen Mary College, UK, 2014, 2014
Keynote speaker at ‘Immunobiology Symposium’, Glasgow University, Glasgow, UK, 2014, 2014
Lecture at the ‘Instituto De Medicina Molecular’, Lisbon, Portugal, 2013, 2013
Lecture at London Research Institute, Cancer Research UK, 2013, 2013
Lecture at the ‘Bristol Immunology Group’, Bristol, UK, 2013, 2013
Lecture at the Immunology Section, Glasgow University, Glasgow, UK, 2013, 2013
Lecture at CRICK Symposium, Wellcome Trust, London, UK, 2012, 2012
Lecture at the ‘John Humphrey Seminar Series, Imperial College London, UK, 2012, 2012
Lecture at the London Research Institute 10 year anniversary Symposium, Royal College of Surgeons, London, UK, 2012, 2012
Invited speaker at the European Network of Immunology Institutes summer school in Advanced Immunology, Capo Caccia, Sardinia, Italy, 2011, 2011
Lecture at ‘Immunobiology seminar series’, Institute of Child Health, UCL, UK, 2008, 2008
Lecture at ‘Immunology seminar series’, Bristol, UK, 2007, 2007
Invited speaker at the XXIIIrd Congress of the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2004, 2004