Research

Genetic and functional mechanisms of susceptibility to infection

We are searching for genes in the human genome that carry sequence variants, which are involved in resistance to infection and predispose to infectious diseases. Discovery of such genes can open new biological pathways and suggest new targets for intervention. We use methods of human genetics, including genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and exome sequencing, in vitro models of infection and methods of molecular biology to understand underlying biological mechanisms protecting from infection.

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Selected References

Ivan Angulo, Oscar Vadas, Fabien Garçon, Edward Banham-Hall, Vincent Plagnol Timothy R. Leahy,Helen Baxendale, Tanya Coulter, James Curtis, Changxin Wu, Katherine Blake-Palmer, Olga Perisic,Deborah Smyth, Mailis Maes, Christine Fiddler, Jatinder Juss, Deirdre Cilliers, Gašper Markelj,Anita Chandra, George Farmer, Anna Kielkowska, Jonathan Clark, Sven Kracker, Marianne Debré,Capucine Picard, Isabelle Pellier, Nada Jabado, James A. Morris, Gabriela Barcenas-Morales,Alain Fischer, Len Stephens, Phillip Hawkins, Jeffrey C. Barrett, Mario Abinun, Menna Clatworthy,Anne Durandy, Rainer Doffinger, Edwin Chilvers, Andrew J. Cant, Dinakantha Kumararatne,Klaus Okkenhaug, Roger L. Williams, Alison Condliffe, Sergey Nejentsev: Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase delta Gene Mutation Predisposes to Respiratory Infection and Airway Damage. Science 342:866-71, 2013

Nejentsev S, Walker N, Riches D, Egholm M, Todd JA: Rare Variants of IFIH1, a Gene Implicated in Antiviral Responses, Protect Against Type 1 Diabetes Science 324: 387-9, 2009   

Nejentsev S, Howson JMM, Walker NM, Szeszko JS, Field SF, Stevens HE, Reynolds P, Hardy M, King E, Masters J, Hulme J, Maier LMM, Smyth D, Bailey R, Cooper JD, Ribas G, Campbell RD, Clayton DG, Todd JA & The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium: Localisation of type 1 diabetes susceptibility to the MHC class I genes HLA-B and HLA-A. Nature 450:887-892, 2007

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