A molecular arms race
Greg Towers is a Professor of Virology at UCL, and his work focuses on the interactions between retroviruses (principally HIV) and their mammalian hosts. Work in Professor Towers' laboratory is directed towards understanding how hosts can protect themselves from viral infection using their innate immune system and how viruses evolve to antagonise or escape these processes to successfully infect their hosts.
A new generation of vaccines
Professor Brendan Wren's research at LSHTM focuses on the molecular characterisation of bacterial virulence factors. In collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Professor Wren led the project to sequence the genome of the food poisoning agent Campylobacter jejuni that, for the first time, revealed a bacterial apparatus for modifying proteins by the addition of sugar molecules (an N-linked glycosylation system).
Simple and fast malaria diagnosis
Together with a team of researchers at the HPA Malaria Reference Laboratory, LSHTM and the Department of Clinical Parasitology, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Colin Sutherland's research in malaria biology has led to the design of a new application of Loop-Activated Amplification (LAMP) technology for detecting DNA from Plasmodium parasites in the blood of suspected malaria patients.
A vaccine for meningococcal serotype B
Professor Martin Hibberd at LSHTM has used a genomic approach to confirm that human complement factor H is the key controller of meningococcal disease susceptibility, protecting Neisseria meningitides from complement-mediated killing, and has developed the first licensed vaccine against meningococcal serogroup B.
Understanding malaria
Professor Eleanor Riley’s research at LSHTM has advanced our knowledge of innate and adaptive immune responses to the Plasmodium pathogen. The studies define the nature of an effective immune response to malaria and provide an essential evidence base for the development and evaluation of novel vaccines. Through a worldwide network of collaborations, basic research is complemented by seroepidemiological studies to map and monitor changes in malaria transmission.
Fighting infection early
The attachment of bacteria to host tissues marks a critical early step in the development of infectious diseases. Pili are fibrous organelles expressed on the surface of Gram-negative bacteria that mediate attachment to host tissues. We have used the P pilus from uropathogenic E. coli as a model system to understand pilus structure, pilus biogenesis, and pilus-mediated attachment to the host tissue.
PATHSEEK
Professor Judy Breuer at UCL leads the PATHSEEK consortium, which generates whole genome sequencing data directly from clinical specimens for use in diagnostic microbiology. The consortium is focused on pathogens with an unmet clinical and public health need or for which the threat is of global importance including HIV, influenza, Hepititis B/C, TB and Chlamydia.