The research in my laboratory mainly investigates how pathogen interaction with the innate immune system influences the development of adaptive immunity and inflammation. My particular interest is Type 2 inflammation, which is responsible for widespread suffering in allergy, as well as being a hallmark of infection with parasitic worms (helminths).
Our research uses a combination of in vivo and in vitro model systems, focussing on the medically important helminth Schistosoma mansoni. Murine infection with this parasite provides a relevant experimental model of Type 2 inflammation that has been used extensively by my laboratory and others to reveal important cellular and molecular players and processes during hepatic, intestinal and pulmonary inflammation. Our current experimental focus in this area is on the immune features that dominate in the lungs and intestines at different stages of infection, and interplay between the parasite and the host microbiota.