Current research:
The incidence of autoimmune diseases affecting the skin and/or internal organs is rising steadily, but at a rate that cannot be explained by genetics alone. This argues for the importance of environmental causes in disease initiation and, possibly, progression. Pollutants and microorganisms (e.g., viruses) may directly damage our cells and elicit production of auto-antibodies by our immune system against our own cells. My research program focuses on understanding the interaction between environment and autoimmune diseases affecting the skin, specifically chronic urticaria and systemic sclerosis. While both are autoimmune in nature, they are completely different with respect to their clinical presentation and prognosis, which makes them ideal to study in parallel.
Research areas:
Epidemiology
Immunology
Infectious Diseases
Rheumatology