Cutaneous Immunology

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We are working towards treatment and prevention of immune-mediated skin disease. The skin is often the first point of contact with pathogens and allergens, but relatively little is understood about how the cutaneous immune system clears these challenges. Such knowledge is vitally important to understanding the mechanisms of skin disease and related diseases, and for developing more effective ways of cutaneous drug and vaccine delivery. It is increasingly clear that skin barrier dysfunction is an important first step in the development of atopic eczema, one of the commonest skin diseases in the UK, and often associated with asthma and rhinitis. The barrier dysfunction promotes entry of allergens and microbes which eventually lead to skin inflammation. The latter is treated with topical immune suppressants, but these are not curative and also carry risks of side effects. We wish to understand the steps linking barrier dysfunction and skin inflammation, as these will provide opportunities for new treatments. In particular, we will explore ways to repair barrier function and to understand the roles of novel immune cells in contributing to the inflammation. These findings will have implications for atopic eczema, but also for other forms of inflammatory skin disease and indeed for the improvement of vaccine delivery in to the skin.