Cell based immunotherapy and vaccines

Led by Rod Dunbar and John Fraser

The cells in the immune system are key players in controlling infectious diseases and also cancer. The projects under this theme seek to investigate how human cells recognise infectious agents and cancer cells, especially those invading the skin, and how they attack and destroy these threats. The rare immune cells that carry out these functions are purified and grown in the laboratory, and the key molecules they use to perform their roles are identified. This work helps in the design of vaccines for both cancer and infectious disease, but it also has relevance to diseases where the immune system becomes over-activated. Much of the programme is strongly linked with the other teams in the Maurice Wilkins Centre, especially in projects encompassing the structure of immune cell receptors, the chemical synthesis of vaccine components, and the computer modelling of immune processes