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The aim of the Allergy and Asthma Group is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying allergic disease, and to facilitate the development of new therapeutic agents. A variety of techniques in structural biology, molecular genetics and cell biology are used to study the allergic response, from the control of IgE antibody gene expression to the various protein-receptor interactions that mediate the physiological responses characteristic of allergy. The research teams are also members of the Division of Asthma, Allergy and Lung Biology within the Medical School, and joint projects link the basic science with clinical research at the Guy's Hospital Campus. Professors Sutton, Gould, McDonnell and Dr Beavil are also members of the MRC & Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma (http://www.asthma-allergy.ac.uk) formed in 2005. The Centre is a joint initiative with Imperial College, bringing together research groups at the two universities and providing common core facilities and a network of basic science and clinical collaborations across a number of London hospitals.
Allergy & Asthma
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DESCRIPTION
Allergic diseases range from the relatively mild, but nonetheless unpleasant conditions such as seasonal hayfever, through rhinitis, eczema and urticaria, to asthma and anaphylactic shock, which can be life-threatening. Allergies, and in particular the incidence of allergic asthma in children, has risen dramatically in recent years, although the reason for this increase is unclear.The aim of the Allergy and Asthma Group is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying allergic disease, and to facilitate the development of new therapeutic agents. A variety of techniques in structural biology, molecular genetics and cell biology are used to study the allergic response, from the control of IgE antibody gene expression to the various protein-receptor interactions that mediate the physiological responses characteristic of allergy. The research teams are also members of the Division of Asthma, Allergy and Lung Biology within the Medical School, and joint projects link the basic science with clinical research at the Guy's Hospital Campus. Professors Sutton, Gould, McDonnell and Dr Beavil are also members of the MRC & Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma (http://www.asthma-allergy.ac.uk) formed in 2005. The Centre is a joint initiative with Imperial College, bringing together research groups at the two universities and providing common core facilities and a network of basic science and clinical collaborations across a number of London hospitals.
Associated research programmes
Associated staff research interests
Interests:
Biophysics; Allergy; Asthma; IgE structure and function; Fluorescent Biosensors.
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Interests:
Research interests: Structure of IgE and its receptors; molecular mechanisms of allergy; inhibitor design; antibody structure in allergy and auto-immune disease; antibiotic resistance enzymes; enzyme mechanism and protein engineering. Research techniques: X-ray crystallography, NMR and other biophysical techniques. Member of the MRC & Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma; leader of Centre Programme in IgE Structure, Function and Regulation. Head of Structural Biology, Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics.
Tel:
020 7848 6423
Fax:
020 7848 6410
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Interests:
Hannah Gould is Professor of Biophysics and is one of the four principal investigators in the Allergy and Asthma Group in the Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics. She is also a principal investigator in the Asthma, Allergy and Lung Biology, and the MRC Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma. Her research is focused on the biology of IgE and the basis of allergic disease. She has a very active group who work on a diverse range of topics, extending from 'molecules to the bedside'. With Professors Brian Sutton and Jim McDonnell and Dr Andrew Beavil, she collaborates in studies of the relation of the structure to function of IgE and its receptors FcepsilonRI and CD23. With clinical collaborators, Professors Christopher Corrigan, Gideon Lack, Stephen Durham and others in the MRC Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma, she collaborates on problems relating to allergic mechanisms in rhinitis and asthma. With Dr David Fear in the Division of Asthma, Allergy and Lung Biology, she collaborates on chromatin remodelling in the regulation of IgE synthesis; her main contribution is single cell imaging of immunoglobulin genes by in situ hybridisation and proteins by immunofluoresence in class switch recombination, using confocal microscopy. Local germinal centre reactions (comprising somatic hypermutation, class switch recombination, and receptor revision) in allergic inflammation, is a passionate interest. She participates in the design and execution of two current clinical trials, one on the efficacy of an anti-IgE in the treatment of non-atopic asthma and the other on IgE immunotherapy of ovarian cancer. She collaborates with scientists in the US, France, and Belgium
References:
1. IgE in allergy and asthma today, H.J. Gould & B.J. Sutton, Nature Reveiws in Immunology, 8, 205-217, 2008
2. Germinal-centre reactions in allergic inflammation. Trends in Immunology 27, 446-452, 2006
References:
1. IgE in allergy and asthma today, H.J. Gould & B.J. Sutton, Nature Reveiws in Immunology, 8, 205-217, 2008
2. Germinal-centre reactions in allergic inflammation. Trends in Immunology 27, 446-452, 2006
Tel:
020 7848 6442
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Tel:
020 7848 6970
Fax:
020 7848 6435
Email:
Website:
CONTACTS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Professor Brian Sutton, Dr Baljinder Mankoo
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