Dr David Moyes

Dr. Moyes is a Senior Lecturer in Host-Microbiome in the Centre for Host-Microbiome Interactions.

Throughout his career, he has been involved in investigating host-microbe interactions and the role of both microbe and host innate immune responses in these interactions. 

He gained his PhD from Harefield Hospital, Imperial College London, before working at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology investigating the link between microbes and rheumatoid arthritis. 

At King’s College, he was part of a team that identified the central mechanisms by which epithelial cells discriminate between commensal (harmless) and invasive (disease-causing) forms of Candida albicans.  This work lead eventually to the discovery of the novel Candidalysin toxin and its role in both disease and protection at mucosal surfaces. 

Since becoming a lecturer, his interests have evolved to investigate the role of the microbiome in causing disease. The Moyes lab studies the interactions between the human host and the microbiota that reside at the different mucosal surfaces, including bacteria, fungi and viruses.

They are investigating whether changes in microbial communities associated with disease are a symptom of the disease, or whether they play a role in driving the disease process.

Current projects include investigating whether skin-associated microbes can drive or suppress conditions such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, whether the common oral fungus C. albicans drives cancer progression and how it does this, and the role of early recognition events that microbes trigger in epithelial cells – whether these responses go on to improve innate immune responses to pathogens. 

They are also investigating the changes in antimicrobial resistance genes associated with the oral and gut microbiome (resistome), and their transmission within the community (mobilome). As part of this they are looking at how these resistome and moblome profiles change between different countries and health states.