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The Neves Lab aims understand how the different cellular compartments of the gut – including immune, epithelial, microbial and neural cells – communicate with each other, to then be able to direct those conversations to promote gut homeostasis. We work with mouse and human models to accelerate the translation of our discoveries.

Neves Group

People

Oliver Cameron

PhD Student

Isabelle Coales

Research Associate

Diana Coman

Research Associate

Projects

Project 1
The impact of Innate Lymphoid cells on the intestinal milieu

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) can accumulate in the inflamed intestines of Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients, however their development and impact on the gut are poorly understood. In this project, intestinal organoids are co-cultured with ILCs or their progenitors to unravel how these immune cells interact with the intestinal epithelium. This project is in collaboration with Dr Eileen Gentleman, and involves the use of synthetic hydrogel.

    Project 2
    Microbial regulation of host intestinal epithelial and immune compartments

    The epithelial cells lining the gut form a hugely important interface between our immune system and the diverse community of bacteria residing in our intestine. Changes to the intestinal bacterial community and damage to the gut epithelium are thought to promote inflammation of gut-resident immune cells, which has been implicated in the development of chronic inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This project focuses on using a complex in vitro model of the gut to understand how bacteria, intestinal epithelial cells and immune cells interact. This involves combining intestinal organoids, or ‘mini-guts’, with immune cells and gut bacteria. Using this system, we hope to understand how bacteria associated with IBD may compromise the epithelial lining of the gut and stimulate gut-resident immune cells. This may improve our knowledge of early events in IBD pathogenesis.

      Project 3
      Gut-HOP

      Gut-HOP is an intestinal organoid platform that facilitates inter- and multidisciplinary disease studies, bringing together an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, biologists, bioinformaticians and biomedical engineers. We provide expertise in human induced pluripotent stem cell derived intestinal organoids.

      Publications

        Awards

        Research grants:

         

        2019 – 2020        King’s Together Strategic Award “Intestinal organoid platform to facilitate multidisciplinary multidisease studies”, PI (£99,989).

         

        2019 – 2020        Cancer Research UK & VersusArthritis Innovation grant “Extracellular matrix (ECM) programming of pathogenic macrophages”, co-PI, (£45,000)

         

        2017 – 2020        RCUK/UKRI Rutherford Fund Fellow, UKRI, UK; “The crosstalks between immune cells, bacteria and epithelial cells in the intestine: elucidating their cellular and molecular mechanisms”, Fellow (£286,000.00)

         

        2016  – 2019       Seed Award, Wellcome Trust, UK ; A novel system to study intestinal lymphocytes”, PI (£99,951.00)

         

        2017 – 2018        BRC STEM Early Career Award, UK; Intestinal-immune-interactions-in-a-dish for the validation of microbiome biomarkers for Geraldine Jowett , Supervisor  (£10,000)

         

        2017                      King’s Prize Fellowship, UK; “A novel approach for the study of intestinal lymphocytes“, Fellow (£43,146.00)

         

        2016-2018            Parent Leave Fund, KCL, UK, PI (£9,805) 

         

        2016-2018            Research & Development Challenge Fund, Kings Health Partners, UK; “IL22: friend or foe in innate immune mediated inflammatory bowel disease”.  Co-PI (£72,056)

         

        2015-2017            Marie Sklodowska Curie Individual Fellowship, European Commission; The role of innate lymphoid cells in regulating intestinal inflammation”, Fellow (£132,975)

         

        2014-2015            BRC STEM Early Career Award, UK; “Establishment of human mini-guts as a tool to study human intestinal lymphocyte populations”, PI (£10,000)

        News

        Funding awarded to further develop alternative model to animal research

        Human organoid model was originally developed by Neves Lab to generate mucosal immune cell populations.

        neves-group-about-us

        People

        Oliver Cameron

        PhD Student

        Isabelle Coales

        Research Associate

        Diana Coman

        Research Associate

        Projects

        Project 1
        The impact of Innate Lymphoid cells on the intestinal milieu

        Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) can accumulate in the inflamed intestines of Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients, however their development and impact on the gut are poorly understood. In this project, intestinal organoids are co-cultured with ILCs or their progenitors to unravel how these immune cells interact with the intestinal epithelium. This project is in collaboration with Dr Eileen Gentleman, and involves the use of synthetic hydrogel.

          Project 2
          Microbial regulation of host intestinal epithelial and immune compartments

          The epithelial cells lining the gut form a hugely important interface between our immune system and the diverse community of bacteria residing in our intestine. Changes to the intestinal bacterial community and damage to the gut epithelium are thought to promote inflammation of gut-resident immune cells, which has been implicated in the development of chronic inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This project focuses on using a complex in vitro model of the gut to understand how bacteria, intestinal epithelial cells and immune cells interact. This involves combining intestinal organoids, or ‘mini-guts’, with immune cells and gut bacteria. Using this system, we hope to understand how bacteria associated with IBD may compromise the epithelial lining of the gut and stimulate gut-resident immune cells. This may improve our knowledge of early events in IBD pathogenesis.

            Project 3
            Gut-HOP

            Gut-HOP is an intestinal organoid platform that facilitates inter- and multidisciplinary disease studies, bringing together an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, biologists, bioinformaticians and biomedical engineers. We provide expertise in human induced pluripotent stem cell derived intestinal organoids.

            Publications

              Awards

              Research grants:

               

              2019 – 2020        King’s Together Strategic Award “Intestinal organoid platform to facilitate multidisciplinary multidisease studies”, PI (£99,989).

               

              2019 – 2020        Cancer Research UK & VersusArthritis Innovation grant “Extracellular matrix (ECM) programming of pathogenic macrophages”, co-PI, (£45,000)

               

              2017 – 2020        RCUK/UKRI Rutherford Fund Fellow, UKRI, UK; “The crosstalks between immune cells, bacteria and epithelial cells in the intestine: elucidating their cellular and molecular mechanisms”, Fellow (£286,000.00)

               

              2016  – 2019       Seed Award, Wellcome Trust, UK ; A novel system to study intestinal lymphocytes”, PI (£99,951.00)

               

              2017 – 2018        BRC STEM Early Career Award, UK; Intestinal-immune-interactions-in-a-dish for the validation of microbiome biomarkers for Geraldine Jowett , Supervisor  (£10,000)

               

              2017                      King’s Prize Fellowship, UK; “A novel approach for the study of intestinal lymphocytes“, Fellow (£43,146.00)

               

              2016-2018            Parent Leave Fund, KCL, UK, PI (£9,805) 

               

              2016-2018            Research & Development Challenge Fund, Kings Health Partners, UK; “IL22: friend or foe in innate immune mediated inflammatory bowel disease”.  Co-PI (£72,056)

               

              2015-2017            Marie Sklodowska Curie Individual Fellowship, European Commission; The role of innate lymphoid cells in regulating intestinal inflammation”, Fellow (£132,975)

               

              2014-2015            BRC STEM Early Career Award, UK; “Establishment of human mini-guts as a tool to study human intestinal lymphocyte populations”, PI (£10,000)

              News

              Funding awarded to further develop alternative model to animal research

              Human organoid model was originally developed by Neves Lab to generate mucosal immune cell populations.

              neves-group-about-us

              Group lead

              Contact us

              Dr Joana Neves

              Lecturer in Mucosal Immunology and Group Leader

              Guy's Tower Wing
              Guy's Hospital

              Follow us on Twitter @GutOrganoid

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