A major long-term goal of immunological research world-wide is the development of strategies for the specific therapeutic manipulation of the immune response in the context of autoimmune diseases, allergy, infections, cancer and transplantation.
In order to progress towards these ambitious aims, it is essential to obtain insight into the fundamental molecular and cellular processes underlying the regulation of the immune system in health and disease and to translate this knowledge into the clinic for the benefit of the patient.
The research interests of Immunology Research Cluster (IRC) laboratories and scientists are:
- to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms and regulation of immune cell development, response and function
- to detect the mechanisms that underlie the development of chronic disease states, such as allergy, autoimmune diseases, chronic inflammation and chronic infections
- to develop new diagnostic tools and prophylactic and therapeutic strategies for the detection and treatment of infectious, immune-mediated, other chronic inflammatory diseases and transplant rejection and to generate immunological tools for fighting these conditions