Our group, at the Institute of Immunology (IMMI), is striving to understand what happens when the body's defence from disease, the immune system, directly or indirectly causes harm to the body. Coeliac disease, rhematoid arthritis, type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes, and multiple sclerosis are examples of autoimmune disorders of a chronic inflammatory nature.

People with coeliac disease get sick when they eat bread or other gluten containing food. We are concentrating on coeliac disease as a model to understand the molecular mechanisms leading to chronic inflammatory disease. In particular, we focus on how certain variants of HLA molecules predispose to disease development. We are working in the fields of cell biology, genetics, biochemistry and protein chemistry. We are interested in the relationship between environmental factors (including gluten) and inherited (genetic) factors. As our research has lead to a better understanding of the molecular basis of coeliac disease, we are approaching other immune mediated diseases with some of the same tools that we use to explore coeliac disease. Rheumatoid arthritis has therefore become another focus for our research. The group is participating in EU and nationally funded projects.