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The Pregnancy and Early Life Immunology team's overall research vision is targeted towards understanding immunological development during early life.
Research
Epigenetic changes underpinning allergen sensitization: a twin-based studyWe are studying immune cells from identical twins of which one suffers and one does not suffer from allergic disease to identify specific mechanisms that may play important roles in disease development.
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Systemic perturbations in amino acids/amino acid derivatives and tryptophan pathway metabolites associated with murine influenza A virus infectionInfluenza A virus is the only influenza virus causing flu pandemics. Influenza is a highly contagious disease that can be deadly, especially in high-risk groups. Worldwide, these annual epidemics are estimated to result in about 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness and in about 290,000 to 650,000 respiratory deaths.
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Early Peanut Immunotherapy in Children (EPIC) trial: Protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial of peanut oral immunotherapy in children under 5 years of ageFood allergy is a major public health challenge in Australia. Despite widespread uptake of infant feeding and allergy prevention guidelines the incidence of peanut allergy in infants has not fallen, and prevalence of peanut allergy in school-aged children continues to rise. Therefore, effective and accessible treatments for peanut allergy are required.
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Sex-Specific Environmental Impacts on Initiation and Progression of Multiple SclerosisThe immunological mechanisms that contribute to multiple sclerosis (MS) differ between males and females. Females are 2-3 times more likely to develop MS compared to males, however the reason for this discrepancy is unknown. Once MS is established, there is a more inflammatory yet milder form of disease in females whereas males generally suffer from more severe disease and faster progression, neural degradation, and disability.
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Allergen Specific IgE is a Stronger Predictor of Remission Following Peanut Oral Immunotherapy Than Age in Children Aged 1–10 YearsRemission is the desired outcome following OIT as it allows individuals to discontinue treatment and eat the allergen freely. Early initiation of OIT in infants and toddlers has been embraced as an approach to increase the likelihood of remission. However, there is no high-quality evidence supporting younger age as an independent factor driving remission; available studies are limited by small samples of younger subjects and lack of adjustment for confounding covariates, particularly peanut-specific IgE (sIgE) levels which is closely cor
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Boosting airway T-regulatory cells by gastrointestinal stimulation as a strategy for asthma controlThe hallmark of atopic asthma is transient airways hyperresponsiveness (AHR) preceded by aeroallergen-induced Th-cell activation.
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Distinguishing benign from pathologic TH2 immunity in atopic childrenIn addition to its role in blocking TH2 effector activation in the late-phase allergic response, IL-10 is a known IgG1 switch factor
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The role of dendritic cells and regulatory T cells in the regulation of allergic asthmaAirways hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is one of the major clinical features of allergic airways disease including allergic asthma
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Interactions between innate and adaptive immunity in asthma pathogenesis: new perspectives from studies on acute exacerbationsAtopic asthma, which is at its highest prevalence during childhood/young adulthood, represents the main focus of this review.