Trinity Translational Medicine Institute - Symposium 2019
Prof. Derek Doherty
Derek Doherty’s group is investigating the mechanisms by which the immune system can protect against or cause disease in humans and how it can be manipulated for the development of novel therapies. We are particularly interested in “innate lymphocytes” (natural killer cells, natural killer T cells and gamma/delta T cells), which appear to be “master regulators” of the immune system and which are defective in many infectious and immune-mediated diseases and cancers. In collaboration with clinical colleagues, we are studying innate lymphocytes in patients with hepatitis B and C, HIV, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, septic shock, systemic lupus erythematosus, coeliac disease, antibody deficiencies and granulomatosus with polyangiitis. Our results show that various innate lymphocyte populations can be manipulated to promote the generation of desirable immune responses for the treatment of disease.