Overview

It is increasingly being recognized that both psychiatric disease, central nervous system injuries, and neurodegeneration have an immune component. Our laboratory uses both pre-clinical and clinical research to study the role of the immune system in these conditions and test possible treatments. We are also studying how the central nervous system talks to the immune system and how to correct the conversation to retain health.

Research directions

  • The use of the TGFβ superfamily cytokine MIC-1/GDF-15 as a biomarker of disease
  • The role of GDF15 in the treatment of neuroinflammatory disease.
  • The cellular basis of central nervous system immunoregulation
  • Novel treatments for spinal cord injury
  • The mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative conditions including Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
  • Clinical trial investigating depletion of B-cells as a therapeutic strategy in people with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelination Polyneuropathy (CIDP)