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Full NameProfessor Aideen Long
Clinical Medicine
Trinity College Dublin
Webpage:www.tcd.ie
Email Address:Email hidden; Javascript is required.
- infectious disease and the immune system
- cancer/oncology
- Medicine
- Gastroenterology
- Haematology
- Immunology
- Oncology
My research focuses on the role of signalling molecules in immunology and inflammation and this has extended to inflammatory changes in oesophageal carcinoma. We have studied, at the molecular level, the mechanisms used by T lymphocytes to migrate and secrete cytokines, both important functions in the inflammatory response. During inflammation, blood vessels become more adhesive (mediated by cytokines) allowing lymphocytes to bind and migrate into tissue and carry out their function. Central to this work has been the study of a family of enzymes known as Protein Kinase C (PKC), which plays an important role in the regulation of these processes. As leukocyte migration from blood vessels and tumour cell metastasis share many common mechanisms, these studies have been extended to cancer cells where we have identified PKC as a target of tumourigenic bile acids.
In a translational sense, we have uncovered the molecular mechanisms that contribute to a number of human disease states. For example, how the hepatitis C virus can undermine the T cell immune response to maintain persistent infection and how environmental factors such as bile acids can contribute to oesophageal carcinogenesis. This is of key importance in the development of therapeutics for immune-related disorders and cancer.