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Full NameProfessor Derek Doherty
- infectious disease and the immune system
- cancer/oncology
- Medicine
- Surgery
- Anaesthetics
- Paediatrics
- Dermatology
- Endocrinology
- Gastroenterology
- Geriatric Medicine
- Haematology
- Infectious diseases
- Immunology
- Neonatology
- Nephrology
- Oncology
- Respiratory Medicine
- Rheumatology
Our research is focused on 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 populations of innate T lymphocytes, including natural killer T (NKT) cells, gamma/delta (γδ) T cells and mucosa-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, which appear to be “master regulators” of the immune system, being able to determine the type and strength of an immune response, and which are defective in many infectious and immune-mediated diseases and cancers.
We have demonstrated that human innate T cells can influence the activation and subsequent responses of other immune cells, including natural killer cells, dendritic cells, B cells and conventional T cells and have provided in vitro evidence to support their utility for immunotherapy.
We have published roles for innate T cell populations in immunity against hepatitis B and C viruses, HIV, Candida albicans and in protection against oesophageal and lung cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, sepsis, coeliac disease, antibody deficiencies and granulomatosus with polyangiitis.
We are currently optimizing a number of therapeutic strategies involving innate T cells for future testing in clinical trials.