New research team to tackle disease
Posted on 15 March 2004
The Unit is a joint venture of the Department of Biology at York and the Hull York Medical School (HYMS). Professor Paul Kaye, who joins the University of York from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, will direct the Unit.
“The new research unit will help us understand why some microbes cause disease and how we might prevent them from doing so,” said Professor Kaye. “This is a major challenge that requires immunologists and microbiologists to work closely together.”
Professor Kaye’s research concentrates on how cells known as ‘dendritic cells’ warn our immune system about incoming microbes, and how over-zealous immune responses can themselves cause disease. Much of his work focuses on a chronic parasitic infection called Leishmaniasis.
The Unit will be strengthened by the appointment of four further research group leaders. Key appointments include those of Professor Deborah Smith, currently Professor of Molecular Parasitology at Imperial College London, and senior lecturer Dr Marjan van der Woude, a bacterial molecular geneticist from the University of Pennsylvania.
Professor Smith’s research uses information from genome sequencing to understand how parasites can invade and survive in our cells. The aim of the research is to develop new drugs and vaccines for human use.
Research in the Unit will be strongly enhanced by interaction with existing biomedical research groups in one of Britain’s largest and most successful Biology departments. Biomedical research at York includes teams working on cancer, parasitology, biochemistry and structural biology. The Department also hosts a state-of-the-art Technology Centre for biomedical research. “The excellent resources of the new Technology Centre were a strong factor in my decision to relocate to York,” said Professor Smith.
Researchers will also establish strong links with researchers and clinicians in HYMS and the regional NHS, and provide teaching to medical students in HYMS.
“We are excited by the potential of the Immunology and Infection Unit,” said Professor Alastair Fitter, Head of the Department of Biology. “Their work will have far-reaching consequences in the UK and in developing countries, where parasitic diseases such as Leishmaniasis cause thousands of deaths every year. This is a strong boost to medical research and education in York.”
Notes to editors:
- Leishmaniasis is a fly-borne disease caused by single-celled parasites called Leishmania. There are approximately 2 million cases of leishmaniasis per year in 88 countries worldwide, of which 500,000 are of the potentially fatal form of the disease (visceral leishmaniasis). Although mainly found in developing countries, Leishmania parasites are also found in most countries bordering the Mediterranean, and visceral leishmaniasis is now often associated with HIV infection.
- The genomes of different species of Leishmania are being sequenced by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute at Hinxton, together with international collaborators, to provide an important resource for research on the diseases caused by these parasites.
- The Department of Biology at York is one of the country’s leading centres for research and teaching across the entire spectrum of the biological sciences. Its international research programmes attract £8 million per year of external funding, employ nearly 300 scientists and were rated 5 in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise. In 2002, it moved into new £25 million laboratories funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council under the Joint Infrastructure Fund programme, with additional support from Yorkshire Cancer Research.
- The University of York is in the foremost group of universities in the UK, with an outstanding record of teaching, research and training across the scientific disciplines. In the 2001 RAE, it was ranked 6th nationally (Financial Times/Times/Guardian ranking). On HEFCE research efficiency criteria, it is the most research-efficient university in the UK. The University dominates the top of the national teaching league tables.
- HYMS is a joint venture between the Universities of York and Hull and the NHS. It admitted its first medical students in 2003 and is consolidating its research base with strong collaborative links in and between the two universities and clinicians in the region.
- The new research unit is a further boost to Science City York, which is strengthening the economy of York and North Yorkshire through the promotion of knowledge-based industries. York is a DTI-recognised Bioscience Cluster.