Research interests
To recognise infection, the immune system utilizes sensors on immune cells called “pattern recognition receptors” which detect invading pathogens. These sensors then trigger a number of responses which are aimed at providing protection against the infection.

Our group is focussed on understanding a particular group of these pathogen sensors, called the C-type lectins (CLRs), which stemmed from our discovery of the first receptor in this class, Dectin-1.

We have shown that CLRs are able to induce essential immune responses, and have determined the mechanisms that they utilize to trigger these effects. Importantly, we have shown that CLRs play a central role in protective immune responses during fungal infections and identified genetic variants of Dectin-1 in humans, which can confer susceptibility to disease.

We have also determined that defects in recognition by pathogen sensors can result in an untreatable fungal infection of the skin, called chromoblastomycosis; work which has led directly to the testing of a novel treatment in humans.

Our current research is aimed at gaining a more detailed understanding the role of CLRs in immunity during fungal infection, and exploring the roles and functions of new CLRs that we have recently identified.