MRC & Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma

Contact Details

Kings College London,

School of Medicine

London

SE1 9RT

Telephone

020 7188 0595

Email

david.cousins@kcl.ac.uk

Profile

My research interests lie in obtaining a greater understanding of the development and function of human effector T-cell subsets and the role of T-cells in asthma and other allergic disease. Allergic inflammation in asthma is characterised by the presence of a predominantly T-helper 2 (Th2) type response to allergens. The Th2 T-cell subset is believed to be critical for the development of allergic inflammation via the production of the cytokines IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13.
In my laboratory we are investigating how human Th2 cells differentiate from naïve precursors using in vitro models of human T-cell differentiation. We use a variety of molecular biology techniques to investigate T-cell differentiation including microarray based transcriptome analyses and lentiviral transduction to modulate gene expression via RNAi or overexpression. In collaboration with Paul Lavender we are also investigating the role of chromatin structure and histone modifications in controlling Th2 cytokine gene expression. In collaboration with several other Centre members we are also examining T-cell responses and function in vivo in samples from the site of disease.

MRC & Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma

Last modified: 04 December 2009 11:38