Translational Medicine

Professor Tomas Hanke tells us about his research on HIV vaccine development. The long term aim for Professor Tomáš Hanke is to develop a safe, effective and accessible HIV-1 vaccine. His group tests novel ideas and vaccine strategies, and focusses on a safe but rapid translation of the most promising laboratory results to phase I/II clinical trials in human volunteers.

Professor Stephen Gough talks about the development of personalised diabetes treatment. Prof. Stephen Gough believes that you cannot give every patient affected by diabetes the same treatment; where people react differently to treatments provides a background to his research. Prof. Gough aims to provide the right treatment to the right person at the right time in their disease for optimum results.

Professor Gil McVean tells us how statistical genetics helps us understand and treat disease. Prof Gil McVean is the Head of Bioinformatics and Statistical Genetics at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics. His research covers several areas in the analysis of genetic variation, combining the development of methods for analysing high throughput sequencing data, theoretical work and empirical analysis.

Dr Leanne Hodson talks about her research on liver fat metabolism. Dr Leanne Hodson's research focuses on fatty liver disease, defined as having over 5 percent liver fat, and a 'silent disease' as many people are not diagnosed. Dr Hodson aims to find targets for new medications which will help lower the risk of accumulating liver fat.

Dr Barbara Fielding talks about her research on the metabolism of fatty acids. Dr Barbara Fielding believes that nutritional advice should be based on a thorough understanding of metabolic responses to food ingestion, and that it is important to investigate the metabolism of dietary fat after both single and multiple meals, as is customary daily behaviour in Western societies. Ultimately, this will help to make specific dietary recommendations.

The largest trial investigating the benefits of cholesterol lowering in kidney patients. The Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP) concluded that around a quarter of all heart attacks, strokes, and operations to open blocked arteries could be avoided in people with chronic kidney disease by using the combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin to lower blood cholesterol levels.

Dr Ellie Barnes talks about her research on Hepatitis C and her work on a T cell vaccine. Dr Ellie Barnes aims to develop a prophylactic and a therapeutic hepatitis C virus vaccine to combat a global epidemic currently infecting 170 million people worldwide. Many chronically infected patients silently develop complications of liver disease that can include hepatocellular cancer, liver cirrhosis and liver failure.

Dr Anna Gloyn talks about her research on the genetics of Diabetes. The research undertaken by Dr Anna Gloyn focuses on using naturally genetic variants identified in humans as tools to identify critical regulatory pathways for insulin secretion and action. Current research projects are focused on the translation of genetic association signals for type 2 diabetes and glycaemic traits into molecular mechanisms for diabetes and clinically useful tools.

Dr Tao Dong tells us about her collaborations in China on infections such as HIV, flu and Hepatitis B. Dr Tao Dong's research interests include antigen-specific T cell responses in human virus infections and their contribution to the consequences of the disease. Hepatitis B virus has recently been added to the list of viruses which Tao and her group studies, which includes influenza and hepatitis C virus/HIV co-infection.

Prof. Arjen Dondorp tells us about his work on severe malaria and the development of new therapies. Prof Arjen Dondorp is the Deputy Director and Head of Malaria Research at the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Bangkok, Thailand. His main research interests include the pathophysiology and treatment of severe malaria, antimalarial drug resistance and the improvement of intensive care practice in developing countries.