Immunity and Trauma

I’m a doctor who treats adults with mental health problems, and I’m particularly interested in PTSD. PTSD is an awful disease that occurs after people experience a terrible event (called a trauma), such as a near-death experience.  Patients relive their trauma, become very anxious and develop a negative worldview: imagine experiencing your worst memory multiple times a day. Studies suggest that around 1 in 6 people will get PTSD after a trauma. My research passion is understanding why some people get PTSD, and some don’t. Understanding this could change how we treat, or even prevent, PTSD.

For decades it was thought that the immune system wasn’t active in the brain. The brain was thought to be immune-privileged. Now we realise this isn’t true, and know the immune system is important in the healthy developing and adult brain, as well as in many brain diseases.

This is also true for many psychiatric conditions. The immune system is now thought to play a role in diseases such as depression and schizophrenia. I look at how genetic risk for these diseases influences the way the immune system works in the brain. We hope this will give us new targets for treatment options.