To immunity and beyond

Laura will talk about how vaccination triggers your body to make antibodies to fight off invading viruses and how the cells that make antibodies are crucial to a strong vaccine response. Sometimes, viruses can hide from antibodies and this is part of why we don’t have vaccines against certain viruses like HIV. Understanding how viruses “trick” the body to avoid antibodies will help us to build better vaccines to limit viral diseases across the world.

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a rare genetic skin disorder that affects about 500,000 people worldwide. EB causes fragility of the linings of the skin and airways, causing pain, scarring and blistering. The current standard of care involves managing symptoms, but new treatments include gene editing techniques, stem cell therapy, and drugs that promote wound healing. Rob will introduce EB and new research at UCL that aims to deliver these personalised therapies.