HIV and Mucosal Immunity Group
We investigate the role of mononuclear phagocytes in HIV transmission. We are worldwide unique in our access to every human tissue that HIV encounters during transmission freshly discarded from surgery. We also have access to clinically relevant HIV transmission strains from Africa. This enables us to define the dynamics of HIV transmission in the most physiologically relevant way possible in a human setting. We are experts in isolating immune cells from human tissues and the use of single cell high parameter technologies to define them. We are also experts in human tissue imaging and have combined RNAscope, imaging mass cytometry and spatial transcriptomics to visualise HIV interacting with its target cells and how it is trafficked between tissue compartments.
Recent Achievements
- Generation of imaging mass cytometry and spatial transcriptomic data of human anogenital tissues exposed to HIV
- Optimisation of multiple high parameter flow cytometry panels to accurately define human tissue immune cell subsets
- Development of bioinformatic image processing algorithms to analyse high parameter imaging data
Recent publications
Defining the landscape of human epidermal mononuclear phagocytes. Immunity 2023. PMID: 36921567.
March 2023
An in situ analysis pipeline for initial host - pathogen interactions reveals signatures of human colorectal HIV transmission. Cell Reports 2022. PMID: 36130503.
September 2022
Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 infects Langerhans cells and the novel epidermal dendritic cell, Epi-cDC2s, via different entry pathways PLOS Pathogens 2021. PMID: 33905459.
April 2021
Human anogenital monocyte-derived dendritic cells and langerin+ cDC2 are major HIV target cells in Human Anogenital and Colorectal Tissues Nature Communications 2021 PMID: 33846309.
April 2021
Identification of HIV Transmitting CD11c+ Human Epidermal Dendritic Cells Nature Communications 2019 PMID: 31227717.
June 2019
| NAME | ROLE |
| Kirstie Bertram | Postdoc |
| Thomas O’Neil | Postdoc |
| Heeva Baharlou | Postdoc |
| Kevin Hu | PhD Student |
| Freja Warner Van Dijk | PhD Student |
| Daniel Buffa | PhD Student |
| Erica Vine | PhD Student |
| Olaitan Ogunbodede | PhD Student |
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