Adrian Liston | |
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Born | 1980 (age 43–44) |
Nationality | Australia |
Alma mater | University of Adelaide Australian National University University of Queensland |
Awards | FMedSci FRSB 2016 Eppendorf Prize 2015–2016 Franqui Chair Dr. Karel-Lodewijk Prize |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Neuroimmunology Diabetes Immunology Genetics Clinical immunology |
Institutions | University of Cambridge St Catharine's College |
Doctoral advisor | Chris Goodnow |
Adrian Liston is an Australian immunologist and Professor of Pathology at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge. He is also Professorial Fellow, Postgraduate Tutor and Director of Studies at St Catharine's College and Editor-in-Chief of Immunology & Cell Biology. He was previously senior group leader at the Babraham Institute, senior research fellow at Churchill College, professor at the KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium) and head of the VIB Translational Immunology Laboratory.
Liston obtained a PhD at the Australian National University in 2005. He completed postdoctoral work at the University of Washington in Seattle, United States. Liston is an advocate for both animal rights and also the use of animals in medical research. [1] Liston is the author of immunology-themed children's books, including Maya's Marvellous Medicine, Battle Robots of the Blood and Just for Kids! All about Coronavirus during the global COVID-19 pandemic. [2] Liston authored Becoming a Scientist: The Graphic Novel to encourage students from diverse backgrounds to consider a career in STEM. [3]
His main research interests are in the fields of neuroimmunology, autoimmunity, primary immune deficiencies and diabetes. Liston led the discovery of Pyrin-associated auto-inflammation with neutrophilic dermatosis, [4] a previously unknown auto-inflammatory disease caused by mutation in the gene MEFV. Liston is also known for identifying genetic fragility of pancreatic beta cells as a cause of diabetes. [5] In 2016, Liston led a team that found that cohabitation modified the immune system, making partners more similar to each other. [6] His research team has emphasized the role of the environment over genes in shaping the immune system. [7] In 2017, his team identified novel mutations in the gene STAT2 which lead to primary immunodeficiency. [8] Liston also led a team that developed a machine learning algorithm that identifies children with juvenile arthritis with almost 90% accuracy from a simple blood test. [9]
In the neuroimmunology field, Liston led a team that identified a role for white blood cells in the development of the brain. [10] This work lead to further findings that the inflammatory environment of the brain could be controlled through a population of anti-inflammatory Regulatory T cells that reside within the brain. [11] The system is the subject of a research spin-off company from the Babraham Institute, Aila Biotech Ltd, focused on clinical development of a therapeutic product for multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury.
Liston has received numerous awards and appointments including:
In immunology, autoimmunity is the system of immune responses of an organism against its own healthy cells, tissues and other normal body constituents. Any disease resulting from this type of immune response is termed an "autoimmune disease". Prominent examples include celiac disease, diabetes mellitus type 1, Henoch–Schönlein purpura, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren syndrome, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, Addison's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, polymyositis, dermatomyositis, and multiple sclerosis. Autoimmune diseases are very often treated with steroids.
A cytotoxic T cell (also known as TC, cytotoxic T lymphocyte, CTL, T-killer cell, cytolytic T cell, CD8+ T-cell or killer T cell) is a T lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) that kills cancer cells, cells that are infected by intracellular pathogens (such as viruses or bacteria), or cells that are damaged in other ways.
Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromisation, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases are acquired ("secondary") due to extrinsic factors that affect the patient's immune system. Examples of these extrinsic factors include HIV infection and environmental factors, such as nutrition. Immunocompromisation may also be due to genetic diseases/flaws such as SCID.
WEHI, previously known as the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, and as the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, is Australia's oldest medical research institute. Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, who won the Nobel Prize in 1960 for his work in immunology, was director from 1944 to 1965. Burnet developed the ideas of clonal selection and acquired immune tolerance. Later, Professor Donald Metcalf discovered and characterised colony-stimulating factors. As of 2015, the institute hosted more than 750 researchers who work to understand, prevent and treat diseases including blood, breast and ovarian cancers; inflammatory diseases (autoimmunity) such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and coeliac disease; and infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV and hepatitis B and C.
Neuroimmunology is a field combining neuroscience, the study of the nervous system, and immunology, the study of the immune system. Neuroimmunologists seek to better understand the interactions of these two complex systems during development, homeostasis, and response to injuries. A long-term goal of this rapidly developing research area is to further develop our understanding of the pathology of certain neurological diseases, some of which have no clear etiology. In doing so, neuroimmunology contributes to development of new pharmacological treatments for several neurological conditions. Many types of interactions involve both the nervous and immune systems including the physiological functioning of the two systems in health and disease, malfunction of either and or both systems that leads to disorders, and the physical, chemical, and environmental stressors that affect the two systems on a daily basis.
ICAM-1 also known as CD54 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ICAM1 gene. This gene encodes a cell surface glycoprotein which is typically expressed on endothelial cells and cells of the immune system. It binds to integrins of type CD11a / CD18, or CD11b / CD18 and is also exploited by rhinovirus as a receptor for entry into respiratory epithelium.
Immune dysregulation is any proposed or confirmed breakdown or maladaptive change in molecular control of immune system processes. For example, dysregulation is a component in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and some cancers. Immune system dysfunction, as seen in IPEX syndrome leads to immune dysfunction, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked (IPEX). IPEX typically presents during the first few months of life with diabetes mellitus, intractable diarrhea, failure to thrive, eczema, and hemolytic anemia. unrestrained or unregulated immune response.
Interleukin 19 (IL-19) is an immunosuppressive protein that belongs to the IL-10 cytokine subfamily.
Chemokine ligand 1 (CCL1) is also known as small inducible cytokine A1 and I-309 in humans. CCL1 is a small glycoprotein that belongs to the CC chemokine family.
Immunogenetics or immungenetics is the branch of Medical Immunology and Medical Genetics that explores the relationship between the immune system and genetics.
Certain sites of the mammalian body have immune privilege, meaning they are able to tolerate the introduction of antigens without eliciting an inflammatory immune response. Tissue grafts are normally recognised as foreign antigens by the body and attacked by the immune system. However, in immune privileged sites, tissue grafts can survive for extended periods of time without rejection occurring. Immunologically privileged sites include:
C-C chemokine receptor type 9 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCR9 gene. This gene is mapped to the chemokine receptor gene cluster region. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants have been described.
Interleukin 20 receptors (IL20R) belong to the IL-10 family. IL20R are involved in both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory immune response. There are two types of IL20R: Type I and Type II.
Interleukin-17A is a protein that in humans is encoded by the IL17A gene. In rodents, IL-17A used to be referred to as CTLA8, after the similarity with a viral gene.
Kevin J. Tracey, a neurosurgeon and inventor, is the president and CEO of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, professor of neurosurgery and molecular medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine, and president of the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine in Manhasset, New York. The Public Library of Science Magazine, PLOS Biology, recognized Tracey in 2019 as one of the most cited researchers in the world.
An autoimmune disease is a condition that results from an anomalous response of the adaptive immune system, wherein it mistakenly targets and attacks healthy, functioning parts of the body as if they were foreign organisms. It is estimated that there are more than 80 recognized autoimmune diseases, with recent scientific evidence suggesting the existence of potentially more than 100 distinct conditions. Nearly any body part can be involved.
Neurovirology is an interdisciplinary field which represents a melding of clinical neuroscience, virology, immunology, and molecular biology. The main focus of the field is to study viruses capable of infecting the nervous system. In addition to this, the field studies the use of viruses to trace neuroanatomical pathways, for gene therapy, and to eliminate detrimental populations of neural cells.
Hugh O'Neill McDevitt ForMemRS was an immunologist and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Robyn S. Klein is an American neuroimmunologist as well as the Vice Provost and Associate Dean for Graduate Education at Washington University in St. Louis. Klein is also a professor in the Departments of Medicine, Anatomy & Neurobiology, and Pathology & Immunology. Her research explores the pathogenesis of neuroinflammation in the central nervous system by probing how immune signalling molecules regulate blood brain barrier permeability. Klein is also a fervent advocate for gender equity in STEM, publishing mechanisms to improve gender equity in speakers at conferences, participating nationally on gender equity discussion panels, and through service as the president of the Academic Women’s Network at the Washington University School of Medicine.
Epigenetics of autoimmune disorders is the role that epigenetics play in autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune disorders are a diverse class of diseases that share a common origin. These diseases originate when the immune system becomes dysregulated and mistakenly attacks healthy tissue rather than foreign invaders. These diseases are classified as either local or systemic based upon whether they affect a single body system or if they cause systemic damage.