Immunology & Transplantation

The overall aims of UCLPartners’  Immunology and Transplantation Programme are to understand the role of the human immune system in health and disease, and to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic tools for improved disease prevention and treatment. Strategies to enhance immune function benefit patients suffering from viral infection, cancer and immune defects; while efficient immune suppression improve the outcome of autoimmunity and organ transplantation.

UCLPartners is amongst the international leaders in pioneering the development of new forms of vaccination, cell and gene therapy. For example, we have recently demonstrated the efficacy of vaccination to reduce viral complications in transplant patients. In partnership with Industry, UCLPartners is currently conducting a randomised cell therapy trial to establish anti-viral immunity after transplantation –  one of the first trials of its kind worldwide. Gene therapy treatments have demonstrated success in children with immunodeficiency, and gene therapy is now under development for the treatment of cancer and viral infection.

A key objective of the Immunology and Transplantation Programme is to link efficiently with UCLPartners’ Cancer, Infection, Hepatology, Child Health and Eyes Programmes, collaborating to implement immunological diagnostics and new forms of immunotherapy for the benefit of patients. A recently formed UCLPartners Centre of Immunology, Infection and Transplantation at the Royal Free Hospital will serve as a translational research hub to provide immunology support for the management of patients with an immune-related disease. This Centre will offer patients greater access to cutting-edge research; and will offer researchers access to a broad and diverse patient population. We aim to establish a culture and infrastructure that attracts the best clinical researchers who provide innovative treatment options for our patients. Public awareness campaigns will raise the knowledge of immune system defects with the aim of improving prevention and early diagnosis of disease.

Specific projects to improve early diagnosis and therapeutic options include:

• Discovering the genetic basis of certain forms of immunodeficiency and autoimmune conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, has been active for the past few years. Further identification of disease causing genes will lead to new genetic tests that will facilitate early diagnosis and treatment
• Developing and implementing biological therapies for patients with scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis and pulmonary hypertension
• Restoring viral immunity to transplant patients, and employing the same strategies to treat viral disease in non-transplant patients Vaccination, cell and gene therapy approaches will be tested in patients at risk of viral disease following transplantation.
• Cell and gene therapy approaches will be tested in patients with cancer and haematological malignancies. UCLPatrners is a world-leading centre for the implementation of T cell therapy for leukaemia and lymphoma, and we are currently pioneering novel gene therapy treatments for leukaemia and solid cancer.

For more information, please contact Professor Hans Strauss, Programme Director for Immunology and Transplantation at UCLPartners.