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Stromal immunology
Our interests lie in the communication between different cell types of the immune system, specifically the mechanisms controlling cellular trafficking, multicellular organization and lymphoid organ architecture. The lymph node is a highly organized and tightly controlled environment. The dynamic nature of lymph node swelling and contraction is critical to all immune responses and is not well understood. We want to understand the processes involved in lymph node swelling/expansion, and how the interplay between immune cells and non-haematopeotic stromal cells is key to this process.聽By studying lymph node-dynamics we can learn about the control of immune responses. In addition, the lymph node as an experimental model is hugely relevant to the interplay between immune cells and stroma in settings such as tumours. There are many parallels in the function of fibroblastic reticular cells (FRCs) of lymphoid tissues and tumour-associated fibroblasts. Taking lessons from the cell-cell interactions in the lymph node may provide novel avenues for tumour immunotherapy.
