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There are five research centres within the Infection and Immunity group:
The Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology which conducts research into the pathogenesis (the production and development of disease), epidemiology (the branch of medicine that deals with the incidence and prevalence of disease in large populations and with detection of the source and cause of epidemics of infectious disease), and treatment of fungal, bacterial and viral diseases.
The Centre for Virus Research (CVR) uses the latest technologies to investigate HIV, and herpes viruses. These technologies include
molecular and cell biology, protein chemistry and genomics. Genomics is the study of genomes. A genome is the total amount of genetic information in
the chromosomes of an organism, including its genes and DNA sequences.
The Centre's researchers have successfully defined two new receptors for HIV on epithelial dendritic cells. The epithelium is the outside layer of
cells that covers all the free, open surfaces of the body including the skin, and mucous membranes that communicate with the outside of the body. A
dendtiric cell is a special type of cell that is a key regulator of the immune system. The two receptors discovered by CVR are potential targets
for blocking entry of HIV into the body.
The Centre for Transplant and Renal Research seeks to improve, through transplantation the lives of people with end-organ failure and to reduce the number of people requiring dialysis by preventing the progression of chronic renal disease (illnesses that affect the kidney).
The Institute for Immunology and Allergy Research (IIAR) is investigating the cellular and genetic basis for major diseases of the immune system, autoimmunity, immune deficiency, chronic viral infection and atopy (the genetic tendency to develop the classic allergic diseases). This is accomplished by dissecting the immunologic genes of the human genome and studying effects of genetic variation on immune function. See Disease of the Month: Asthma for more information.
Research at the Institute of Dental Research (IDR) focuses on common oral infections, including dental caries and periodontal disease, which have complex aetiologies (causes or origins of a disease or disorder as determined by medical diagnosis).
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