Inflammation, the double-edged sword
Inflammation is a vital element of the body’s immune response. It occurs when white blood cells migrate to an area of the body to fight infection or heal an injury. Unfortunately, it also damages body tissues. In some chronic diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, lupus and multiple sclerosis, the immune response goes awry and tells white blood cells to attack the body’s own tissues.
Dalhousie researchers world leaders in inflammation/immune research
More than 60 investigators have joined forces to form the Dalhousie Inflammation Group. Together, they are unraveling the mysteries of the immune and inflammatory responses and their roles in chronic disease. A core group of inflammation/immunity researchers – Drs. Jean Marshall, Andrew Issekutz, Thomas Issekutz, Tong-Jun Ling and Jim Wright – received a CIHR group grant in 2003, further boosting their international stature. Click here for more about the Dalhousie Inflammation Group.
2004 Molly Appeal helps fund High-Speed Cell-Sorting Facility
The 2004 Molly Appeal was dedicated to advancing Dalhousie Medical School researchers’ work in the areas of inflammation, infection and immunity. Donors generously contributed $140,000, which leveraged an additional $300,000 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to create a new High-Speed Cell-Sorting Facility. This facility allows researchers to rapidly separate the many kinds of immune cells in order to study the role and function of each. By deciphering the complex workings of the immune system, the researchers aim to develop ways of supercharging the immune response to fight cancer and infections – and of toning it down to prevent organ transplant rejection and the ravages of autoimmune diseases.
Fighting infection on many fronts
Dalhousie Medical School is also world-renowned for its work in infectious diseases. DMRF matching funds helped build and equip a state-of-the-art infectious diseases research lab in 2003, the Centre for Functional Microbial Genomics and Host Defense. Researchers in this centre are probing the molecular origins and transmission pathways of infectious diseases, and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, while developing vaccines and antimicrobial agents to combat emerging infectious diseases.
Dalhousie researchers have also joined forces to form the Dalhousie Infectious Diseases Research Alliance.
Learn more about some of Dalhousie Medical School's inflammation, infection and immunity researchers.