Group leader: Dr Andrew Walls
Reader in Immunopharmacology
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
Leader of the Immunopharmacology Group which has helped to establish the basis for new treatments of allergic diseases
Member of Medical Research Council College of Experts
Consultant to pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Evaluation of new anti-inflammatory drugs and development of new laboratory tests for diagnosis, disease monitoring and research in allergic disease.
Dr Walls’ research has been focused on the contribution of two cell types that play key roles in allergic disease, the mast cell (present in the tissues) and the basophil (a white blood cell).
RESEARCH AIMS
(1) To investigate new targets for drug development in asthma and other allergic conditions, and to evaluate novel approaches to therapy.
(2) To develop new laboratory tests for the reliable diagnosis of severe allergic reactions (provoked by food, medications, insect bites etc).
MEDIA INTEREST
Unexplained death in infants and adults which may have been triggered by an allergic reaction. Legal challenges in cases where a diagnosis of cot death has been disputed have led to requests for interviews in the last year or so. Dr Walls’ work on allergic drug reactions, and on new treatments for asthma have also resulted in media interest.
