Section of bronchial tissue from a subject with COPD stained by the Periodic Acid Schiff technique to demonstrate mucins (magenta).

Bronchial biopsy from an asthmatic subject immunohistochemically stained to demonstrate eosinophils (red). Also note the damaged epithelium.

Immnohistochemical staining to demonstrate blood vessels (red).

Dr. Susan Wilson
INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE AND AIRWAYS REMODELLING IN ASTHMA AND COPD

Dr Susan Wilson has over 16 years experience in histopathology and heads the Histochemistry Research Unit (HRU) within Division of Infection, Inflammation and Repair (IIR) within the School of Medicine and has her own program of research. The HRU provides histopathological support for IIR and offers a range of histological services for the processing and staining of cells and tissues. It is a busy unit with seven members of experienced staff that support a wide range of basic research and clinical trial projects that are undertaken within the unit. Users of the HRU include post-doctoral research fellows, clinical research fellows, PhD, DM and MSc postgraduate students, BSc undergraduates and research technicians. Work conducted in the Unit has lead to over 50 publications in scientific journals.

Dr Wilson research program investigates the allergic inflammatory response and airways remodelling in the lungs in asthma and COPD. This includes the following projects: 

• The role of transcription factors in the initiation, maintenance and modulation of the allergic inflammatory reaction. 
  
• The role of the epithelial-mesenchymal trophic unit in chronic severe asthma. 
  
• The effects of pollutants on bronchial inflammation in asthma, rhinitis and COPD. 
  
• The inflammatory reaction and structural features, including the submucosa, epithelium and vasculature of COPD, and a comparison of bronchial versus parenchymal tissue. 
  
• Expression of advanced glycosylation end products in asthma and role in inflammation and remodelling. 
  
• The expression of developmental genes in asthma. 
  
• The role of co-stimulatory molecules in the production of IgE in lymphoid tissue. 
  
• Development and application of molecular techniques for the detection of novel gene sequences within human tissue samples. 

For further details click here
Tel. 023 8079 6361
Fax. 023 8070 1771
Email. sjw1@soton.ac.uk