MPhil Immunology

Immunology is the study of host resistance to infection. Without an immune system, humans and animals would be susceptible to overwhelming infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites.

Overview

The University of Liverpool’s Institute of Infection and Global Health was established to bring together leading medical, veterinary and basic science researchers from across the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.

Research in Immunology is based in new laboratories at three sites, the Ronald Ross Building, IC2 and Leahurst. It encompasses studies of the immune responses to and vaccination against a range of bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens including: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Japanese encephalitis virus, Zika virus, influenza virus, HIV, cytomegalovirus and other herpesviruses, chicken metapneumovirus, Salmonella, Treponema, Onchocerca, Fasciola, cyathostomins, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Toxoplasma and Neospora caninum.

The aims of the research are to investigate the nature of the cellular and humoral immune responses to pathogens of human or veterinary importance and how this knowledge may be used to design vaccines or other immunotherapeutic strategies to benefit clinical and veterinary medicine.

Research themes

We particularly welcome research proposals that match those of our researchers, including:

• Regulation of immune cell function in infection, including manipulation of immune cell migration by Toxoplasma gondii.
• Development of 3D tissue culture models to study host-pathogen interactions at the intestinal epithelium.
• Immunological basis of vaccine-induced protective immunity against bacterial and viral pathogens in humans, including influenza virus, rotavirus, RSV, S. pneumoniae and S. aureus.