Dombrowski Group

Dombrowski group research 

Despite driving pathology in many diseases, the immune system is fundamental for tissue regeneration after damage. Tissue damage can occur in infectious settings (e.g. through bacteria, viruses or fungi) or in sterile settings (e.g. through trauma or autoimmune attacks).

Innate immune receptors sense disruption of tissue homeostasis initiating a regenerative immune response that leads to the repair of the damaged tissue. The Dombrowski group is primarily interested in the underlying immunological mechanisms that direct functional tissue regeneration with the goal to identify novel therapeutic targets for immune-mediated diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

In MS the myelin sheath that covers nerve fibres is damaged due to an autoimmune attack against proteins in the myelin sheath. As a result, the nerve fibres can die leading to a loss of function, which can result in paralysis and other neurodegenerative symptoms. There is no cure for MS to date and there are no therapies that can restore damaged myelin in order to prevent irreversible nerve loss.

Current projects of the group investigate the function of inflammasomes during myelin damage and regeneration in the central nervous system (CNS) and the effects of IL-1 cytokines on oligodendrocytes in the CNS - the cells that produce myelin. Other projects in the group investigate the role of inflammasomes in tissue repair after infectious tissue injury and the impact of e-cigarette vapour on inflammasomes.

Our central research goal is to identify novel immunomodulatory targets that can be developed into therapeutics to limit tissue damage and to promote functional tissue regeneration.

The Dombrowski group welcomes applications from enthusiastic and ambitious students and postdoctoral researchers who wish to work at the cutting-edge of regenerative immunology. See the Opportunities tab for more information. For more information regarding Dombrowski group research please see here