Research Overview My expertise is in the molecular and cellular biology of human neutrophils and macrophages, and how these cells become activated during infections and in inflammatory diseases. My approach involves application of a variety of -omics technologies to understand how these cells are switched on and off in health and disease. A major aim of my research in inflammatory diseases (typified by rheumatoid arthritis) is to identify ways to specifically down regulate the harmful consequences of neutrophil activation (e.g. release of reactive oxidants, granule enzymes and cytokines/chemokines) without impairing the ability of these cells to protect from infections. In my research on infections, I investigate ways to boost the activity of these cells to provide better host defence. My research has led to many national and international collaborations with clinicians and industry, and more recently I have developed research and academic collaborations with staff in Chulalongkorn University and Khon Kaen University in Thailand. In the latter, we are investigating how the innate immune system may contribute to liver damage and cholangiocarcinoma in individuals infected with the food-borne liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini, and the role that Helicobacter pylori may play in immuno-pathogenesis of this disease that results in thousands of deaths per year. Research Interest 1 Regulation of function of blood phagocytes during infections; cancer cell killing; inflammatory disease, especially rheumatoid arthritis; cytokine regulated processes; role of gene expression in rescue of neutrophils from apoptosis; molecular processes that up- or down-regulate phagocyte function and identification of new targets for the design of novel pro or anti-inflammatory agents. Apoptosis in cancer cells. Transcriptomics using next generation sequencing.