Research

The English version of the Drug Hypersensitivity Quality of Life Questionnaire: Validity and Reliability in the British Population (£3,152)

It has been shown that patients with food allergies have an impairment in their quality of life (QoL). However, little has been done to prove this relationship in drug allergy. In 2010, Baiardini and her group published the Drug Hypersensitivity Quality of Life Questionnaire (DrHy-Q). This questionnaire was validated in an Italian population of 365 patients. The DrHy-Q has shown reproducible results when translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, Turkish and Dutch. It is hypothesised that capturing and addressing patient concerns in the UK through the use of the DrHy-Q may improve the approach to patients with drug allergy and/or the effectiveness of drug allergy testing. However, the DrHy-Q must first be translated into English, and then validated, before its use in the UK population can be considered.

Investigation of mast cells from asthmatic bronchial biopsy tissue by single cell RNA-sequencing for the assessment of novel therapeutics (£36,000)

Severe (uncontrolled) asthma affects a subset of people with asthma and does not respond to current treatments. Mast cells (MC) are a type of white blood cell in the airway that play an important role in uncontrolled asthma, causing both day-to-day symptoms and attacks. Drugs that block MC function in asthma do not currently exist, because until now researchers have not been able to investigate the mechanisms driving abnormal MC function. We will use a new technique called single-cell RNA sequencing that will allow us to identify the abnormal molecular signalling pathways that drive abnormal MC function. We will use MCs obtained from the bronchi of people with severe asthma and expect to uncover new ways which MCs in asthma can be targeted effectively with new drugs, hence improving the care for people with this disease.

Characterisation of type-2 innate lymphoid cells in the sputum of wheezing children (£69,501)

Understanding the immune processes underlying asthma attacks in children may help us to increase our understanding of how asthma develops in the first place. This could in time lead to new treatments to alter the natural history of asthma. 

To further our understanding of the immune processes leading to the development of asthma, This project will study a specific cell type, known to secrete large amounts of powerful mediators, in the sputum of wheezing children. These protein messengers (called cytokines) are known to be involved in the asthma disease mechanism. What we do not understand well is where they are coming from. To date there have been few research studies on the role of type-2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) in children with asthma. The majority of clinical studies have been conducted in adults with asthma and in this population it is suggested that ILC-2s have an important role in maintaining the inflammation in the airways. We now need to study ILC2s in children with asthma.