Programme(s) to which this project applies: |
☑ MPhil/PhD | ☒ MRes[Med] | ☒ URIS |
Autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases cause considerable long-term morbidity and mortality, especially in children. There is a need for patient stratification and outcome prediction to tailor immunosuppressive therapy according to deep knowledge of the pathomechanisms underlying immune dysregulation.
Objectives
To identify immune cell phenotype and transcriptomic signatures that characterise childhood-onset autoimmune and immunodysregulatory disorders, using deep phenotyping methods such as flow cytometry and transcriptomic analysis
Hypothesis to be tested
We hypothesise that paediatric autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases have distinct immune cell phenotype and gene expression pattern that can predict disease severity and response to specific disease-modifying treatment.
Study instruments
Standardised disease activity measurement, immunophenotyping by flow cytometry, transcriptome profiling by RNA-sequencing
Interventions
Patients will be evaluated at diagnosis / disease relapse and after drug treatment for detailed phenotyping of clinical manifestations, immune cells and transcriptome
Main outcome measures
Cellular subsets and transcriptome signatures that are predictive of disease remission or persistence
Data analysis
Proportion of immune cell subpopulations in each disease entity will be compared in patients before and after treatment at specified time-points, using age-matched healthy controls as reference. Differentially expressed genes identified from transcriptome profiling of T-cells, B-cells and neutrophils will be analysed for pathway enrichment and mapping through bioinformatics pipeline. Genes and pathways that characterise each disease, and those modulated by treatment, will be identified.
Expected results
Distinct cellular subpopulations and corresponding gene expression can identify pathways that can be targeted by biologic response modifiers, enabling treatment of autoimmune and autoinflammatory disease using a personalised medicine approach.
Professor PPW Lee, Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Clinical Expertise
Field of Research
For more information or to express interest for this project, please email the supervisor or the specified contact point in the project description. Interested candidates are advised to enclose with your email:
Information on the research programme, funding support and admission documentations could be referenced online at the Research Postgraduate Admissions website. General admission enquiries should be directed to rpgmed@hku.hk.
HKUMed MBBS students interested in the Master of Research in Medicine (MRes[Med]) programme may visit the programme website for more information.
HKUMed UG students interested in the Undergraduate Research Internship Scheme (URIS) may visit the scheme’s website for more information.
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