Sir Henry Dale Research Fellow fu
nded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society
I am a postdoctoral immunologist with a background in human population studies (University of Edinburgh), experimental animal models of parasitic worm infection (University of York), and in vitro models of HIV-driven inflammation (Queen Mary University of London). I am also a co-investigator on the ongoing HOPE-SAM study of paediatric severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in Zambia and Zimbabwe
My broad research goal is to understand how malnutrition and other immune-polarising conditions (particularly helminth and HIV infection) shape immune responses to new pathogen challenges. Could therapeutically targeting immune dysfunction in these conditions improve clinical outcomes in chronically exposed populations?
My Fellowship is focused on innate anti-bacterial responses in children with complicated SAM, who are at high risk of severe bacterial infections during hospitalisation and after discharge. I am tracking the function of innate immune cells and the systemic inflammatory environment of each child over the course of their nutritional rehabilitation. I hope to determine whether functional immune profiles can predict infection risk during this critical recovery period.
Publications (via PubMed):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Bourke%20CD%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=27237815
Research gate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Claire_Bourke
The Prendergast Group 