Senior Lecturer & Theme PPIE Lead
Dr Christopher Nile is interested in how microorganisms can initiate an inflammatory response and the host-pathogen crosstalk which is an important determinant of disease outcome. Acetylcholine has been found to play an important role in cross-communication between host and pathogen. Both eukaryotes and prokaryotes can synthesise and respond to acetylcholine. Work from his group, and others, have demonstrated that acetylcholine plays an important role in modulation of immune responses and microbial pathogenicity. Chris’ research group explore the role of cholinergic enzymes and receptors in health and disease and investigate whether targeting these molecules may lead to beneficial therapeutic outcomes.