Approximately 800,000 people per year are then referred to specialist dermatologists for skin conditions, and one in ten adults have pain in their mouth . Oral diseases such as gum disease affect as many as one in five people, and causing early loss of teeth and exacerbating other chronic conditions such as diabetes.
At the NIHR Newcastle BRC, we use the findings from our research in healthy volunteers as well as people with psoriasis, oral and facial pain, atopic eczema, periodontitis, and people accessing critical care, to evaluate the effect of ageing and other age-related diseases (such as diabetes and high blood pressure) on inflammation, the progression of disease, and response to treatments.
The theme leads of the Skin Disease, oral Diease and Immunogenomics Theme as well as some of their researchers give an overview of the theme's objectives, how they work together and across other BRC themes as well as how they engage with patients.
Our work in skin and oral diseases uses clinical and cutting-edge scientific approaches to advance our understanding of disease mechanisms with the aim of improving the care we deliver to our patients.
Research on skin disease encompasses several key areas. Our work focuses on inflammatory skin diseases, particularly psoriasis, and aims to understand the underlying disease mechanisms, its relationship with multiple long-term conditions like cardiovascular disease, depression, and arthritis. We seek to personalize treatment choices such as biologic therapies and ultraviolet light. We also study human cells at a single-cell level to understand how the immune system develops, maintains health, and changes due to infection, inflammation, and disease, and contribute to the open sharing of data within the Human Cell Atlas. Finally, work with patients with rare genetic skin conditions, for which there are currently no medical treatments, focuses on discovering new therapeutic targets through the study of rare genetic material, with the goal of translating these discoveries into early phase human trials.
We combine clinical studies with laboratory analyses to target gum disease and tooth decay, and to improve understanding and treatments for orofacial pain. We lead major clinical trials on smoking cessation and its benefits for gum disease and on therapies for pain associated with temporomandibular disorders. Our laboratory research aims to develop models for microbial biofilms and their interactions with host tissues, and neuronal models for pain signalling pathways that provide new understanding of the biology of these conditions and work towards novel preventive or therapeutic strategies. These projects are supported by dental biomaterials research that includes exploring polymers and composites for repairing damaged oral and craniofacial tissues. Our researchers also study oral cancer, researching the molecular mechanisms of the disease, developing diagnostic biomarkers, assessing malignancy risk in pre-cancerous conditions, and studying HPV's role, all aiming for earlier diagnosis and better treatments.
Approximately 10% of adults in the UK have severe forms of periodontitis, and it is one of the most common causes of tooth loss. We develop laboratory models to understand the interactions between microbes and gum tissues that drive disease, and align these with clinical studies on wider factors such as smoking that impact disease outcomes.
Orofacial pain may be acute or persistent and can have major impacts on quality of life. Our research spans fundamental studies on pain-associated signalling pathways to a multi-centre trial investigating interventions for temporomandibular disorders, aiming to identify the best approaches for pain management.
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Newcastle Pain Research Group
MiTiGate Trial
PRUDENT Project
Newcastle School of Dental Sciences Research
Through our theme, we have created a collaborative environment for expert clinicians and scientists to carry out impactful, translational research across a breadth of skin and oral diseases using innovative and cutting-edge techniques.
Professor Muzlifah Haniffa’s (theme co-lead) lab is pioneering the applications of single cell genomics using advanced computational methods to decode the development and maturation of the human immune system.
Professor Nick Reynolds (theme co-lead) leads a multi-disciplinary research group that is applying novel methods, including computational and AI approaches, to develop precision (personalised) medicine for patients through improving understanding of inflammatory skin disease, associated co-morbidities and response to therapies.
Professor Neil Rajan (BRC leadership track) utilises multiomic approaches and patient derived spheroid models to understand disease mechanisms in genetic skin conditions, with the aim of discovering novel therapies.
Dr Laura Jardine (BRC leadership track) https://jardinelab.com/ uses single cell and spatial transcriptomics to understand the behaviour and targetability of high risk blood and lymphoid cancers in their tissue context.
Our Skin Diseases, Oral Disease and Immunogenomics theme is integrated within our Dermatology Department and Dental School at Newcastle Hospitals.
We work closely with patients through our patient, public involvement and engagement (PPIE) activities, involving local communities through organisations such as Connected Voice Haref, VONNE and Voice. Our events and discussions have enabled the development of close, collaborative relationships to ensure our ongoing research directions are relevant and important to patients and the public.
National Eczema Society
Psoriasis Association
Lynch Syndrome UK
We have key active roles across several large, multi-centre consortiums including the NIHR Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC), NIHR AI-MULTIPLY, Psoriasis Stratification to Optimise Relevant Therapy (PSORT), NIHR ENHANCE-D and NIHR MiTiGate trials. We drive rare disease clinical trial portal development within the LifeArc Centre for the Acceleration of Rare Disease Trials.
Theme Co-Lead for Skin Disease, Oral Disease and Immunogenomics, Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science, Lister Institute Prize Fellow, Professor of Dermatology and Immunology
Theme Co-Lead for Skin Disease, Oral Disease and Immunogenomics, Professor of Dermatology and Director of Diagnostics
BRC Leadership Track for Skin Disease, Oral Disease and Immunogenomics, PPIE Theme Lead, Communication and Impact Academic Lead, Professor of Dermatogenetics and Honorary Consultant Dermatologist
BRC Leadership Track for Skin Disease, Oral Disease and Immunogenomics and Senior Clinical Fellow