Immunopaedia Ambassadors – Oceania
Our Ambassadors from across the Oceania area.
What is your name?
Richard Charlesworth
What is your current position?
Lecturer in Biomedical Science
Which institute and country do you work in?
University of New England, Australia
What is your home country?
Australia
What are your research interests?
Coeliac Disease, Autoimmunity, Mucosal Immunology
Tell us about yourself and your research interests:
I was conferred a PhD in Clinical Immunology in 2017 and then accepted a lecturing position at the University of New England shortly after. I lecture mainly in human gastroenterology and immunology across the schools of Biomedical Science, Medicine and Nursing at the University. I also teach a number of related subjects in Biomedical Science.
My research focusses on gastrointestinal immunopathology and clinical/translational immunology. I am very interested in the immunology of the mucosal surfaces of the gut, examining the interactions between dietary antigens and the immune system in both healthy individuals and in conditions such as coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease. Using this data, I am also involved in developing novel diagnostics for coeliac disease in particular, as well as developing novel therapeutic agents to treat other mucosal autoimmune diseases. More recently, I have joined a research group examining the bi-directional communication between the gut microbiome and the brain. My role on their projects has been to examine the role of the immune system in this communication network using techniques including conventional histology, fluoro-immunohistochemistry and scanning electron microscopy.
What are your online profiles?
LinkedIn
ResearchGate
Twitter
Immunology Keywords:
Coeliac Disease, Autoimmunity, Mucosal Immunology