Professor S. John Curnow PhD

• PhD, Immunochemistry University of Southampton, 1991
• BSc 1st (Hons), Biology University of Southampton, 1988

John obtained a PhD in Immunochemistry from the University of Southampton where his research examined the activities of bispecific antibodies for the immunotherapy of cancer, many years before these molecules entered clinical trials. His first post-doctoral position was in Marseille, where he studied the mechanisms that regulate T cell tolerance. A move to Oxford followed where he researched the role of T cells in myasthenia gravis.

His interest in translational immunology continued when he was appointed lecturer at the University of Birmingham. His research was focused for many years on the regulation of immune responses in the eye and how these are altered in patients with uveitis. Over the past few years his research group have shifted to studies of multiple sclerosis, examining the early immunological events and how they can be used for both prognosis of disease progression and the development of novel therapeutic pathways. Dr Curnow established the MSc in Immunology and Immunotherapy, and is the current programme director.

• Biomedical Science BSc
• Medicine and Surgery MBChBh
• Immunology and Immunotherapy MSc

Dr Curnow has supervised over 12 PhD students. His current student projects are:

• Adaptive immune responses in multiple sclerosis
• T cell responses in patients with early multiple sclerosis

There are a number of potential projects available in his group to self-funding students, including immune responses in multiple sclerosis, inflammatory pathways in uveitis, and fundamental aspects of adaptive immunity in humans. For further details visit FindAPhD.

If you are interesting in studying any of these subject areas please contact Professor John Curnow directly, or for any general doctoral research enquiries, please email mds-gradschool@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

For a full list of available Doctoral Research opportunities, please visit our Doctoral Research programme listings.

Overview

There are a number of organs in the body that are relatively protected from immune attack; these include the brain and the eye. These organs are conferred a status of immune privilege. Dr Curnow’s research group are interested in studying the mechanisms that control immune responses within these tissues, and more importantly study disease where the privileged status of the tissue has been compromised.

Multiple sclerosis

The central nervous system is relatively protected from damaging inflammation. However in patients with multiple sclerosis there is a destructive inflammatory process with many pathogenic lymphocytes entering the central nervous system. Dr Curnow’s group are currently studying these cells to determine which are specific to this disease and how they relate to clinical progression. They study the two arms of the adaptive immune system, T and B cells. Their work has already demonstrated that the B cell response can be readily identified in the cerebrospinal fluid (Hassan-Smith 2014), even in patients with very early disease. This has led them to study the immune response in the early phases of disease in more detail, in an attempt to uncover the trigger that leads to the development of MS.

Uveitis (inflammation in the eye)

For patients with uveitis the degree of protection afforded to the eye appears to have failed and they can develop sight-threatening inflammation. Dr Curnow’s research has identified a number of pathways that are defective or have been overwhelmed in the eye of patients with uveitis, resulting in the observed inflammation (Denniston 2012, Denniston 2011, Curnow 2004).

• Consultant for Celentyx Ltd, University of Birmingham spin-out company
• Member of the British Society for Immunology
• Secretary of the NeuroImmunology Affinity Group, British Society for Immunology
• Member of the Association for Research into Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)