Hosted by the School of Medicine at Cardiff University
The rise of single-cell genomics in recent years has contributed a great deal to understanding this complexity and the role of the immune system in infection, inflammation, and disease. I will demonstrate the application of single-cell genomics to decode the developing human immune system. In particular, I will discuss using single-cell RNA sequencing to study human yolk sac, fetal liver and bone marrow haematopoiesis and the immune network formation in prenatal peripheral tissues. The broader research goal is understand how developmental immune programs may be co-opted in post-natal disease . A detailed understanding of the developing immune system is also relevant to improve stem cell therapy and regenerative medicine.
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Prof. Muzlifah Haniffa is a Wellcome Senior Clinical Research Fellow, Interim Head of Cellular Genetics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, and Professor of Dermatology and Immunology at Newcastle University. She graduated from medical school in Cardiff, trained as a junior doctor in Cambridge and received her dermatology specialist training in Newcastle. Muzlifah is a Member of EMBO. Her work has been recognised with numerous awards, including the Academy of Medical Sciences Foulkes Foundation Medal and the European Federation of Immunological Societies ACTERIA Prize in Immunology and Allergology. She has pioneered the application of single cell genomics to decode the developing human immune system across organs and developmental stages, and to understand cell and tissue dynamics in human skin in health and disease. This work includes the landmark discovery that developmental programmes are co-opted in two common adult inflammatory skin diseases, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. She has also made fundamental insights into other diseases such as infant and childhood leukaemia and COVID-19. SHe is a leading member of the Human Cell Atlas (HCA) international consortium, and as co-ordinator of the HCA Development Network she plays a critical role in supporting this growing network of international scientists aiming to understand human development.