Kate Attfield
Senior Postdoctoral Scientist
I joined Professor Lars Fugger’s research group in 2008, where I started working on a number of humanized in vivo models for multiple sclerosis (MS), with a particular focus on understanding the role of HLA class I alleles in protecting against the disease.
With ever increasing resolution of the human genome by perpetually evolving DNA sequencing technologies, and their interpretation thereafter, this has since unravelled previously unknown or undetectable genetic risk variants associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). My research aims, as well as the group as a whole, is to determine how these risk variants work at the functional level to confer disease risk.
As well as my main research, I am also a D.Phil supervisor and an invited member on two University of Oxford research ethics committees.
Recent publications
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Resolving TYK2 locus genotype-to-phenotype differences in autoimmunity.
Journal article
Dendrou CA. et al, (2016), Sci Transl Med, 8
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Multiple sclerosis: Molecular mimicry of an antimyelin HLA class I restricted T-cell receptor.
Journal article
Rühl G. et al, (2016), Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm, 3
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Class II HLA interactions modulate genetic risk for multiple sclerosis.
Journal article
Moutsianas L. et al, (2015), Nat Genet, 47, 1107 - 1113
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CD8⁺ MAIT cells infiltrate into the CNS and alterations in their blood frequencies correlate with IL-18 serum levels in multiple sclerosis.
Journal article
Willing A. et al, (2014), Eur J Immunol, 44, 3119 - 3128
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TCR transgenic mice that shed light on immune and environmental regulators in multiple sclerosis.
Journal article
Attfield KE. and Fugger L., (2013), J Immunol, 190, 3015 - 3017