Professor Derek G. Doherty
Professor in Immunology, Principal Investigator of the Cellular Immunology Group, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute
- Research Institute:
Trinity Translational Medicine Institute
- Contact e-mail:
- Contact number:
- Thematic Area:
Translational Immunology Studies
Research Profile:
Derek has more than 30 years of experience in research into the biology of human T cells and their roles in infectious and inflammatory disease and cancer. A major area of interest has been their treatment potential for chronic viral infections, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
COVID-19 Project: Analysis of T cells and T cell responses in patients and convalescents with COVID-19:
The aim of this research is to provide a detailed description of the repertoires of circulating T cells and other lymphocytes in patients with COVID-19 before and after the onset of symptoms, in patients with mild and severe disease and with extrapulmonary complications, and in convalescents. Individual T cell responses to overlapping peptides corresponding to SARS-CoV-2 proteins will also be measured and the results will be used to develop a rapid test that can be used to screen people for T cell immunity to the virus, which will complement antibody tests. The dynamics and functions of innate T cells, including γδ T cells, natural killer T cells and mucosal-associated invariant T cells in patients with COVID-19 will also be studied, with the hope of understanding how they contribute to immunity against the virus and the pathological inflammation associated with the disease and generating novel therapeutics that target these cells.
