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MRC-Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma

The MRC-Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma is the result of an exciting partnership between the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Asthma UK, who have come together to create a world-class centre of excellence for allergy and asthma research.

The centre is the first of its kind to be jointly funded by the government and an independent charity, and has three main aims:

  • to advance the understanding of how and why asthma and allergies develop in order to design new and more effective treatments
  • to provide high-quality research training for clinicians, scientists and associated researchers in both basic and clinical science, and to provide a high-quality integrated environment for research training in allergy and asthma
  • to provide high-quality information on allergy and asthma to the public and to be a public voice to highlight new achievements in asthma research.

Why is the centre important for asthma research?

The incidence of asthma and allergy in the UK has almost trebled in the last 20 years, with one in three people likely to develop an allergy at some point in their lives.

There is a close link between asthma and allergies, and in developed countries, more than half of adults with asthma also have allergic rhinitis (hay fever).

Furthermore, children with atopic eczema are more likely to have asthma, with 1 in every 3 of children with atopic eczema going on to develop asthma later in their childhood.

The high incidence of allergic asthma highlights the need for a research centre dedicated to improving our understanding and management of allergy and asthma together.

The social and economic cost of asthma is high. Asthma care and services cost the NHS almost £900 million, and asthma is responsible for at least 12.7 million lost working days every year.

The creation of a centre of this kind provides a unique opportunity to translate basic science findings from the laboratory to healthcare professionals treating people with allergic asthma and will encourage scientists to fast-track the development and testing of new treatments.

Leading the centre

The MRC-Asthma UK Centre supports world-class research scientists and clinicians based at King’s College London and Imperial College London and their associated hospitals. The centre's Director, Professor Tak Lee, at King’s College London, and Deputy Director, Professor Tim Williams, at Imperial College London, lead the research activities and both hold Asthma UK-funded professorial chairs.

What are the centre’s main research areas?

The centre aims to address five major questions about allergy and asthma:

IgE function, structure and regulation

IgE is the natural antibody produced by the body as part of our defence against allergens and initiate allergic reactions in our airways, skin or gut lining. Building an accurate model of the IgE antibody and observing its interactions with other molecules and cells will help us understand how we can develop new drugs to stop the IgE antibody starting an allergic reaction.

Leukocyte trafficking, inflammation and airway structure

White blood cells play a key role in causing inflammation when we are exposed to allergens. By tracking the movement of white blood cells through blood and tissue we can better understand how and when allergic inflammation and structural changes occur in the airways.

Immunomodulation

Building a better understanding of how the immune cells regulate allergies and asthma, will help determine new or more effective ways to dampen down our reaction to allergens such as the treatment of allergic asthma with allergen desensitisation, also known as immunotherapy.

Infections

One in ten children have asthma, and viral infections such as the common cold trigger up to 80% of childhood asthma attacks. Bacterial infections also pose a risk to children and adults with asthma, therefore it is important to investigate the link between bacterial and viral infections and the development of asthma.

Identification of risk factors

In addition to hay fever and eczema, a small number of people with asthma also experience allergies to foods such as peanuts, which can present a serious health risk if poorly managed. By tracking and observing our exposure to food allergens in early life we may better understand the key genetic and environmental risk factors that lead to the development of asthma and how these could be controlled.

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