When activated B cells differentiate into plasma cells, huge changes in the cell's secretory machinery take place as the cell converts into an antibody production factory. I am particularly interested in regulation of the early secretory pathway, how the machinery recognises the so-called ER (endoplasmic reticulum) exit sites, where they form, and how this system is then controlled in the specialised secretory plasma cells. In the first instance, I am studying trafficking through the secretory pathway and the maintenance of organelle identity in undifferentiated cell types. I can then build on this knowledge to understand the changes that occur during proliferation of the secretion apparatus in normal plasma cell development and also when the cells are infected with Epstein Barr virus (EBV). I use a wide range of cell and molecular biological approaches in addition to confocal microscopy and other advanced imaging techniques to investigate the spatial and temporal relationship of intracellular components in living mammalian cells. Specific topics include:

* biogenesis and maintenance of ER exit sites

* the role of microtubules in ER-Golgi transport

* recruitment and sorting of secretory cargo

* mechanisms involved in proliferation of the secretory pathway during B cell activation

* pathogenesis of B cells upon infection with EBV, in collaboration with Dr Tanzina Haque (Department of Virology, Royal Free Hospital).

I am involved in a number of collaborations looking at the interaction of membrane trafficking machinery with intracellular pathogens, including the interaction of E. coli K1 strain with human brain endothelial cells, with Dr Naveed Khan (Sunway University, Malaysia).

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has recently funded a study to investigate the relationship between neonatal bacterial infections and maternal cholesterol levels in collaboration with Dr Kenneth Ssebambulidde (Infectious Diseases Research Institute, Makerere University, Uganda).