Chemical Biology

We use chemical biology in several projects to explore innate immunity and inflammation.

We collaborate with chemical biologists and chemists to explore innate immunity through cosupervision of PhD and MRes students. We have been using cutting-edge tools developed by groups of Ed Tate, James Bull and Matthew Fuchter in our work on inflammasome signalling.

The NLRP3 inflammasome sensor is linked to several inflammatory diseases. Our photoactivable probe based on MCC950, a commonly used inhibitor of NLRP3, identified its on- and off-targets.

  • A PhD student, Cassandra Kennedy, (with the Tate group) developed a photoactivable probe using MCC950 that can detect native NLRP3 in human macrophages (Kennedy et al ACS Chem Bio).