Abstract: We are interested in how bacteria trigger an immune response following infection. Initial contact with bacteria triggers a response from the innate immune system, resulting in activation of important immune defence mechanisms. Bacterial infection can result in activation of the NLRC4 inflammasome. Our work has focussed on the mechanisms surrounding this activation and how autophagy influences this process.

Biography: Tom Evans is Professor of Molecular Microbiology at the University of Glasgow and a Consultant in Infectious Disease and General Medicine. He trained in Medicine and Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge and then specialised in Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London before moving to Glasgow in 2003.

His research interests are in the immune responses to bacterial infections, particularly Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pneumoniae as well as the development of more effective therapies for hospital-acquired infections and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as part of the Scottish Government funded Scottish Healthcare-associated Infection Prevention Institute (SHAIPI). He is on the Editorial Board of the Journals Immunology and Future Microbiology and serves on the National Training Group for Infectious Diseases. He is Chair of the Department of Health’s expert Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens.