Current research projects
These are the projects we are currently funding.
The University of Dundee: Enzyme inhibitors as a potential treatment for coeliac disease
Project title: PIM kinase inhibitors as a potential treatment for coeliac disease.
Principle Investigator: Dr Mahima Swamy and Dr Hugo Penny.
Institution/s: The University of Dundee and the University of Sheffield.
Grant awarded: £250k.
Project start: March 2024.
Project duration: 3 years.
Dr Mahima Swamy has had an extensive career in research relating to the intestinal immune system and has previously received grants for her work from organisations such as the Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust. Dr Swamy’s lab in Dundee will collaborate with Dr Hugo Penny, a gastroenterologist and National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) Academic Clinical Lecturer and Professor David Sanders, Consultant Gastroenterologist, both based in Sheffield and part of the National Centre for Refractory Coeliac Disease.
What is the aim of this project?
The project aims to investigate how a certain group of proteins, called enzymes, trigger immune cells to damage the tissue that lines the gut. They’re going to test if blocking these enzymes stops the immune cells from damaging the gut lining. The project will help us to understand why the gut is damaged in coeliac disease and may generate new ideas to treat coeliac disease. Medications that block these enzymes are already in clinical trials for certain types of cancer. The findings from this research may show whether these medications could also be used to treat people living with refractory coeliac disease and prevent symptoms such as nausea and vomiting that occur when someone with coeliac disease is accidentally exposed to gluten.
Dr Swamy said: “When I present my research findings on coeliac disease, many patients tell me they’d be much happier if they could avoid feeling sick when they accidentally eat gluten. I’m excited by the possibility that this idea that was born out of basic research findings in my lab may eventually lead to a potential treatment for coeliac disease. I am thrilled to partner with Dr Penny and Professor Sanders from the National Centre for Refractory Coeliac Disease in Sheffield, and with Coeliac UK, to work towards making this possibility a reality.”
University of Oxford: Rogue cell research to better understand coeliac disease
Project title: Determining the antigen-specificity and function of CD8+ TCRαβ+ and TCRγδ+ intraepithelial lymphocytes in coeliac disease.
Principle investigator: Dr Michael FitzPatrick.
Institution: University of Oxford.
Grant awarded: £250k.
Project start: July 2024.
Project duration: 3 years.
Dr Michael FitzPatrick is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at Oxford University Hospitals, leading the coeliac disease clinic at John Radcliffe Hospital and a scientific researcher in immunology in the Translation Gastroenterology Unit at the University of Oxford where his lab focuses on disease mechanisms in coeliac disease.
What is the aim of this project?
The aim of this project is to understand the behaviour of immune cells that ‘go rogue’ in coeliac disease. It is well known that cells in the gut are designed to fight infections including destroying any infected cells and repairing any tissues that are damaged as a result of the immune response. In people with coeliac disease, these immune cells are wrongly activated to destroy healthy cells in the lining of the gut, in the presence of gluten. We know that this happens, but it is still not entirely understood why these cells respond specifically to pieces of gluten.
Previous research by the team has suggested that there are cells in the gut that have special receptors that recognise proteins from gluten and signal the body to produce an immune response as if a threat is present. This project is designed to test that theory.
The Oxford University research team plan to:
- Extract these receptors from gut samples from patients with coeliac disease Identify what these receptors look like by sequencing their genetic material.
- Investigate how and where these receptors interact with other immune cells in the gut, using a miniature model of the gut called an organiod which is grown in the lab from real human tissue.
- Understanding all of this could provide us with the information we need to treat or potentially even prevent coeliac disease.
Understanding immune cell interactions in the gut
Project title: Understanding immune-parenchymal cell interactions in active and refractory coeliac disease through spatial analysis approaches.
Principle Investigator: Professor Paul Klenerman.
Institution: The University of Oxford.
Grant Awarded: £250k.
Project Start: October 2023.
Project Duration: 3 years.
Professor Paul Klenerman is an immunologist and Sidney Truelove Chair of Gastroenterology at the University of Oxford. His research has made significant contributions to the world of immunology, particularly in relation to viruses and vaccines.
What is the aim of this project?
Based on previous investigations, the research team believe that the different cell types involved in coeliac disease work together as functional units within the gut to create the inflammatory response in coeliac disease. They want to develop a greater understanding of how these functional units operate. They will investigate where specific cells in the gut are found and how they interact with other cells nearby. They will determine how these cell to cell interactions change in the presence of gluten. They will study samples from people with treated coeliac disease, people with active coeliac disease and people with refractory coeliac disease.
The project will be using a relatively new technique in molecular biology called spatial transcriptomics. This technique looks at gene expression and will therefore allow the researchers to pinpoint exactly where specific cells are located in the gut and how they are interacting with one another in the context of coeliac disease.
The University of Sheffield: Improving the diagnosis and management of gluten ataxia
Project Title: Improving the diagnosis and management of gluten ataxia.
This project is being funded by Coeliac UK, Ataxia UK, the Sheffield Hospital Charity and the Greaves and Withey Foundation.
Principle Investigator: Professor Marios Hadjivassiliou.
Institution: The University of Sheffield.
Grant Awarded: £157k.
Project Start: October 2023Project Duration: 24 months.
Professor Marios Hadjivassiliou is a Consultant neurologist and the Director of the Sheffield Ataxia Centre – one of just two national ataxia centres in the UK, that cares for over 2500 ataxia patients. Professor Hadjivassiliou is also one of the founder members of The Sheffield Institute of Gluten Related Disorders, established over 10 years ago.
What is gluten ataxia?
Gluten ataxia is a neurological disorder that causes a loss of coordination, poor balance, slurring of speech, a tendency to fall and, if left untreated, wheel-chair dependency. It is caused by damage to the cerebellum in the brain and is triggered by gluten consumption. The condition can be stopped from progressing if it is detected early, and the patient follows a strict gluten free diet. Late diagnosis causes permanent neurological disability. For more information on gluten ataxia, please see our information pages on neurological conditions linked to coeliac disease.
