Grant: Project Grant

Chronic inflammatory diseases including allergies, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, etc are increasing world-wide and there is growing evidence to suggest that this is driven, at least in part, by changes in the Western lifestyle and early life environmental factors. Previously we showed that, in both animal models and human birth cohorts, alterations in the exposures of neonates to bacteria can have a profound influence on the future development of disease in adults. Despite this progress, the actual pathways that drive this life-long change in immune response remain obscure. Accordingly, the goal of this research is to use an animal model (mouse) to reveal the molecular and cellular pathways sculpted during early life that determine future susceptibility to disease in adult. Successful completion of this research could lead to simple new strategies to ensure the development of a healthy immune system early in life that leads to a greater life long resistance to disease.