Presenter：Prof. Annie M. Curtis (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Department of Molecular and Cellular Therapeutics)

Topic：Its about time, the dawning of circadian medicine, a new frontier in personalised therapeutics, 昼夜节律医学——个性化治疗的曙光

Time：3:00 pm, 13th November, 2019 (Wednesday)

Location：909-B

Abstract and Biography：

Dr Annie Curtis and her talented team of PhD students and postdocs investigate the influence of our natural body clock and circadian rhythms on inflammation. Circadian rhythms are 24-hour rhythms in behaviours and physiologies allowing us to align to the predictable daily cycle of day and night. The body clock is the molecular timing system within our cells that drives these circadian rhythms. However, modern life, with exposure to light at night, erratic work, activity and eating patterns is disrupting our circadian rhythms and epidemiology data indicates that body clock disruption is a significant contributing factor to the rise of chronic inflammatory disease such as arthritis and cardiovascular disease.

Dr Curtis explains that:” Our goal is to understand the precise mechanisms by which the body clock controls the inflammatory response.What we have found so far is that our immune system is changing across the day and when we disrupt the body clock our immune system becomes dysfunctional and reacts as if we have a constant infection, leading to low grade inflammation which in turn can lead to many chronic inflammatory diseases”.

Blending the fields of immunology and circadian biology together, her teams work may have far reaching impact on our understanding and treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. There are also implications for when medications, including vaccinations, should be dispensed, aligning treatment with the daily changes in our immune system. CurtisClockLab is funded by Science Foundation Ireland, Irish Research Council and Annie is a L'Oreal Women in Science Fellow.

Contact: Prof. Rui Peng