Peter Barlow
Reader in Immunology and Infection and Head of ResearchDr Peter Barlow is a Reader in Immunology and Infection in the School of Life, Sport and Social Sciences at Edinburgh Napier University.
Peter’s interests lie in studying the human innate immune system with a view to developing novel therapeutics for infections. He is particularly interested in studying the activities of Cationic Host Defence Peptides (CHDP), principally in the context of viral respiratory infections, such as influenza.
Cationic Host Defence Peptides, also known as antimicrobial peptides, are key components of the immune response. These peptides have been shown to display a broad spectrum of antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities and, as such, are exciting targets for novel therapeutics.
This work is complemented by Peter’s long-standing interest in the impact of particulate air pollution on the immune system. Environmental pollutants such as nanoparticles have been demonstrated to have dramatic pro-inflammatory effects in humans, but the impact of these materials on innate immune responses has yet to be determined.
The concepts of Peter’s work can be expanded to broadly include many different types of inflammatory and infectious conditions, but are unified by the common interest in the multiple roles of cationic host defence peptides in the immune response.