The Project: ANCA-associated vasculitis
Our research group was established in 2012 and studies ANCA-associated vasculitis, a serious autoimmune disease that damages small blood vessels and can lead to kidney failure and other organ problems. We are working to find better ways to detect inflammation early, understand why the disease affects people so differently, and discover why immune cells malfunction in this condition.
By identifying accurate biomarkers, predicting who is likely to relapse, and understanding which patients are most at risk of treatment side effects, we aim to personalise care and reduce harm from current therapies. To achieve this, we combine clinical information, patient-reported outcomes, laboratory data and national registry and biobank samples to build tools that help doctors choose the safest and most effective treatment for each person with vasculitis.
The Meath Foundation has been a core funder of our lab since it began operations, and has helped us generate data supporting large EU programmes.
Research papers
Professor Mark Little, Trinity College Dublin, Tallaght Hospital and Beaumont Hospital
Mark is Professor of Nephrology in Trinity College Dublin, consultant nephrologist in Tallaght and Beaumont Hospitals and Director of the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute
After graduating from medicine in Trinity he completed his Nephrology training in London in 2006 during which time he obtained a PhD from Imperial College London. Post-doctoral time spent at Hammersmith Hospital, University of Birmingham and University College London consolidated a translational research programme focused on autoimmunity and systemic vasculitis.
His research interests include novel model systems for investigating the pathogenesis of ANCA vasculitis, biomarker development and application of data science techniques to study autoimmunity. He leads the HELICAL, PARADISE and FAIRVASC EU consortia, which seek to apply novel data science and linkage techniques to health data.
He has published over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and was awarded the President of Ireland Young Researcher Award. He is a co-founder of ERN-RITA, the rare immune disorders European Reference Network, Chair of the RITA-Ireland Vasculitis Network and co-founder of UKIVAS, the vasculitis society of UK and Ireland.
Translational Immunology, Inflammation and Infection
Leaders: Professor Joseph Keane, Professor Aideen Long and Professor Mark Little.
Within TTMI there are over 30 basic and clinician PI’s active within translational immunology, inflammation and infectious diseases. Immunology research transcends the translational spectrum of integrating basic mechanistic immunological studies with specific clinical disease focus investigations. Current areas of research include molecular and cellular immunology (including human and animal models of differentiation, cytokine secretion and effector function), immunogenetics, leukocyte migration and nanomedicine. These studies are all translational in nature and focus on inflammatory diseases such as eczema, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), coeliac disease, stroke, vasculitis and sepsis. The infectious diseases addressed include tuberculosis, HIV and Hepatitis C. PI’s also actively collaborate with many other Schools in TCD, such as immunologists in TBSI, where Professor Fallon and Professor Little also have laboratories.