About: grahamr
- Full Name
- Graham Rook
- Website
- http://
- Details
- Prof. Rook BA MB BChir MD, studied basic natural sciences at the University of Cambridge, UK, before qualifying in clinical medicine in the University of London. Since 1994 Prof. Rook has held the post of Professor of Medical Microbiology at University College London.
The theme of G.R.’s research was initially the immunopathology of tuberculosis (TB), with a major emphasis on the interactions of IL-4 and IL-4delta2 with mycobacterial infections. This broadened to include the endocrinology and immunoendocrinology of TB; his approach is interdisciplinary, with emphasis on integrative physiology leading to publications on endocrinology, immunology, microbiology and neuroscience.
An awareness of the role in TB of changing patterns of exposure to environmental mycobacteria led to a broad interest in the influence of changing microbial exposures on the incidences of the chronic inflammatory diseases that are increasing in developed countries. He has coined the expression “Old Friends Hypothesis” to emphasise the essential role that certain harmless environmental microorganisms, parasites and commensals, present throughout mammalian evolutionary history, play in the establishment of optimum regulation of the immune system. This train of thought has led clinical trials and publications in the field of allergic disorders.
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Thanks to Jeff Kopmanis at the University of Michigan for technical help that makes this publication possible.
