Professor Ian Galea MD, PhD, FRCP
Professor of Clinical and Experimental Neurology
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Ian Galea is a Professor of Clinical and Experimental Neurology, within Medicine at the University of Southampton. He leads the Southampton Clinical and Experimental Neurology Team (SCENT), a multidisciplinary group of investigators studying inflammatory and haemorrhagic brain conditions. The team has laboratory expertise in cell culture, immunochemistry, molecular techniques and preclinical models, and clinical translational expertise in clinical assessment, diagnostic assays and neuroimaging. Bench-to-bedside science is translated to patient benefit.
During neurological disease, brain tissue including vessels and blood within are destroyed, leading to inflammation, release of haemoglobin and blood-brain barrier compromise. This gets worse when there is infection and inflammation outside the brain. We study these pathological processes across a range of neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and brain haemorrhage.
His research concerns the brain’s immune system, and its response to infections, inflammation and haemorrhage, with implications for diseases such as multiple sclerosis and subarachnoid haemorrhage. As a clinician scientist he works across clinical and laboratory areas. He is a consultant neurologist with a specialist interest in neuroinflammatory disease. In his early scientific career, he studied cerebral perivascular macrophages at the blood-brain barrier and described a novel pathway of CD8 T cell entry into the brain. This formed the basis for his post-doctoral work, during which he studied the haemoglobin-scavenging system in the brain after subarachnoid haemorrhage and CD8 T cell-mediated brain disease. He was appointed to his current post in 2013.
Qualifications
FRCP, Royal College of Physicians, London (2017)
MRCP (Neurology), Royal College of Physicians, London (2009)
PhD (Neuroimmunology), University of Southampton (2007)
MRCP, Royal College of Physicians, London (2001)
MD, University of Malta (1997)
Southampton Clinical and Experimental Neurology Team (SCENT)
SCENT is interested in brain inflammation and the blood-brain barrier, with clinical relevance in two main disease areas: inflammatory and haemorrhagic brain conditions. The main aim is to improve patient lives after central nervous system disease by developing novel monitoring tools, outcome prediction algorithms and treatments. The team studies the molecular and cell biology of the interaction between blood and brain, in conditions such as subarachnoid haemorrhage and multiple sclerosis. Work is performed closely with patients in clinical studies to confirm the identity of key pathways that have treatment potential.
Inflammatory brain conditions
The blood brain-barrier represents the interface between the brain and the circulation. In the normal healthy brain, systemic inflammation signals across the blood-brain barrier leading to changes in the brain itself. This effect is more marked in the presence of inflammatory brain diseases, the commonest of which is multiple sclerosis. The team studies the interplay between brain, blood and inflammation in health and disease, in order to be able to predict, prevent and treat brain inflammation.
Haemorrhagic brain conditions
During brain haemorrhage there is a catastrophic breach in the blood-brain barrier. Blood is released into the brain, forming a clot. Unlike the rest of the body, the brain has a limited ability to deal with extravasated blood. As the blood clot degenerates, it leads to a local buildup of toxic substances. The team studies the effect of blood on brain cells and how this can be treated.
Team members (18):
Ian Galea, Patrick Garland, Matt Morton, Charlotte Stuart, Faye Cornick, Aravinthan Varatharaj, Carmen Jacob, Remi Guillochon, Ardalan Zolnourian, Ben Gaastra, Simran Chhugani, Milad Kazava, Mahshad Mousavi, Monica Ashokumar, Monica Fenn, Elizabeth Jarman, Steve Burnage, Constance Temple-Brown
Inter-disciplinary collaborations (30):
Southampton (MRI physics – Angela Darekar, Mobeen Ali & Geoffrey Payne; Neurosurgery – Diederik Bulters; Neuropathology – Delphine Boche & James Nicoll; Oncology – Christian Ottensmeier; Psychology – Laura Dennison; Electronic & Computer Sciences – Mark Weal; Audiology – Nicci Campbell; Genomics - Sarah Ennis, William Tapper; Mathematics - Ben MacArthur); Industry (Bio Products Laboratory Limited, Evgen); Bristol (bioinformatics & genetic epidemiology – Tom Gaunt, Nabila Kazmi); Copenhagen (MRI physics – Henrik Larsson, Stig Cramer); Hamburg (Shared decision making – Chris Heesen); Innsbruck (Biochemistry – Dietmar Fuchs); London (Stroke – David Werring); Michigan (MRI physics – Mark Haacke); Munich (Statistics – Martin Daumer, Christian Lederer); Manchester (Neurosurgery – James Galea, Andy King); Odense (Biochemistry – Soren Moestrup, Anders Etzerodt, Jonas Graversen); Toronto (Neurosurgery – Loch Macdonald)
Funders (18):
Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Wellcome Trust, National Institute for Health Research, Alzheimer’s Research UK, The Gerald Kerkut Charitable Trust, Bio Products Laboratory Limited, Evgen, Merck-Serono, Spire, IQ Products, Peel Medical Research Trust, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Association of British Neurologists, Wessex Medical Research, Smile for Wessex, University of Southampton.
