Asthma, a family history Event
- Time:
- 17:15 - 18:15
- Date:
- 14 February 2013
- Venue:
- Lecture Theatre 2, South Academic Block, SGH
For more information regarding this event, please telephone Sandy Virdee on 023 8079 6439 or email medevent@southampton.ac.uk .
Event details
Gene-environment interactions in the early life origins of asthma. An Inaugural Lecture presented by Professor John Holloway. Thursday 14th February, 5.15pm - 6.15pm, followed by wine and canapes.
Asthma is a common chronic respiratory disease that affects over 5 million people in the UK today. While much is understood about the triggers of asthma attacks in people with the disease, much less is understood about why asthma develops in the first place. While a family history of allergic disease is one of the strongest risk factors for developing asthma, suggesting a role for inherited genetic factors, we also know that environmental exposures during pregnancy and early life such as tobacco smoke exposure and maternal nutrition also play a role in disease development. This lecture will explore our understanding of the genetic factors that predispose to asthma and also how environmental exposures in early life can lead to a chemical modification of DNA (epigenetic modification) that can also alter an individual’s future risk of developing asthma.
Speaker information
Professor John Holloway,Professor Holloway graduated with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from Otago University, New Zealand in 1992. He went on to undertake research into the genetic basis of asthma at both the University of Southampton and the Malaghan Institute (Wellington, New Zealand) graduating with a Ph.D. in 1997. Subsequently Professor Holloway returned to Southampton and continued his research into the genetic basis of allergies and asthma. He now heads the Respiratory Genetics Group, based in the Human Development and Health and Clinical and Experimental Sciences Academic Units. More recently his work has focused on gene-environment interactions in early-life that determine susceptibility to these conditions.