Guest Editors
Sharee Basdeo
Trinity College Dublin
<p><span style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background-color: transparent;">Sharee Basdeo, PhD, is an assistant professor of clinical medicine at the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, St James's Hospital, Trinity College Dublin. She leads a team of scientists and clinicians focused on hypothesis-driven, translational research to develop host-directed therapies for hard-to-treat infections, including antibiotic-resistant strains. Her research interests include next-generation vaccines and the non-specific health benefits of vaccination through a process known as trained innate immunity. Dr. Basdeo's lab is currently investigating how to harness trained immunity in humans to enhance immune responses against </span><em style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background-color: transparent;">Staphylococcus aureus,</em><span style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background-color: transparent;"> group A streptococci, and the pathogens responsible for tuberculosis in children and vulnerable adults. Her work is supported by the Health Research Board, Science Foundation Ireland, and Enterprise Ireland.</span></p>
Dearbhla Murphy
Trinity College Dublin
<p>Dearbhla Murphy, PhD, is a postdoctoral research fellow in Dr. Sharee Basdeo's lab at the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, St James's Hospital, Trinity College Dublin. Dr. Murphy's research focuses on trained immunity induced by vaccines or cytokines, specifically exploring how training myeloid cells can enhance their response to bacterial infections like Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. By understanding the mechanisms that drive bacterial clearance, Dr. Murphy aims to develop strategies to boost the innate immune system's ability to fight infections, potentially improving vaccine efficacy and therapeutic interventions. Her work bridges basic immunology and translational medicine, offering promising avenues for enhancing immune responses to infectious diseases.</p>
Collection Overview
Trained immunity, first described in 2011, has rapidly evolved into a well-established research field. Initially focused on monocytes, the field has expanded to include innate lymphoid cells, such as NK and γδT cells, as well as tissue-resident macrophages and dendritic cells. Emerging evidence suggests that trained immunity can also occur in non-immune structural cells. Moreover, its translational applications have broadened beyond infectious diseases to encompass both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects. Despite this progress, methods papers remain limited, and researchers often share protocols informally to improve assays. Therefore, a comprehensive collection of reliable methods for in vivo, ex vivo, in vitro, and in silico models is needed to advance the field.
