Bo Sun

I am an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Neurology, and my research interests are focused on understanding the underlying mechanisms of autoimmune/inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system and brain cancer. Specifically, I am interested in studying the role of the adaptive immune system and how immune tolerance to self can be modelled using the dichotomous nature of autoimmunity versus cancer.

The adaptive immune system is responsible for recognising and eliminating foreign pathogens while maintaining self-tolerance to prevent autoimmunity. However, in some cases, the immune system fails to recognise self-antigens, leading to autoimmune diseases. On the other hand, cancer cells can evade immune surveillance by developing mechanisms to avoid detection by the immune system. Therefore, by studying the interplay between the immune system, autoimmune diseases, and cancer, we can gain insights into the mechanisms that lead to these diseases.

To address these questions, I am using a variety of techniques such as whole genome sequencing, adaptive immune receptor repertoire sequencing, single-cell/bulk RNA sequencing, and in vitro cellular models. By analysing large multimodal datasets, I hope to identify novel targets for therapeutic intervention and develop approaches for early cancer detection with the aim towards better personalised treatment strategies for patients.

I have previously undertaken my DPhil across the Oxford Autoimmune Neurology group and the Bashford-Rogers group, where I explored the role of immune tolerance in CASPR2-antibody encephalitis and SARs-CoV-2 infection. My aim is to translate my findings to wider states of Neuro-immunological dysfunction, with a view to identify new targets for immunomodulation and better treatment strategies.

Pröbstel Lab, University of Basel, Switzerland

Damato group, University of Florence, Italy

Ansorge Group

Fairfax Group

Bashford-Rogers Group