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Renowned UK scientist Dr Paul Lyons has joined the Snow Centre for Immune Health as Consulting Chief Scientist.
Dr Lyons will share his deep knowledge and experience with the talented team of scientists and clinicians working to translate their scientific breakthroughs into life-changing clinical treatments.
With a unique blend of international scientific expertise, regulatory knowledge and business acumen, Dr Lyons’ leadership is strengthened by a global perspective.
A valuable addition to the centre’s leadership team, he will shape and implement a world-class and comprehensive strategy to ensure the centre remains at the forefront of scientific research and development.
Dr Lyons’ dedication to genetics has seen him make significant contributions to immune-mediated disease research.
His impressive achievements include pioneering genome-wide and high-throughput studies that have redefined ANCA-associated vasculitis and developing a prognostic test for inflammatory bowel disease.
In addition to his role at the centre, Dr Lyons maintains a complementary ongoing position at the University of Cambridge, where he investigates how genetic variation influences the immune system and contributes to disease development.
What excites you about becoming a part of the Snow Centre of Immune Health?
I believe we have an extraordinary opportunity to achieve something truly great. I’m thrilled to have the great honour to join such an exceptionally gifted team.
I’m personally very interested in how genetics impacts the immune system and drives disease, both in terms of susceptibility and outcome.
“Centre co-director Professor Phil Hodgkin brings a completely unique approach to this immense challenge, with his ‘dials’ that look at a cell’s life cycle. As far as I know, no one else is doing anything similar – it’s an entirely new way to assess a person’s immune health.”
Immune cells gather signals from their surroundings and fine-tune their reaction. They carefully adjust their response based on the threat level, like adjusting a dial.
Phil’s ‘dials’ measure and compare the performance of immune cells. The ability to predict how an immune cell responds is very impressive!
I believe that by understanding how these dials work, we can fundamentally ‘tinker’ with the immune system. This is a very exciting concept.
How will the Snow Centre uncover the mystery of immune health?
Thanks to incredible technological developments over the past decades, we now have the tools to do ‘Systems Medicine’. This means we can focus on treating the perturbed system rather than the disease.
I’m intrigued to see if we can genetically model what Phil is measuring in a petri dish. If we can work out what the genetic drivers are, we might be able to just look at your genetics to tell where you sit on the response spectrum.
Being able to predict from your genes where you lie on that scale to determine if you’re susceptible to an immune condition will be a big step forward.
“Ultimately, our goal at the Snow Centre is to develop approaches that can be used to modify treatments, improve patient outcomes, and even prevent disease.”
What is your connection to Australia?
I spent four years doing postdoctoral research in Perth, and I have some relatives in NSW and Victoria. But my strongest connection to Australia is through WEHI’s director, Professor Ken Smith.
I was privileged to spend two decades working alongside Ken in the Department of Medicine at Cambridge University. Together, we made some exciting discoveries, including our most recent project, which will potentially change treatment guidelines for inflammatory bowel disease in the UK.
Everyone sets out with the aim of improving health outcomes, but few research projects achieve this lofty goal. I hope we can replicate this type of success with the Snow Centre.
Beyond the lab, I believe you’re a bit of a thrill seeker!
I sailed the Atlantic when I was much younger. Six of us travelled all the way from Southampton to Detroit. It was a great experience.
A few years ago, I took up cycling. I enjoy mountain biking but have recently got into Cyclocross. It’s a cycling discipline that can be best described as a cross between road cycling, mountain biking, and cross-country running. It’s a winter sport, so there’s lots of mud and yes, very thrilling!
Allergy and immune diseases are among the fastest growing chronic conditions in Australia.
Almost 1 in 5 Australians has an allergic disease and this is increasing.
1 in 1200 Australians are estimated to be impacted by Primary immunodeficiency diseases.
Autoimmune diseases currently affect 5% of Australians.
There is no cure for any of these conditions.
The Snow Centre for Immune Health has a bold and ambitious global mission to tackle this global health challenge. By using a unique approach to immune health research, we are aiming to improve the lives of people with immune diseases.
Co-led by WEHI and the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the centre brings together leading Australian and international researchers with a shared mission to transform how we research and treat the immune system.
The centre is funded by an initial commitment of up to $100 million over 10 years – one of the largest and longest-running philanthropic partnerships in Australian history. For more information visit www.snowimmunehealth.org.au
