Dr. Smita Y. Patel Oxford University Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust, UK

Dr Patel qualified in medicine at Guy's and St Thomas's medical school, UK, in 1996. She completed her general medical training in London and her specialist Clinical Immunology training in Cambridge. She undertook a research fellowship in 'Susceptibility to Mycobacterial Disease' with Dr Steven Holland, NIH, Bethesda, and was awarded... read morea PhD by the University of Cambridge in 2007. She moved to Oxford in 2010 as a Clinical Immunologist to establish her own laboratory with a focus on Primary Immune Deficiencies.

As a clinical immunologist, my current work is aimed at understanding the cellular and molecular basis of primary immune deficiencies and what this can teach us about the normal immune system. At the John Radcliffe Hospital, we look after approximately 250 patients (adult and paediatric) with primary immune deficiencies - the majority of whom do not have a genetic diagnosis. Establishing the disease-causing gene or pathway has a huge impact on patient care, opening up the potential for tailored treatment options and bone marrow transplantation in some cases. It also allows genetic counselling for the patient and other family members