Home| Professor of Neuroimmunology |
Contact details:
| Tel: | +44 20 7882 2485 |
| Fax: | +44 20 7882 2180 |
| Email: | david.baker@qmul.ac.uk |
| Address: | Centre for Neuroscience and Trauma, |
Biography
David Baker spent his academic career based at different places of the University of London . He was awarded a BSc (Hons) in Zoology from Bedford College in 1983 and was awarded a PhD from London University in Immunology/Pathology in 1987 for work at the Institute of Basic medical Science on immunological tolerance induction in delayed hypersensitivity of the s kin. He then spent six years as the Angela Limerick lecturer, for multiple sclerosis research at the Hunterian Institute, The Royal College of Surgeons of England working on delayed hypersensitivity in the brain, where he developed an active research interest in multiple sclerosis. He took a 5 year Principal Fellowship to the Institute of Ophthalmolog y , University College London in 1994 and became the first Senior Fellow of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and moved to the Institute of Neurolog y , University College London in 1999. He became a senior lecturer in 2003 and got a personal chair in 200 4 as Professor of Neuroimmunology. He moved to Queen Mary in the autumn of 2006.
Research Activity
Research interests have focused on experimental delay hypersensitivities most notably in the brain where his research has focused on understanding and controlling established immune responses. Aspects of immunological tolerance induction in the skin initiated during PhD studies were adapted for studies for the control of autoimmunity of the central nervous system and are being developed for the control of immunity in multiple sclerosis. This follows on from the development and characterisation of novel models of multiple sclerosis. His research has spanned many areas of immunobiology including, immunopathology, cytokine biology, blood brain barrier dysfunction; myelin autoantigens, genetic mapping of disease, gene therapy and immunological tolerance induction in established immune responses. Most recently he has been involved in the understanding the involvement of the cannabinoid system in symptom control, neurodegeneration and immunity as they relate to multiple sclerosis and aims to development of agents for the treatment of chronic neurogeneration and symptom control.
Key Publications
• Baker D , O'Neill J.K., Wilcox C, Gschmeissner S, Butter C and Turk J.L. (1990) Induction of chronic relapsing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in Biozzi mice. J. Neuroimmunol 28: 261-270
. Amor S, Groome N, Linington C, Morris MM., Dornmair K, Gardinier MV, Matthieu JM and Baker D . (1994) Identification of epitopes of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein for the induction of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in SJL and Biozzi AB/H mice. J. Immunol 153:4349 -4356
. Baker D , Rosenwasser OA, O'Neill JK and Turk JL. (1995) Genetic analysis of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in mice. J. Immunol. 155: 4046-4051.
. Croxford J.L., O'Neill J.K., Ali RR, Brown K, Byrnes AP, Wood MAJ, Dallman M, Feldmann M and Baker D (1998) Local gene therapy with CTLA4-immunoglobulin fusion protein in experimental allergic. Eur J Immunol. 12: 3904-3917.
. Croxford JL, Triantataphyllopoulos K, Neve R, Feldmann M, Chernajovsky Y and Baker D . (2000) Retroviral gene therapy of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis using a novel p75 dimeric TNF receptor. J.Immunol. 164, 2776-2781.
. Baker D , Pryce G, Croxford JL, Brown P, Huffman, JW Pertwee RG and Layward L. (2000) Cannabinoids control spasticity and tremor in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. Nature 404 :84-87.
. Baker D , Pryce G, Croxford JL, Brown P, A.Makryiannis, JW Pertwee R, Layward L and Di Marzo V. (2001) Endocannabinoids control spasticity in a multiple sclerosis model. FASEB J. 15:300-302
. Pryce G, Ahmed Z, Hankey DRJ, Jackson S.L., Croxford JL, Pocock JM, Ledent C, Petzhold A,Thompson AJ, Giovannoni G, Cuzner M.L. and Baker D (2003) Cannabinoids inhibit neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis models. Brain.126 2191-202
. Greenwood J, Walters CE, Pryce G, Kanuga N, Beraud E, Baker D , Adamson P (2003) Lovastatin inhibits brain endothelial cell Rho-mediated lymphocyte migration and attenuates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. FASEB J. 2003;17:905-7.
. Pryce G, O'Neill JKA, Croxford JL, Amor S, Hankey DRJ, Giovannoni G and Baker D (2005). Immunological tolerance that eliminates relapses, fails to halt secondary progression in a chronic multiple sclerosis model. J.Neuroimmunol. 165:41-52.
. Bilsland LG, Dick JRT, Pryce G, Petrosino S, Di Marzo V , Baker D and Greensmith L. (2006) Increasing cannabinoid levels by pharmacological and genetic manipulation delay disease progression in SOD1 mice. FASEB J. 2006; 20:1003-5.
. Baker D, Pryce G. Davies W.L. and Hilley CR (2006). In silico patent searching identifies a new cannabinoid receptor? Submitted for publication. Trends Pharm Sci. 27:1-4
. Maresz K, Pryce G, Ponomarev ED, Marsicano G, Croxford JL, Shriver LP, Ledent C, Cheng X, Carrier E, Mann MK, Giovannoni G, Pertwee RG, Yamamura T, Buckley NE, Hillard CJ, Lutz B, Baker D, Dittel BN (2007). Direct suppression of CNS autoimmune inflammation via the cannabinoid receptor CB 1 on neurons and CB 2 on autoreactive T Cells. Nat Medicine 13:492-497.
