Shedding Light on Rare Hair Diseases
The Skin Health Institute is a not-for-profit centre of excellence in skin health that delivers highly specialised clinical treatment, education and research for skin and hair diseases. The Hair Clinic is a specialised clinic which diagnoses and treats patients with alopecia areata, male/female pattern hair loss, scarring alopecia’s such as lichen planopilaris and frontal fibrosing alopecia as well as are genetic hair disorders. This project aims to shed light on rare often-neglected hair conditions, providing hope and answers to individuals who have been searching for solutions. Donations will support research in studying rare hair diseases which currently have limited available treatments.
Vitiligo, Melanoma
and the Immune System
Specific cells in the skin, called melanocytes, are the origins of two distinctive diseases – vitiligo, a condition causing disfiguring patchy loss of skin pigment, and melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Additionally, the autoimmune process which leads to vitiligo can similarly cause hair loss in alopecia areata. Our team led by Prof Mark Shackleton and Dr Fumihito Noguchi aims to understand how dysfunctional cells cause these diseases, and thereby how we can better prevent & treat both vitiligo and melanoma.
Cancer Vs Immune System
Like a football team, we need many components of the immune system to come together in fighting cancer. Despite the use of Immunotherapy to enhance our star players (aka T-cells), some patients do not respond to this well and might develop serious side effects including organ damage and loss of hair. Dr Miles Andrews seeks to understand the fancy footwork of cancer cells trying to dodge past immune cells and study new ways to effectively and safely boost anti-cancer immune responses.