My goal is to advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying neurological diseases associated with autoantibodies. These diseases include forms of encephalitis, epilepsy, demyelination, movement disorders and peripheral neuropathies amongst others. Although individually rare, these disorders are collectively recognized as the cause of significant morbidity and mortality. The pathophysiology of most autoimmune conditions remains poorly understood: in many cases the relative roles of antibodies and T cells in driving the disease process are unclear, and the identity of the antigenic target of the immune response is unknown. This lack of understanding underpins the difficulties clinicians face in diagnosing and treating patients with autoimmune neurological disorders. I use whole cell patch clamp to interrogate the effects of patient autoantibodies on neuronal function.
