General Information

1)    Immunology

NB : If interested e mail Dr Unsworth – across the UK there are 35 training posts and an active communication network between Immunologists. There may be vacent slots elsewhere.

Staff

Three full time consultants, two medical trainee posts, two specialist nurses, and fifteen laboratory staff (incuding renal HLA cross matching  / transplant team).

Background

The clinical practice of Immunology, as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) encompasses clinical and laboratory activity (approximately 50% / 50% time split), dealing with the study, diagnosis and management of patients with diseases resulting from disordered immunological mechanisms, and conditions in which immunological manipulations form an important part of therapy.

Clinic & Bedside Immunology

In the UK, Immunology is an expanding specialty, running busy clinics in allergy, immunodeficiency, autoimmune disease, and systemic vasculitis (lupus, cryoglobulinaemia, etc). Clinical Immunology has evolved over the past two decades from a predominant laboratory base to a combined clinical and laboratory specialty. The clinical work of Immunologists is largely out-patient and daycase based, but a sound general medical background is required for ward referral consultations. Inpatients are few but typically complex rare syndromes .

Immunotherapies

These are mainly delivered in daycase sesions and include

a)    Immunotherapy (allergy desensitization)

b)    Monoclonal antibody (immunosuppressive) therapies

c)     Immunosuppressive chemotherapies

d)    Immunoglobulin (IVIg), cytokine, and other immunodeficiency replacement strategies

Laboratory Immunology

On the laboratory front, Consultant Immunologists are responsible for directing diagnostic immunology services and perform a wide range of duties including clinical liaison, interpretation and validation of results, quality assurance and assay development.

Why Immunology

a) This is a new expanding specialty

b) The wide variety of clinical problems encountered by an Immunologist and the opportunity to solve difficult diagnostic problems in patients with complex multi-system disease brings with it a huge intellectual buzz.

c) The excitement of working in a specialty, which is closely linked to cutting edge science and new immunomodulatory therapies.

d) Private practice is provided mainly in the context of allergy referrals.

e) Light on call duties.