Dr Kara Filbey - Lessons from parasitic worms

Dr Kara Filbey is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Malaghan Institute's Allergic and Parasitic Diseases Programme and for the past 10 years she has researched immune responses to parasitic worm (helminth) infections. People in the world's tropical countries have the highest rates of infection with intestinal worms but also the lowest instances of allergy and autoimmune diseases - a phenomenon that has been explained by the 'hygiene hypothesis'. Filbey discusses how the worms manipulate their hosts' immune systems to survive - and how we can harness this ability to treat inflammatory diseases like asthma and dermatitis. Filbey is also a member of The Frank Burkitt Band.