Kate Attfield

Dr Kate Attfield is an immunologist, with a strong interest in understanding how the immune system is shaped by genetics, epigenetics and the environment. After completing her PhD in 2009 at the University of Southampton, Kate then joined Professor Lars Fugger's group at the University of Oxford, where she has spent the last 17 years building a highly collaborative and multi-disciplinary research team. 

With a key focus in neuroinflammatory diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, Kate co-leads a team of scientists who work closely with the clinical team at the John Radcliffe hospital to perform pioneering and cutting edge research using samples donated by patients living with MS as well as other neuroinflammatory conditions, such as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). 

With expertise in single cell multiomics, spatial transcriptomics and in vitro perturbation and functional models, our research team aims to expose the discrete and transitioning immune cell states that drive disease processes and to target and develop new therapeutics for patients that allow enhanced specificity, safety and longer term efficacy than current treatment options.