Lahiru Handunnetthi
Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant Neurologist
Neuro-immune Interactions
Lahiru Handunnetthi aims to understand how inflammation and infections contribute to the development of psychiatric and neurological disease. He combines genomics methodology with stem cell derived model systems to better understand neuro-immune interactions and to identify therapeutic targets for neuroinflammatory disease.
Lahiru is involved in the functional characterisation of genetic risk alleles discovered through genome wide association studies. This involves gene editing techniques, induced pluripotent stem cell (IPSC) derived neuronal and glial model systems, as well as working with biological samples from patients.
Lahiru has a specific interest in understanding how the immune system contributes to psychosis. He is actively involved in discovering the roles that autoantibodies and viral infections play in psychosis.
Lahiru completed his DPhil at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford. His work focused on understanding the interactions between genetic and environmental risk factors in neuroimmunological disorders. He studied medicine at the University of Cambridge and held an NIHR funded Clinical Lectureship in Neurology.
Key words: Stem Cells, Neuroimmunology, Immunopsychiatry, Neuroinfectious diseases
Recent publications
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Single-cell immune survey identifies a novel pathogenic role for T cells in anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis
Preprint
Kwok AJ. et al, (2024)
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Identifying and reducing risks of neurological complications associated with vaccination.
Journal article
Handunnetthi L. et al, (2024), Nat Rev Neurol, 20, 541 - 554
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Safety outcomes following COVID-19 vaccination and infection in 5.1 million children in England.
Journal article
Copland E. et al, (2024), Nat Commun, 15
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging Characteristics of LGI1-Antibody and CASPR2-Antibody Encephalitis.
Journal article
Kelly MJ. et al, (2024), JAMA Neurol, 81, 525 - 533
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The immunobiology of herpes simplex virus encephalitis and post-viral autoimmunity.
Journal article
Cleaver J. et al, (2024), Brain, 147, 1130 - 1148
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Stem-cell derived neurosphere assay highlights the effects of viral infection on human cortical development.
Journal article
Drydale E. et al, (2024), Brain Behav Immun, 115, 718 - 726
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CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of IL1RAPL1 in stem cells highlights a role in neural cell migration during cortical development
Preprint
Holden K. et al, (2022)