What does a year of building a new research institute look like? Our first Annual Conference provided a chance to take stock of progress, share research from across the Centre and explore how the different strands of our work connect to better understand the causes of chronic inflammatory diseases.

From genetic risk to environmental reality

Opening the conference, keynote speaker Roel Vermeulen made a compelling case for why the exposome matters, and why understanding it could help shift healthcare from reacting to disease towards preventing it. Moving beyond the familiar equation of genetics plus environment, he argued that exposome science must capture the messy reality of life, where chemical, nutritional, lifestyle, urban and climatic exposures interact and change over time.

He showed how emerging technologies are beginning to make this possible, combining geographic exposure modelling, molecular profiling and large-scale health-data linkage to connect external environments with biological changes inside the body.

A striking example demonstrated how a 14-protein blood signature was developed to predict future lung cancer and tested across further international datasets, illustrating how exposome research can move from discovery towards biological investigation and prevention.

It was a thought-provoking and brilliantly delivered keynote, setting the scene for the day and showing how better measurement of our environments could unlock new opportunities for both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions.

From discovery to the clinic

Two linked “Clue to Clinic” presentations brought our Discovery Pipeline vividly to life, showing how an intriguing biological signal can travel from patient data, through mechanistic investigation, and ultimately towards more precise care. The first followed the emerging IL-10 story in inflammatory bowel disease, starting with patients experiencing unusually severe or treatment-resistant inflammation. The team explored the association between anti-IL-10 autoantibodies and the HLA-DRB1*01:03 genotype before asking whether viral molecular mimicry could cause a susceptible immune system to attack its own anti-inflammatory machinery. Humanised mouse models could help test that mechanism, while clinical studies could establish whether combinations of genetic, viral and antibody markers might support earlier risk identification, closer monitoring and mechanism-directed treatment.

The second presentation followed hyaluronan, an important component of the extracellular matrix that helps create the environment for tissue repair, but whose prolonged accumulation may contribute to poor lung recovery. Magnus Rattray, Judi Allen and Jacky Smith showed how patient cohorts, spatial analysis, explainable AI, experimental models and controlled pollution-exposure studies could be combined to investigate whether viruses, smoking and pollution remodel the hyaluronan matrix in shared or distinct ways. The work could then return to the clinic by examining tissue and blood markers, treatment responses and whether interventions such as dupilumab alter the lung’s supporting scaffold.

Building impact into our research

Undertaking excellent science is only part of the challenge. The conference also asked how we can maximise its quality, relevance and impact from the outset.

Hana Ayoob placed patient and public involvement at the heart of our Centre, explaining how research carried out with people, rather than simply about or for them, can be more relevant, equitable and valuable. Central to this is our dedicated eight-member patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) panel, whose members bring lived experience of chronic inflammatory conditions affecting the gut, lungs and skin, alongside a range of previous involvement experience and perspectives from across the UK. The panel will provide honest feedback, help shape research priorities and advise on how studies are conducted and communicated, ensuring that patient perspectives continue to influence our science as it develops.

Mark Coles brought the day’s science firmly into the world of translation, showing how the CoRE can connect its data, mechanistic biology and human experimental medicine with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, bio-AI and personal-care partners. Through examples spanning chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) therapeutics, infection-history data and the Manchester Immuno-Biotechnology Initiative, the presentation highlighted opportunities for collaborative research, industry engagement and new technologies that could accelerate and de-risk innovation in inflammatory disease. It was an energising conclusion to the scientific programme, setting out an ambitious vision in which researchers at every career stage can help turn our discoveries into partnerships, products, new companies and, ultimately, benefits for patients.

Showcasing research from across the CoRE

One of the real highlights of the afternoon was a fast-paced series of project spotlights from our postdoctoral researchers, showcasing the impressive breadth of science taking shape across the programme. Ryan Devlin explored how acute and repeated pollution exposures reshape mucosal immunity, while Vignesh Jayaraman examined exposome-driven changes to the extracellular matrix in clinical samples. Qian Zhao demonstrated how multimodal AI could help decode the complex spatial biology of COPD, and Chunxiao Li connected environmental exposures with biological responses and disease through global biobanks and multi-omics. The session then moved to the gut–lung axis, with Emily Sey investigating how microbiome complexity affects the lung’s response to viral infection, before Claire Pearson, presenting on behalf of Emma Layton, explored whether viral exposure could contribute to inflammatory bowel disease through autoantibodies targeting IL-10. Together, the presenters did a fantastic job of making ambitious and technically complex research accessible, engaging and full of possibilities for collaboration.

One year in

Although the projects presented addressed a wide range of diseases, exposures and scientific questions, the conference highlighted an important shared ambition: to uncover the common mechanisms through which our environment dysregulates our immune system to influence health. By linking insights from large population studies, clinical cohorts, experimental medicine and mechanistic biology, the CoRE is building a more connected picture of chronic inflammatory disease.

The discussions throughout the day showed how quickly that vision is becoming a reality across Manchester and Oxford, with new collaborations, datasets and technologies already creating opportunities to translate discovery into meaningful patient benefit.