Allergic and immunological implications of COVID-19

Professor Alex Richter is chair of clinical immunology at the University of Birmingham(UoB) and honorary consultant immunologist at the University Hospitals Birmingham. The focus of her clinical and academic work is secondary immunodeficiency either due to underlying haematological malignancy or the consequence of immunosuppression. A key theme is understanding and assessing vaccine responses and developing immunodiagnostics to support this work. During the pandemic, Professor Richter focused her laboratory to developing a high sensitivity Sars-CoV-2 antibody assay that detects exposure to the virus following mild disease or vaccination which is now been commercialised with The Binding Site.

At UoB, she has lead the quality assurance and accreditation of a pillar 2 Turnkey laboratory and a research and development Sars-CoV-2 testing laboratory working with DHSC on the new technologies focussed on asymptomatic testing. She has utilised high-quality testing to support a number of DHSC and MRC/UKRI funded research projects including local and national cohorts to understand convalescent immunity following natural infection and vaccination and determining risk factors for infection. 

Dr Chris Rutkowski leads the Department of Allergy at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London. He has extensive experience in all aspects of adult allergy care. His special clinical and research interests include difficult urticaria, drug allergy, and anaphylaxis. Chris developed the largest anti-IgE (omalizumab) service for chronic spontaneous urticaria in the UK.

Dr Rutkowski works alongside his dermatology colleagues in the first UK joint allergy/ dermatology Difficult Urticaria Clinic at St John’s Institute of Dermatology. He is a member of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) taskforce on paediatric urticaria. He is also a published author in the field of drug allergy and contributes increasingly to the education and training of MSc students, allergists/dermatologists, GPs and general physicians at a national and international level.

In addition to his clinical duties, he is President-Elect and Treasurer of the Clinical Immunology and Allergy Section of the Royal Society of Medicine and member of the Allergy Specialist Advisory Committee of the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board. He is the UK Specialist Training Recruitment Lead for adult allergy.