If this network of cells stops working adequately it can lead to diseases that impact almost every area of medicine, such as cancer, respiratory illnesses like asthma and chronic inflammatory conditions such as arthritis.
This is why the field of immunology has become a fertile area for the discovery and development of new medicines. Whether a disease is inflammatory in nature, cancerous or due to an infection, our immune system is playing a key role.
If we can gain a greater understanding of how the different parts of our immune system work when things go wrong and why it can lead to disease, we can potentially target the immune system to develop innovative new medicines.