The laboratory serves dermatologists at St John's as well as colleagues in London, the UK and abroad. In addition to diagnostic work, the department has an active research programme in cutaneous immunology including the mechanisms, diagnosis and therapy of autoimmune blistering disease, often in collaboration with colleagues in the UK and internationally.
Founded in 1975, the lab initially functioned as an experimental unit, developing immunofluorescence (IF) techniques and establishing immunofluorescence as a key diagnostic technique in dermatology. The department is now regarded as a skin immunofluorescence referral centre for the UK.
