We’re delighted to share that Lincoln student Amelia Kopacz (2021, DPhil in Inflammatory and Musculoskeletal Disease), is one of four recipients of Coeliac UK’s 2024 Sponsored Dissertation Award. Every year postgraduate students from the UK are invited to apply for up to £5000 worth of funding and support with a research project related to coeliac disease.

Amelia’s project, entitled ‘Exploring the role of immune gamma delta T cells in coeliac disease symptom type and severity’, will investigate why symptoms of coeliac disease vary among individuals. Currently, it is unclear how or why the immune response to gluten leads to a wide range of symptoms or why severity differs from person to person. Research suggests that immune cells called gamma delta T lymphocytes are increased in coeliac disease patients. Amelia’s study aims to determine if these immune cells have a role in symptom development and, if so, if they determine how severe symptoms are.

The study will collect blood and gut tissue samples from three groups of patients with coeliac disease: those who are asymptomatic; those with mild symptoms; and those with severe symptoms. The immune cells (gamma delta T lymphocytes) will be extracted from these samples to analyse their quantity, receptors, and markers using a process called flow cytometry.

By comparing these immune cell characteristics across patient groups, the research aims to improve understanding of symptom variability and potentially inform future treatments.

Amelia, who also completed her undergraduate degree in medicine at Lincoln, said: “Gamma delta T cells in coeliac disease are an interesting but unexplored avenue. I am very grateful that the funding from Coeliac UK has given me the opportunity to study them, and I look forward to the insights this project could bring into why different people experience coeliac disease in different ways, comparing samples from people with different levels of symptom severity.”