A composite graphic with a portrait image of Professor Rick Maizels in the lab beside the cover of the Freethink article featuring the webpage title, the heading: 'We purged worms from our bodies — and may have made ourselves sick' and an image of Caenorhabditis elegans

The School of Infection & Immunity’s Professor Rick Maizels has been prominently featured in a recent Freethink* article exploring the surprising relationship between parasitic worms and the human immune system.

A respected digital science communication outlet that publishes high-quality journalism, Freethink* gives public visibility to cutting-edge research focused on innovation, science, technology, and social change.

The piece, written by journalist Namir Khaliq, highlights Professor Maizels' internationally recognised work on how helminths modulate immune responses, and how their removal from our bodies through modern hygiene may have contributed to rising rates of allergies and autoimmune diseases.

His insights are central to the article’s narrative, underscoring how research from Sii is shaping new frontiers in immunotherapy.

As the article notes, his work has laid the foundation for a new generation of biotech companies developing worm-derived molecules to treat inflammatory conditions, offering a pill-based alternative to parasitic infection with potentially transformative health benefits.

We Purged Worms From Our Bodies - and May Have Made Ourselves Sick

 

First published: 8 September 2025

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