The Univeristy of Melbourne The Royal Melbourne Hopspital

A joint venture between The University of Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital

Dr Sarah Londrigan

Dr Sarah Londrigan

(03) 9035 3481 | sarahll@unimelb.edu.au

Position:
Senior Lecturer Virology and Group Leader
Theme(s):
Immunology, Viral Infectious Diseases, Bacterial and Parasitic Infections, Influenza
Discipline(s):
Discovery Research
Unit(s):
Department of Microbiology and Immunology (DMI)
Lab Group(s):
Londrigan Group

Dr Sarah Londrigan is a teaching and research academic in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne, leading a program examining cellular responses to respiratory virus infection.  She is a lead for the Viral Infectious Diseases at the Doherty Institute. She completed her undergraduate and PhD studies at the University of Melbourne, where she identified novel cell surface receptors for rotavirus. Sarah’s postdoctoral research at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) involved creating immunomodulatory adenoviruses that generated local immunosuppression during islet transplantation to treat Type I diabetes. Since 2008, her research has focused on pathways that influenza, and other respiratory viruses, use to infect host cells. Current projects include investigating why particular respiratory viruses are highly pathogenic, leading to very severe disease.

  • Key Achievements
    • During her postdoctoral training, Sarah was awarded a Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Fellowship.  Upon her return to the University of Melbourne, Sarah was the recipient of a Melbourne Research Fellowship and an Early Career Research Award.  Since 2008, she has received continual grant support from the NHMRC, including a current Ideas Grant to investigate how macrophages regulate influenza virus infection (2020-2022), as well as funding through several industry contracts. Sarah is involved in research related activities relating to virology, immunology and women in science through her roles in the Australasian Virology Society (AVS) and the Women in Science Parkville Precinct (WiSPP) group.

    Publications
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    Projects
    • Identifying how airway immune cells block respiratory virus replication

      Alveolar macrophages are susceptible to seasonal IAV infection but block virus growth whereas monocyte-derived macrophages and airway epithelial cells support virus growth. Therefore, alveolar macrophages express (unknown) host factors that block seasonal IAV. Of interest, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 does grow in alveolar macrophages and therefore evades restriction factors that block seasonal IAV. In Sarah’s laboratory, they have established experimental in vitro approaches to identify cellular factors that block the growth of seasonal IAV. Moreover, they are investigating determinants of HPAI H5N1 infection that allow these viruses to evade restriction by specific cellular factors. Sarah’s group is also investigating how airway immune cells respond to infection with other respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. These in vitro approaches are complemented through use of primary cells isolated from patients at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

    Research Groups
    • Londrigan Group

      Sarah’s group investigates the pathways that influenza, and other respiratory viruses, use to infect host cells.  They wish to understand how airway immune cells control viral replication to prevent severe infection and why particular respiratory viruses are highly pathogenic, leading to severe disease. The Londrigan Group works alongside the Brooks Group and Reading Group.


      Lab Team

      • Senior Lecturer Virology and Group Leader
      • Tina Meischel
        PhD Student
      • Svenja Fritzlar
        Postdoctoral Researcher
      • Brody Samson
        Masters Student

Full University of Melbourne profile