Project: Development of a malaria-specific mRNA vaccine
Heath Group
Malaria is a devastating disease affecting 200+ million people each year and to date, an efficacious vaccine is not available. With the approval of mRNA vaccines, we have developed and patented a novel vaccine platform designed to generate tissue-resident memory T cells in the liver. In this project you will perform critical experiments necessary for the translation of the vaccine from mice to humans including developing a lipid nanoparticle vaccine to facilitate intramuscular administration, development of a multi-epitope vaccine, and testing vaccines in humanised mouse models.
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Heath Group
3 vacancies
The Heath group is interested in the immune response to pathogens, particularly to malaria, which is still a major cause of mortality worldwide. We study T cell responses with the aim of improving vaccine strategies and focus on T cell responses in the skin, the liver and lymphoid organs including the spleen. Our lab recently discovered a population of resident memory T cells within the liver that are capable of protecting against malaria infection. These and other cells are currently being studied.
Heath Group Current Projects
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Development of a malaria-specific mRNA vaccine
Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
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Determining the effector pathways used by memory T cell subsets to clear malaria parasites from the liver
Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
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Effector mechanisms of memory CD8 T cells and their control of malaria
Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
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Development of multi-epitope glycolipid-peptide vaccines for COVID and malaria
Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
Research degrees at the Doherty Institute are administered by the University of Melbourne.