The Univeristy of Melbourne The Royal Melbourne Hopspital

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

EDUCATION

Research Projects

Project: Dissecting the protective contributions of antibody Fc effector functions against infection and disease progression

Kent group

Antibodies, by virtue of the Fc domain, can mediate several protective immune responses by engaging Fc receptors on innate immune cells (e.g. natural killer cells, macrophages). These include antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC; killing of infected cells) and antibody-dependent phagocytosis (ADP; engulfment of virions). While neutralising antibodies can provide sterilising immunity against infection acquisition, they only comprise a small proportion of the antiviral antibody response. It is therefore critical to understand the contribution of non-neutralising antibodies and antibody Fc effector functions to protection against infection and disease progression.

Contact project supervisor for further
information and application enquiries

Project Supervisor

Professor Stephen Kent

Project Co-supervisor

Dr Wen Shi Lee

Project availability
PhD/MPhil

Kent group

skent@unimelb.edu.au

2 vacancies

Themes
Immunology
Viral Infectious Diseases
Cross Cutting Disciplines
Discovery Research

Dr Marios Koutsakos and the Juno, Wheatley and Kent groups have an interest in understanding how the immune response can be harnessed in the control of infectious pathogens including SARS-CoV2, HIV, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and influenza. This includes understanding B cell responses, T-follicular helper cell responses and non-conventional T cell responses and how they are impacted by infection and vaccination.