Project: Exosomes – a role in influenza virus defence
Wakim group
Exosomes (EV) are extracellular vesicles secreted by cells that have an important biological function in intercellular communication. A role for EV in antimicrobial defence has recently emerged, however little is known regarding the nature of EV, particularly during an active viral infection. We found that during an influenza virus infection, the body releases EV into the airways which changed their protein composition over the course of the infection. The functional relevance of these vesicles and whether they have antiviral actions that can modulate the course of the infection is not known and will be explored in this research project.
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Wakim group
2 vacancies
The Wakim group research focus is understanding how T cells resident along the respiratory tract can be utilised to protect against influenza virus infection. Our main focus is to characterise the influenza virus fighting T cells in the lung and nasal tissue, identify factors important in their differentiation and longevity, and optimise approaches to lodge these highly protective T cells along the respiratory tract with the intent to improve influenza vaccine design and efficacy.
Wakim group Current Projects
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Blocking the development of secondary bacterial pneumonia
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science
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Location, location, location – lodging virus specific T cells in the lung as an approach to protect against influenza virus infection.
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science
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Exosomes – a role in influenza virus defence
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science
Research degrees at the Doherty Institute are administered by the University of Melbourne.