Project: Functional antibody responses in the control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection is a global health crisis, causing over 1.5 million deaths annually. New efficacious vaccine strategies, immunotherapies and improved diagnostic technologies are urgently needed. The role of antibodies in Mtb is underexplored, although rare studies suggest that antibodies may contribute to Mtb control. Studies conducted in our lab suggest that patients that control Mtb have improved functional antibody responses compared to symptomatic Mtb patients. Thus this project aims to profile functional antibodies from patients with different clinical Mtb disease outcomes; whether that be as an independent infection or alongside HIV as a co-infection. Ultimately, these studies may guide the development of future Mtb-vaccines, immunotherapies and provide insights towards more effective diagnostics.
Research degrees at the Doherty Institute are administered by the University of Melbourne.