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: Host-pathogen interactions of influenza B viruses

Kent group

Influenza A and B viruses circulate annually during seasonal epidemics. Although influenza B viruses have a significant clinical and socio-economic impact, they have been overlooked compared to influenza A viruses. This project with utilise a combination of virology, molecular biology and reverse genetics techniques to understand the virus-host interactions of IBV in in vitro and in vivo models of infection. This project will allow a greater understanding of IBV evolution in humans.

Contact project supervisor for further
information and application enquiries

Project Supervisor

Professor Stephen Kent

Project Co-supervisor

Dr Marios Koutsakos

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.