-
Research Groups
-
Kedzierska Group
Katherine’s team researches the immunity to viral infections, especially the newly emerged influenza viruses. Her work spans basic research – from mouse experiments to human immunity, through to clinical settings, with a particular focus on understanding universal CD8+ T cell immunity to influenza viruses. Her studies aim to identify key correlates of severe and fatal influenza disease in high-risk groups including children, the elderly and Indigenous Australians.
Other work areas include:Influenza
Current Projects
-
To define ‘universal’ influenza-specific CD8+ T-cell responses across different HLAs
Although CD8+ T-cells confer universal immunity to distinct influenza viruses and may limit influenza-induced mortality, the overall efficacy of human influenza A virus-specific CD8+ T cells directed at any conserved and/or variable epitopes remains unclear. Here, Katherine’s group aims to (i) understand influenza-specific CD8+ T-cell immunity across different HLAs; (ii) determine the efficacy of immunodominant CD8+ T-cell responses in humans; (iii) evaluate the conservation of immunogenic epitopes in birds, pigs and humans through analysis of viral evolutionary history (with Associate Professor Vijaykrishna from Duke-NUS in Singapore); (iv) understand immunity to clinically important but understudied influenza B viruses.
-
To identify correlates of severe and fatal influenza disease in high-risk groups
Enhanced susceptibility to influenza and exacerbated disease severity can reflect over-activation of the innate immune system, impaired humoral and cellular immunity and be influenced by host genetic factors (HLA or IFITM3). Understanding the key deficits that lead to severe disease in high-risk groups will provide insight into how immune interventions might minimise the incidence of severe influenza pneumonia. Katherine’s group studies the contributions of virological, immunological, clinical and host factors to susceptibility, clinical severity and outcome for different high-risk groups: (i) young children and the elderly (with Dr Crowe from Deepdene Surgery); (ii) Indigenous Australians (with Associate Professor Tong from Menzies in Darwin and Professor Miller from Griffith University in New South Wales), (iii) high-risk groups hospitalised through FluCAN (with Associate Professors Cheng and Kotsimbos) and Shanghai Public Clinical Hospital at Fudan University in China (with Professor Xu).
-
To unravel mechanisms underlying the early generation of human CTL memory
Though immunological memory is of pivotal importance for vaccine development and immunotherapy, the molecular and differentiation pathways central to the generation of (particularly) human CD8+ T-cell memory are poorly understood. Here, Katherine’s group aims to (i) establish the key factors driving the early establishment of influenza-specific T cell memory; (ii) To define molecular processes involved in CD27-mediated co-stimulation of human T cells. As memory is crucial for protection against recurrent infections, this work will provide novel insights into the generation and efficacy of human T cell memory populations and inform effective CD27-mediated stimulation for immunotherapy.
Lab Team
-
Laboratory Head
-
Dr Liyen LohPostdoctoral fellow
-
Dr Zhongfang WangPostdoctoral fellow
-
Dr E Bridie ClemensNHMRC Peter Doherty Fellow
-
Dr Oanh NguyenPostdoctoral fellow
-
Emma GrantPhD student
-
Nicola BirdResearch Assistant
-
Sergio Quinones ParraPhD student
-
Sneha SantPhD student
-
Marios KoutsakosPhD student
-
Hayley HayleyResearch Assistant
-
Simone Neussing
-
Jesseka Chadderton
-
Bedoui Group
The Bedoui Lab uses models of viral and bacterial infection to study how the innate and the adaptive immune system interact. Key foci are to understand how innate cells sense pathogens and how this information is integrated into protective adaptive T cell responses.
-
Brooks Group
Research in Andrew’s laboratory is largely centred on how natural killer cells and T cells impact the outcomes of viral infection, cancer and transplantation.
-
Doherty Group
Peter has been working consistently in the areas of T cell and viral immunology since the early 1970’s. His work focuses on cellular and molecular aspects of virus-specific CD8+ T cells. Peter’s studies provide insights into acquisition of effector functions by CD8+ T cells, immunodominance, persistence of memory CD8+ T cells and their subsequent recall.
Other work areas include:Influenza
-
Dr Alexandra Corbett Sub-Group
Alex co-supervises PhD students Criselle D’Souza, Huimeng Wang and Freya Harewood, and works with other members of the McCluskey lab on various aspects of MAIT biology. Alex has established key collaborations with a number of clinicians and other researchers to analyse MAIT cells in human disease.
-
Fabienne Mackay Group
Fabienne’s group focuses on autoimmunity and has recently initiated an important funded research program on restoring immunity in cancer.
-
Gebhardt Group
Thomas’ group studies basic and translational aspects of immune responses in peripheral tissues. Their overall goal is to develop future vaccines and immunomodulatory therapies that target peripheral T cells for improved clinical outcomes in infection, inflammation and cancer.
-
Heath Group
Bill’s group’s cellular immunology research currently focuses on understanding killer T cell function with particular reference to improved vaccination strategies and understanding malarial disease.
Other work areas include:Malaria
-
Kent Group
Stephen’s group studies immunity to HIV and influenza. They are analysing a variety of vaccine strategies, including nanoparticle-based vaccines. They are studying a series of immune responses to gain better insights into protective immunity to important viral pathogens.
-
Laura Mackay Group
Laura’s group aims to understand how the immune system responds to infection. Research is focused on uncovering the signals that guide lymphocyte development in peripheral tissues, with an aim to discover new therapies to boost protective immunity.
-
Lewin Group
The main focus of the Lewin group is to understand why HIV infection persists on antiretroviral therapy, to develop new strategies to eliminate latency and to define the biological determinants of immune reconstitution and factors that drive liver disease in HIV-hepatitis B virus co-infection.
-
Mantamadiotis Group
The Mantamadiotis group studies basic and translational aspects of molecular and cellular responses in brain cancer. Their overall goal is to develop future therapies, including immunomodulatory therapies that target the tumour cells and tumour infiltrating lymphocytes for improved clinical outcomes in cancer.
-
McCluskey Group
MAIT cells respond to precursors of riboflavin, allowing the immune system to detect microbial invaders. The McCluskey group aims to understand their role in infection/inflammatory conditions and is tackling this question using mouse models, human tissue analysis and structural biology.
If you are interested to collaborate with us, please, feel free to get in touch. Please note that the human and mouse MR1 tetramers developed in our laboratory can now be ordered through the NIH tetramer core facility.
-
Mueller Group
Research in Scott’s group is focused on examining immune responses to both acute and chronic viral infections. A particular emphasis on T cell responses and interactions with antigen presenting cells and lymphoid tissue stromal cells is currently driving the group, as well as an interest in neuro-immune interactions.
Other work areas include:Malaria
-
Purcell Lab
Professor Damian Purcell’s research group investigates the HIV-1 and HTLV-1 human retroviruses that cause AIDS and leukaemia/inflammatory pathogenesis respectively. The lab studies their genetic structure and gene expression with a focus on defining the mechanisms that control viral persistence and pathogenesis. The molecular interplay of viral and host factors during viral infection and the innate and adaptive immune responses to viral infection are examined. These molecular insights are used to develop new antiviral and curative therapeutics, preventive prophylactic vaccines and passive antibody microbicides and therapeutics. Some of these patented discoveries have been commercialised and we are assisting with clinical trials.
Other work areas include:Host Pathogens Interactions , Viral Infectious Diseases, HIV
-
Reading Group
Patrick’s group investigates how the body first detects and responds to respiratory viruses. They investigate viral attachment factors, cellular receptors and entry pathways, virus-induced activation of host genes and the mechanisms by which intracellular host proteins can block virus replication.
Other work areas include:Influenza
-
Robins-Browne Group
Research in Roy’s laboratory is partly focused on how E. coli causes diarrhoea, with the aims of identifying better ways to diagnose, treat and prevent these infections. Another theme is the development of new types of antibacterial agents.
Other work areas include:Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections, Enteric infections
-
Villadangos Group
Jose’s group combines immunology, biochemistry and cell biology to study how the adaptive immune system detects pathogens and cancer, a process called Antigen Presentation. Their research is applicable to vaccine development, treatment of critically ill patients and the fight against cancer.
-
Vincan Group
Elizabeth’s group investigates novel ways to block cancer growth with a focus on the gastrointestinal tract – stomach, bowel and liver. A cell-cell communication pathway called Wnt is hyperactive in these cancers. Their research shows inhibiting Wnt has potent anti-cancer effects.
Other work areas include:Hepatitis
-
Wakim Group
Linda’s group’s main research focus is understating the mechanism of action and regulation of expression of antiviral proteins. Linda’s group also aims to characterise CD8 T cell responses within the lung following virus infection.
Other work areas include:Influenza
-
