Immunology and Immunodeficiency
Our focus is on understanding the development of B cells – the population of white blood cells responsible for the production of protective antibodies - and the regulation of antibody responses. We are particularly interested in understanding how the immune system responds to infections or vaccinations, such that it can provide us with a ‘memory’ of the response so that following subsequent exposure to the same infectious agent, our immune systems will respond more rapidly. We are also studying X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP), a genetic disorder that results in an often-fatal immunodeficiency. These studies are being performed using a cohort of XLP patients, as well as an animal model of this human disease. Overall, we hope to identify means to improve the immune response in individuals with immunodeficiencies and ways by which the immune system of patients with autoimmune diseases could be attenuated.
The lab receives grant support from the NHMRC, the Cancer Council NSW, the Association for International Cancer Research and the XLP Registry Trust (UK).
Staff
 Senior Research OfficerDr Cindy Ma |
 Senior Research OfficerDr Elissa Deenick |
 Senior Research OfficerDr Mainthan Palendira |
 Senior Research AssistantDanielle Priestley |
 Research OfficerDr Leen Moens |
 Research AssistantAnna Chan |
 PhD StudentMegan Ives |
 PhD StudentDr Lucinda Berglund |
| Honorary Researcher Santi Suryani |
