Investigating the evolution of innate and adaptive cellular immunity. This proposal aims to assess the impact of geographical and genetic isolation of the Australian Indigenous population on adaptive and innate immune systems. The project will use novel DNA sequencing approaches to generate the high resolution sequences of two genetic loci that regulate innate and adaptive immune responses, the major histocompatibility complex locus and the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor locus. In an i ....Investigating the evolution of innate and adaptive cellular immunity. This proposal aims to assess the impact of geographical and genetic isolation of the Australian Indigenous population on adaptive and innate immune systems. The project will use novel DNA sequencing approaches to generate the high resolution sequences of two genetic loci that regulate innate and adaptive immune responses, the major histocompatibility complex locus and the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor locus. In an initial screen, distinct variants and combinations of these genes were identified. This project aims to interrogate how variation in these critical genes impacts on the function of cytotoxic lymphocytes, providing insights into the evolutionary drivers of immune recognition mechanisms.Read moreRead less
Understanding the life and death of Mucosal-associated invariant T cells. Cell death of naïve T cells in lymphoid organs is well-understood. However, T cells only gain their function upon activation, and how activated T cells regulate their life or death remains unclear. Mucosal-associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells are abundant in non-lymphoid tissues as key local players in immunity, and share some features of activated conventional T cells. This project aims to define how MAIT cell survival and ....Understanding the life and death of Mucosal-associated invariant T cells. Cell death of naïve T cells in lymphoid organs is well-understood. However, T cells only gain their function upon activation, and how activated T cells regulate their life or death remains unclear. Mucosal-associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells are abundant in non-lymphoid tissues as key local players in immunity, and share some features of activated conventional T cells. This project aims to define how MAIT cell survival and death are controlled. It combines methods we developed to track MAIT cells in vivo with expertise in cell death analysis. This project is expected to elucidate the complex mechanisms controlling MAIT cell survival/death and increase our fundamental understanding of cell death mechanisms of activated T cells.Read moreRead less
Epigenetic regulation of immune memory. Immune memory cells emerge from the dynamic and transient immune response to deliver two critical abilities: to produce rapid recall responses upon reinfection but also to persist for decades. This project aims to define how the polycomb repressive complexes regulate immune cell fate, by utilising cutting-edge cell and chromatin biology techniques coupled with bioinformatic pipelines. Expected outcomes of the proposed research include key insights into epi ....Epigenetic regulation of immune memory. Immune memory cells emerge from the dynamic and transient immune response to deliver two critical abilities: to produce rapid recall responses upon reinfection but also to persist for decades. This project aims to define how the polycomb repressive complexes regulate immune cell fate, by utilising cutting-edge cell and chromatin biology techniques coupled with bioinformatic pipelines. Expected outcomes of the proposed research include key insights into epigenetic programming required for immune cell differentiation and longevity. This should provide significant benefits such as knowledge creation that may lead to development of technology that reprograms cell behaviour, and contribution to Australian research recognition and capacity.Read moreRead less