Research Projects

Cancer

Name	Project Details	Contact
Professor Ian Frazer	Regulation of effector T cells by the innate immune response Immunotherapy for virus associated skin cancer Cervical cancer control in Vanuatu	Phone +61 7 3346 1905 Email wendy.freeman@tri.edu.au
Associate Professor Brian Gabrielli	Identifying the molecular basis for defective checkpoints in melanoma. Targeting defective cell cycle responses to ultraviolet radiation and TopoII inhibitors in melanoma. Defining the molecular changes in moles underpinning morphological changes detectable by non-invasive imaging techniques to improve their diagnostic and prognostic ability for early stage melanoma.	Phone +61 7 3176 7129 Email briang@uq.edu.au
Dr Angus Harding	Combining computer models and clinical data to understand, treat and prevent brain cancer	Phone +61 7 3176 5285 Email a.harding1@uq.edu.au
Dr Michelle Hill	Cancer microvesicles as a source of biomarkers and novel target of anti-cancer therapy Systems biology approach to understand lipid raft and caveolin function in health and disease Discovery and validation of novel salivary and blood biomarkers for head and neck cancers using lectin magnetic bead array-mass spectrometry, LeMBA-MS (with Dr Chamindie Punyadeera) NPM functions associated with acute myeloid leukemia (with Dr Kerry Inder)	Phone +61 7 3176 7456 Email m.hill2@uq.edu.au
Dr Graham Leggatt	Trafficking of T cells to cancerous skin Immunotherapy of skin tumours after lymphodepletion T cell function in normal and cancerous skin tissue	Phone +61 7 3176 5281 Email g.leggatt@uq.edu.au
Dr Stephen Mattarollo	NKT cell immune adjuvant-based therapeutic vaccination in a mouse model of B cell lymphoma Combination immunotherapies against haematological malignancies Mechanisms of tumor resistance against immune-based therapies Susceptibility of autoimmune-prone mice to tumor development Impact of endocytosis inhibitors on monoclonal antibody-based immunotherapeutics against cancer Localized immune suppressive mechanisms in HPV-associated pre-cancers	Phone: +61 7 3176 6943 Email s.mattarollo@uq.edu.au
Associate Professor Nicholas Saunders	Understanding the molecular basis for the control of squamous differentiation Understanding how these processes are dysregulated during the development of oral and skin cancers Exploiting this knowledge in the development of novel treatments for skin cancers and oral cancer Interrogating chemotherapeutic sensitivity Identifying novel strategies to treat metastatic osteosarcoma	Phone +61 7 3176 5984 Email nsaunders@uq.edu.au
Dr Fiona Simpson	Epidermal growth factor trafficking in squamous cell carcinoma and its impact on patient treatment with anti-EGFR inhibitors Girdin, Daple and Gipie, the HkRP family in trafficking and Oncogenesis	Phone +61 7 3176 7456 Email f.simpson@uq.edu.au
Dr James Wells	Immunotherapy for the treatment of established skin cancer Requirements for the initiation and treatment of Non-Melanoma skin cancer Immunophenotyping squamous skin cancer Immunological identifiers of skin pathology	Phone +61 7 3176 5315 Email j.wells3@uq.edu.au

Autoimmunity

Name	Project Details	Contact
Dr Antje Blumenthal	Innate immune recognition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other pathogens Molecular mechanisms of macrophage functions Regulators of immune responses during infection and inflammation Discovery of novel anti-microbials against tuberculosis	Phone +61 3176 2926 Email a.blumenthal@uq.edu.au
Professor Matt Brown	Genetics of common bone and joint diseases Osteoporosis Interethnic mapping of common human diseases; ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia ENU mutagenesis and models of musculoskeletal diseases Gene deserts involved in ankylosing spondylitis Genetics of multiple sclerosis Novel gene-mapping approaches using next-generation sequencing	Phone +61 7 3176 5954 Email di.director@uq.edu.au
Dr Emma Hamilton-Williams	A novel role for the interleukin-2 pathway in humans and mouse models of type 1 diabetes Genetic control of intestinal microflora in type 1 diabetes susceptibility Impaired Regulatory T cell function in type 1 diabetes	Phone +61 7 3176 5392 Email e.hamiltonwilliams@uq.edu.au
Dr Tony Kenna	Functional characterisation of genetic variants in the IL23R pathway associated with ankylosing spondylitis	Phone +61 7 3176 5832 Email t.kenna@uq.edu.au
Dr Ray Steptoe	Cellular and molecular pathways of T-cell tolerance Prevention and reversal of autoimmune diabetes Novel methods of gene delivery for tolerance Immunotherapy of allergies and anaphylaxis	Phone +61 7 3176 5393 Email r.steptoe@uq.edu.au
Dr Gethin Thomas	Gene expression profiling in ankylosing spondylitis Identification of novel genes in skeletal disease through large-scale ENU mouse mutagenesis Novel treatment approaches to prevent joint fusion in ankylosing spondylitis Elucidation of basis for “gene desert” associations with ankylosing spondylitis	Phone +61 7 3176 2755 Email gethin.thomas@uq.edu.au
Professor Ranjeny Thomas	Understanding the molecular control of dendritic cell function in tolerance Initiation of inflammatory arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis antigen-specific therapy Type 1 (Juvenile) Diabetes Innate Immunity: mouse models and human longitudinal study Use of statins to reduce atherosclerosis in early rheumatoid arthritis	Phone +61 7 3176 5365 Email ranjeny.thomas@uq.edu.au
Professor Peter Visscher	Heritability of gene expression Statistical methods and applications using SNP data to test whether risk factors for disease are causative Understanding the genetic architecture of complex traits through analysis of DNA sequence data Development and application of risk prediction models for common diseases	Phone +61 7 3346 1814 Email peter.visscher@uq.edu.au