Departmental Research Interests
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology enjoys a high research profile nationally and internationally. Our research interests include various aspects of infection and immunity: the epidemiology and molecular pathogenesis of intestinal infections of humans, the mechanisms of immunity to viral infections and the immunological basis of autoimmunity.
Our reputation in research productivity and research training is second to none. At any one time approximately 70 PhD students are enrolled through the Department. Nine of our staff are chief investigators on five separate NH&MRC program grants - NHMRC's most prestigious award. In addition, we hold several NH&MRC and ARC project grants. For the past several years, the Department's income from both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed research grants has been the highest of any department in the University of Melbourne.
The Department has close research collaborations with many prominent groups and individuals at neighbouring institutions, as well as with colleagues interstate and overseas. For further details of specific research interests and activities of our researchers, see the following.
| RESEARCHER | RESEARCH INTEREST | FIND AN EXPERT |
| Dr Helen Billman-Jacobe | Mycobacteria | Find an Expert - Billman-Jacobe |
| Professor Liz Hartland | Molecular basis of host-pathogen interactions | Find an Expert - Hartland |
| Dr Michael Inouye | Medical Genomics and Systems Biology | Find an Expert - Inouye |
| Professor Roy Robins-Browne | Pathogenesis of bacterial infections | Find an Expert - Robins-Browne |
| Dr Tim Stinear | Bacterial pathogenomics | Find an Expert - Stinear |
| Professor Dick Strugnell | Bacterial pathogenesis and host responses | Find an Expert - Strugnell |
| Dr Odilia Wijburg | Streptococcus pneumoniae, polymicrobial infections, influenza virus, otitis media, pneumonia, mucosal immunology, vaccine, malnutrition | Find an Expert - Wijburg |
| Dr Ji Yang | Find an Expert - Ji Yang | |
| Dr Nathan Brown | ||
| Dr Marija Atanaskovic | Find an Expert - Atanaskovic | |
| Dr Chris McEvoy |
| RESEARCHER | RESEARCH INTEREST | FIND AN EXPERT |
| Dr Sammy Bedoui | The role of dendritic cells in immunity to viral and bacterial infections | Find an Expert - Bedoui |
| A/Professor Andrew Brooks | Innate immunity; anti-viral immunity | Find an Expert - Brooks |
| Professor Frank Carbone | Immune response to herpes simplex virus | Find an Expert - Carbone |
| Dr Gayle Davey | CD8 T cells and requirements for self-tolerance. | Find an Expert - Davey |
| Professor Peter Doherty | CD8 T Cell receptors and responses | Find an Expert - Doherty |
| Dr Thomas Gebhardt | Adaptive immune responses to virus infections | Find an Expert - Gebhardt |
| Professor Dale Godfrey | NKT cell development and function | Find an Expert - Godfrey |
| Professor Bill Heath | CD8 T lymphocytes, dendritic cells, self tolerance and immunity | Find an Expert - Heath |
| Dr Michael Inouye | Medical Genomics and Systems Biology | Find an Expert - Inouye |
| Professor Dave Jackson | Synthetic vaccine design | Find an Expert - Jackson |
| A/Prof Katherine Kedzierska | T cell immunity to pandemic and seasonal influenza viruses | Find an Expert - Kedzierska |
| Professor Stephen Kent | HIV vaccines; immune responses to HIV-1; immunotherapy | Find an Expert - Kent |
| A/Prof Nicole La Gruta | Determinants of CD8+ T cell immunity | Find an Expert - La Gruta |
| Professor Jim McCluskey | Autoimmunity; celiac disease; T-cell signalling; Ag presentation; hepatitis C virus | Find an Expert - McCluskey |
| Dr Francesca Mercuri | Project Manager Influenza Program | Find an Expert - Mercuri |
| Dr Scott Mueller | T cell responses to viruses, lymphoid stromal cells, and imaging the immune system | Find an Expert - Mueller |
| Dr Patrick Reading | Innate immunity, influenza virus pathogenesis and immunity | Find an Expert - Reading |
| A/Professor Stephen Turner | CD8 T cell receptor structure and diversity CD8+ effector function/differentiation and memory |
Find an Expert - Turner |
| Professor Jose Villadangos | Dendritic Cells, Antigen Presentation, Protein Trafficking, Proteases and their inhibitors (Cystatins), Anti-viral Immunity, Tumour immunology | Find an Expert - Villadangos |
| Dr Odilia Wijburg | Streptococcus pneumoniae, polymicrobial infections, influenza virus, otitis media, pneumonia, mucosal immunology, vaccine, malnutrition | Find an Expert - Wijburg |
| Dr Mandvi Bharadwaj | Find an Expert - Bharadwaj | |
| Dr Lars Kjer-Nielsen | Find an Expert - Kjer-Nielsen | |
| Dr Catherine Keech | Find an Expert - Keech | |
| Dr Lucy Sullivan | Find an Expert - Sullivan | |
| Dr Sarah Londrigan | Find an Expert - Londrigan | |
| Dr Weiguang Zeng | Find an Expert - Weiguang Zeng | |
| Dr Adam Uldrich | Find an Expert - Uldrich | |
| Dr Sumone Chakravarti | Find an Expert - Chakravarti |
| RESEARCHER | RESEARCH INTEREST | FIND AN EXPERT |
| Professor Lorena Brown | Immunology; virology; vaccinology | Find an Expert - Brown |
| Dr Rob Center | HIV vaccine development | Find an Expert - Center |
| A/Professor Barbara Coulson | Rotavirus pathogenesis and immunity | Find an Expert - Coulson |
| Professor Stephen Kent | HIV vaccines; immune responses to HIV-1; immunotherapy | Find an Expert - Kent |
| Dr Julie McAuley | Influenza A virus PB1-F2 protein | Find an Expert - McAuley |
| A/Professor Jason Mackenzie | Intracellular virus replication and innate immunity | Find an expert - Mackenzie |
| A/Professor Damian Purcell | Viral RNA elements, regulation of HIV replication, HIV antibody vaccine | Find an Expert - Purcell |
| Dr Patrick Reading | Innate immunity, influenza virus pathogenesis and immunity | Find an Expert - Reading |
| Professor Cameron Simmons | Dengue, pathogenesis, epidemiology, therapeutics, entomology | |
| Professor Kelso | Find an Expert - Kelso | |
| Dr Rob De Rose | Find an Expert - De Rose | |
| Dr Gavan Holloway | Find an Expert - Holloway |
| RESEARCHER | TEACHING/RESEARCH INTEREST | FIND AN EXPERT |
| Helen Cain | Find an Expert - Cain | |
| Dr Sumone Chakravarti | Find an Expert - Chakravarti | |
| Cheryl Power | ||
| Dr David Tribe | Find an Expert - Tribe | |
| Sandra Uren | Find an Expert - Uren | |
| Dr Karena Waller | Find an Expert - Waller |