10 Oct 2017
NHMRC grants October 2017 | Scott Mueller | Defining coordination of immune responses to pathogens
Associate Professor Scott Mueller
Recipient: Research Fellowship
Project
Defining the coordination of immune responses to pathogens
Context
An effective immune response to fight off infection depends largely on two processes: migration of immune cells around the body, and interactions between immune cells and tissue cells that are decisive in whether a pathogen is eradicated or persists.
“How this occurs during infectious disease or cancer is poorly understood, partly because it’s difficult to track and visualise immune cells and their behaviour in tissues,” Scott says.
Scott’s research will identify how diverse types of immune cells interact with each other, with the goal of designing new therapies to induce optimal immunity against infectious diseases.
His work will home in on the spleen and lymph nodes – staging grounds for the body’s defence system, where immune cells get revved up to fight invading pathogens. The spleen in particular acts as a storage site for red and white blood cells and can make new blood cells in times of stress.
“We’re preparing to perform detailed genetic analysis of the stromal cells that make up the spleen and determine how they contribute to immunity,” Scott says.
“We will start to implement new models to image in real time how different immune cells transmit signals to each other during immune responses.”
Scott is a world leader in the study of immune responses, and the use of advanced fluorescence microscopy to define fundamental aspects of immune responses. Over the next five years, he will undertake cutting-edge research to define the complex stages of immune responses that lead to protection from infectious disease and provide new avenues for the design of next generation vaccines and therapies.