HIV|Research

• Kent Group

  Stephen’s group studies immunity to HIV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2. They are analysing a variety of vaccine strategies, including nanoparticle-based vaccines. They are studying a series of immune responses to gain better insights into protective immunity to important viral pathogens. They are developing monoclonal antibody therapies for HIV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 to improve the treatment of these infections. The Kent group works very closely with Dr Amy Chung’s laboratory at the Doherty Institute.

  • Projects
  • Lab Team

  Other work areas include:COVID-19, Immunology, Influenza

  

  Professor Stephen Kent
  Laboratory Head

Current Projects

• Antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) - a neglected anti-HIV immune response!

  The importance of HIV-specific Antibody-dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity (ADCC) antibodies that inhibit viral replication mediated through the Fc receptor is becoming clear. In view of the difficulty of inducing broad neutralising antibodies and effective T cell immunity, exploring HIV-specific ADCC is a priority. HIV-specific ADCC has been under-explored both from the point of view of rapid, reliable assays to measure and characterise ADCC responses and the ability to specifically induce high level HIV-specific ADCC antibodies by vaccination. Recent data from the RV144 vaccine study in Thailand suggest a role for non-neutralising antibodies in protection from HIV.

• Combined Influenza-AIDS Vaccines

  Influenza and HIV are both serious global pathogens. Can a single vaccine be designed to cover both viruses? Recent advances in reverse genetic techniques allow insertion of foreign antigens into live influenza viruses. Further, live attenuated influenza vaccines are now highly effective vaccines. Stephen’s group is designing recombinant influenza vaccines with inserted HIV antigens to test as a combined Influenza-AIDS vaccine. An advantage of this strategy is that as a mucosal virus, there is a strong likelihood that immunity at mucosal surfaces, where HIV is first encountered, can be induced with this approach. 

• Nanoparticle HIV vaccines

  No safe HIV vaccines have been able to stimulate durable, activated T-cell immunity. Stephen’s group is investigating an exciting HIV vaccination approach using hollow, submicron, delivery vehicles (nanocapsules) as carriers for HIV vaccines. This is a novel, cross-disciplinary project within the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence in Bio-Nano interactions. Nanocapsules are designed to induce optimal immune responses by protecting antigens from degradation prior to reaching sites of immune activation and activate antigen presenting cells in a way that will initiate anti-viral immune responses. Stephen’s group aims to use controlled-release nanocapsules to stimulate durable anti-HIV responses in vivo.

• NKT cells, MAIT cells and HIV

  NKT cells are a small but very important lymphocyte population in blood that possess potent antiviral and antitumor activities. NKT cells are depleted during HIV infection. Stephen’s group are now devising strategies to enhance the biologic utility of NKT cells in fighting HIV. They are also starting to study an interesting population of cells called Mucosal-associated Invariant T cells (MAIT cells). MAIT cells are likely to be important in protecting HIV-infected people from damage at mucosal surfaces such as the gut.

• Checkmating HIV - trapping immune escape HIV strains

  CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) can be effective at controlling HIV-1, but their utility is partly offset by mutational escape. The kinetics of CTL escape, and reversion of escape mutant viruses upon transmission to MHC-mismatched hosts can help understand CTL-mediated viral control and the fitness cost extracted by immune escape mutation. The work has implications for how best to control HIV during early infection.

• HIV Vaccines

  A HIV vaccine is urgently needed. The Kent lab is working towards this goal. Our dedicated staff and students drive innovation and new thinking in ways to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic. To further understand how immune responses can control HIV, we have a series of projects involved in developing new assays to measure immunity and the effect these immune responses have on the virus. We have extensively studied antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), which appears to play a role in vaccine-induced immunity to HIV. We are also trying to understand how neutralising antibodies that have ADCC activity can control HIV. We have ongoing projects led by Dr Jen Juno studying small but important lymphocyte populations such as T-follicular helper cells, gamma-delta T cells, MAIT cells and NKT cells. In work with European collaborators, we are now studying multivalent HIV-1 Env based SOSIP trimer vaccine strategies.

Lab Team

• Dr Adam Wheatley

  Laboratory Head
• Dr Jennifer Juno

  Laboratory Head
• Hyon-Xhi Tan

  Research Officer
• Dr Marios Koutsakos

  Senior Research Fellow
• Dr Wen Shi Lee

  Research Officer
• Mai Ngoc Vu

  Postdoctoral Fellow
• Lara Schwab

  Research Officer
• Mitchell Zheng

  Postdoctoral Fellow
• Rosela Webster

  Postdoctoral Fellow
• Chris Gonelli

  Research Officer
• Palak Mehta

  Research Officer
• Thakshila Amarasena

  Research Support Officer
• Andrew Kelly

  Research Assistant
• Lauren Burmas

  Research Assistant
• Julie Nguyen

  Research Assistant
• Robyn Esterbauer

  Research Assistant
• Ellie Reilly

  Research Assistant
• Jane Batten

  Project Manager
• Janavi Rambhatla

  Academic Specialist - Research Officer
• Devaki Pilapitiya

  PhD Student
• Ruth Purcell

  PhD Student (co-supervisor with Amy Chung)
• Kirsty Field

  PhD Student
• Thu Do

  PhD Student
• Yee-Chen Liu

  PhD Student
• Veronica Zoest

  PhD Student
• Nanouk Zuidmeer

  International Masters Student Placement
• Professor David O'Connor

  Honorary
• Professor Shelby O'Connor

  Honorary
• Dr David (Yi) Ju

  Honorary
• Dr Hillary Vanderven

  Honorary
• A/Prof Matt Parsons

  Honorary
• Dr Nghia Truong

  Honorary
• Dr Sinth Jegaskanda

  Honorary
• A/Prof Steve Rockman

  Honorary
• Dr Emily Pilkington

  Guest Scientist
• Dr Shiyao Li

  Guest Scientist
• Diyana Hassanel

  Guest Scientist
• Zihnil Mazrad

  Guest Scientist

• Chibo Group

  The HIV Characterisation laboratory performs testing to monitor HIV-infected individuals prior to and upon commencement of antiretroviral treatment. Additionally, genotype-assisted antiretroviral resistance testing is available, which identifies the presence of drug resistance mutations so that targeted treatment choices can be made. 

  • Projects
  • Lab Team

  

  Dr Doris Chibo
  Senior Scientist, State Reference Laboratory for HIV Characterisation

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• Nicholson Group

  Suellen's group fulfills a dual mission of providing a technically first class, reliable diagnostic, reference and public health service to the healthcare system, and being an innovative, adaptable, forward-looking component of the scientific community and a valued collaborator in research projects, not just in Victoria, but nationally and in the region.

  • Projects
  • Lab Team

  Other work areas include:Hepatitis

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• Purcell Lab

  Professor Damian Purcell’s research group investigates the HIV-1 and HTLV-1 human retroviruses that cause AIDS and leukaemia/inflammatory pathogenesis respectively. The lab studies their genetic structure and gene expression with a focus on defining the mechanisms that control viral persistence and pathogenesis. The molecular interplay of viral and host factors during viral infection and the innate and adaptive immune responses to viral infection are examined. These molecular insights are used to develop new antiviral and curative therapeutics, preventive prophylactic vaccines and passive antibody microbicides and therapeutics. Some of these patented discoveries have been commercialised and we are assisting with clinical trials.

  • Projects
  • Lab Team

  Other work areas include:COVID-19, Immunology, Viral Infectious Diseases, Bacterial and Parasitic Infections

  

  Professor Damian Purcell
  Head of Industry Partnerships | Laboratory Head

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