The Univeristy of Melbourne The Royal Melbourne Hopspital

A joint venture between The University of Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital

  • Research Groups

    Current Projects

    • Malaria and tissue resident memory T cells (TRM) in the Liver

      Tissue resident memory T cells (TRM) are a newly described subtype of memory CD8 T cells that do not recirculate, but remain in the organ they formed in long after infection has been cleared. By staying in the area most likely targeted by the pathogen in subsequent reinfections, TRM have the potential to elicit faster, more focused responses than recirculating memory T cell subsets.

      Bill’s group’s research focuses on the study of liver TRM and their contribution to protection against parasite infection, with the aim of exploring new ways to control liver stage malaria based on the enhancement of TRM function.

    • Preventing malarial disease development through liver resident memory

      Malaria is a deadly disease that causes more than 600,000 deaths each year, the majority in children. Currently there is no effective vaccine for malaria, though several are in development. Recent work has identified a population of long-lived memory cells that are tissue resident tissue-resident memory (TRM). This population appears to provide the first and best line of defence against infections in peripheral tissues such as the skin. Bill’s group has evidence for a resident population of CD8 T cells in the liver and is now examining their potential in protection against malaria sporozoite infection.

    • Intravital imaging of malaria-specific T cell responses in the brain (in conjunction with the Muelle

      Activated CD8 T cells play a critical role in murine experimental cerebral malaria associated with Plasmodium berghei infection. The mechanism underlying cerebral malaria pathogenesis is not well understood. To address this, Bill’s group has developed a novel system to image the brain in live animals undergoing malarial infection using 2-photon laser scanning microscopy.

    • Imaging the priming of CD8 killer T cell responses to Herpes Simplex Virus-1 skin infection

      (In conjunction with the Mueller lab)

      Much of our understanding of the complex series of events that occur during the priming of immune responses to infections or following vaccination have been gained via static methods such as flow cytometry, histology and cell culture. These methods provide limited information on when, where and how different cells interact during the different phases of immunity. Bill’s group now has the ability to follow immune cells within living tissues and animals to determine their behaviour in real time using 2-photon laser scanning microscopy.


    Lab Team

    Heath Group

    • Melanie Damtsis
      Research Assistant
    • Senior Research Officer
    • Senior Research Officer
    • Senior Research Officer
    • Lauren Holz
      Research Officer
    • Zhengyu (Jeff) Ge
      PhD Candidate
    • Yu Cheng (Gordon) Chua
      PhD Candidate
    • Thiago Maass Steiner
      PhD Candidate
    • Shirley Le
      Masters student