研究テーマ

• Using the principles of immunology, biochemistry and microbiology to design vaccines and other treatments to prevent infectious diseases and cancer.

キーワード

• Innate and adaptive immunity
• Infectious diseases and cancer
• Agonists and antagonists of physiological Toll-like receptors

研究概要

significant achievements include:

• the training of more than 60 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral scholars.
• More than 250 original research publications in top ranked scientific journals in addition to reviews and book chapters
• a patent portfolio with licenses being issued to the pharmaceutical industry
• the design and manufacture of a synthetic molecules which have completed first-in-man Phase I and Phase II clinical trials
• the attraction of approximately $20 millions in research grants in the last 5 years from nationally and internationally (NIH) competitive sources, industry, and ~$50 millions from investors
• founder of two bio-tech start-up companies: EnaRespiratory https://enarespiratory.com/ and Axelia Oncology https://axeliaoncology.com/ both of which are in various phases of clinical trials with a view to bringing to market the molecules that were invented in my laboratory within the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at The University of Melbourne.

I have been an active researcher in immunochemistry and immunology for more than 40 years. My research efforts are focused on the design, assembly and evaluation of innovative vaccines which have led to pre-clinical and clinical evaluation of vaccine candidates for influenza, hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses, Group A streptococcus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, human papilloma virus and more recently cancer. I have also developed candidate vaccines against methamphetamine and cocaine and against the reproductive hormone GnRH.