Congratulations to our SBS researchers recognised with NHMRC Investigator Grants

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grants aim to foster innovative and creative research.

Fifteen School of Biomedical Sciences researchers now have added flexibility to pursue important new research directions as they arise, adjust their resources accordingly, and to form collaborations as needed, under the Investigator program that recognises the highest-performing researchers.

Congratulations...

• A/Prof Amy Chung, | Profiling protective antibody responses against infectious diseases.
• Prof Alexandra Corbett | Exploiting the unique functions of MAIT cells to drive the rational design of new vaccines and immunotherapies.
• A/Prof Mark Davies | Epidemiology, evolution and prevention of streptococcal pandemics.
• Prof Karen Day | Solving the surveillance challenges for malaria elimination in high burden countries.
• Dr Maria Di Biase | Patient-Centred Platforms for Preclinical Schizophrenia Research and Translation.
• Dr Maximilien Evrard | Enhancing tissue-resident memory T cell immunity through the microbiota.
• Prof Ben Howden | Genomics-driven innovations to tackle drug-resistant bacterial infections.
• Dr Danielle Ingle | Harnessing pathogen genomics to combat current and future threats of drug-resistant enteric bacteria.
• Dr Christine Keenan | Unravelling epigenetic mechanisms to improve immunity.
• Dr Fern Koay |  Harnessing MAIT cell biology and therapeutics to improve immunotherapy.
• Dr Marios Koutsakos | Establishing protective immunity against antigenically diverse viruses.
• Dr Oanh Nguyen | Unravelling immune responses to severe respiratory viral infection and vaccination in humans.
• Prof Tim Stinear | Elimination of Mycobacterium ulcerans infection (Buruli ulcer).
• Prof Linda Wakim| Generating a universal influenza vaccine.
• Dr Pirooz Zareie | Understanding determinants of memory T cell fate to enhance cellular immunity.

26 Feb 2025 'NHRMC awards researchers $83m in Investigator Grants', University of Melbourne, Awards and Achievements.

Dr Oanh Nguyen

Senior Research Fellow | Dept Microbiology & Immunology

Unravelling immune responses to severe respiratory viral infection and vaccination in humans

My research looks at a special group of immune cells called tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells, which help protect our organs from infections and cancer. Most studies on TRM cells are done in very clean lab conditions, but in real life, people are constantly exposed to microbes. To better understand how this exposure affects TRM cells, our team has used a "dirty" mouse model that simulates this real-world environment. In this project, I will use this model to map how microbes interact with immune cells in different body tissues, identify which microbes and their byproducts help TRM cells function, and test whether these beneficial microbes could be employed to fight cancer more effectively.

I’m thrilled that this grant supports our innovative ‘dirty’ mouse model, which more closely mirrors everyday human exposure to germs. This approach could spark entirely new strategies to combat cancer.

Our immune systems protect us remarkably well from a constant barrage of germs. However, this protection must be finely balanced to not overreact (as in asthma) or leave us vulnerable to infection (as in immune deficiency). My research program aims to understand how DNA is read differently in different cells, termed 'epigenetics', despite all cells of the body having the same DNA code, with the ultimate goal to develop new epigenetic-targeting drugs to restore healthy immunity in disease.

I’m thrilled to receive 5 years of research funding to explore the fascinating intricacies of DNA wiring. By understanding these fundamental processes, we hope to discover new targets to revolutionise the treatment of immune diseases such as asthma.

Schizophrenia is a complex and severe brain disorder that can affect how someone thinks, feels, and behaves. The biological cause of schizophrenia likely differs from patient to patient, making it hard to develop optimal treatments that benefit all patients. This project is designed to develop personalised insights into schizophrenia by harnessing the power of stem cell science, genetics and neuroimaging. These insights could lead to improved diagnosis and tailored treatments for schizophrenia.

With the invaluable support of the NHMRC, we are working to lay the foundation for developing more effective, personalised treatments—bringing real hope and relief to those living with severe mental illness, and their families and carers.

Enteric bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics are a major global health challenge. With this funding I hope to better understand how bacteria become drug resistant, and/or become more deadly. To do so I will develop novel tools and approaches to study thousands of bacteria genomes. Our findings will help to improve surveillance for these bacteria, and be used for better prevention to stop them in their tracks.

It’s a privilege to be awarded an NHMRC emerging leadership 2 fellowship. This grant will enable me to undertake cutting-edge research in my field of microbial genomics exploring factors underpinning the emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens, and developing novel approaches to combat these threats.

Viruses like influenza and SARS-CoV-2 keep changing to avoid recognition by the immune system. This research program will study how the immune system responds to different variants of these viruses, with the goal of informing vaccine design. This work will advance our understanding of viral immunology with the potential to lead to the development of improved vaccines against these viruses.

I am very grateful to the NHMRC for their support and excited to progress with the research program.