Winners of the University’s prestigious Woodward Medal announced
Congratulations to Dr Oanh Nguyen and Dr Louise Rowntree, School of Biomedical Sciences, for their world-leading work on human T cell responses to respiratory viral pathogens.
Image: Dr Louise Rowntree and Dr Dr Oanh Nguyen
This year Senior Research Fellows, Dr Oanh Nguyen and Dr Louise Rowntree from Professor Katherine Kedzierska’s Human T cell Laboratory (Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Doherty Institute) have been recognised for their world-leading work on human T cell responses to respiratory viral pathogens.
Their expertise and the impact of their work is exemplified by three significant publications which have provided much of the global academic understanding of T cell function during COVID-19.
- CD8+ T cells specific for an immunodominant SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid epitope display high naive precursor frequency and TCR promiscuity. Read article
- SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell memory with common TCRαβ motifs is established in unvaccinated children who seroconvert after infection. Read article
- Robust SARS-CoV-2 T cell responses with common TCRαβ motifs toward COVID-19 vaccines in patients with hematological malignancy impacting B cells. Read article
Louise Rowntree has worked in viral T-cell immunity since 2011, most recently on influenza and SARS-CoV-2. She said she was both honoured and privileged to be awarded the University of Melbourne Woodward medal.
When SARS-CoV-2 emerged, research was urgently needed to understand the immune response – how it protects from infection and how it can malfunction and cause severe disease.
Our work contributed to our global understanding of how the human immune system fights against COVID-19. We applied these finding to evaluate COVID-19 vaccines and immune responses in high-risk groups like blood cancer patients.
“We are so grateful for the support of our supervisor, Professor Katherine Kedzierska. Katherine has been researching immunity to viral infections and vaccinations for many years, and it is her support and mentorship that has allowed us to flourish," Louise & Oanh said.
Image: Professor Katherine Kedzierska’s research group
Last year, Professor Katherine Kedzierska, Dr Oanh Nguyen and Dr Louise Rowntree – dubbed the Corona Queens – were recognised for their outstanding contributions to COVID-19 research, receiving 2023 Eureka Prize for Infectious Disease Research. Read more
Image: Professor Katherine Kedzierska, Dr Louise Rowntree, Dr Oanh Nguyen
“These prestigious awards are recognition of our talented researchers whose work is contributing to changing lives for the better.” said Professor Mark Cassidy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Melbourne.
About the Woodward Medals
Sir Edward Woodward, a former University Chancellor, and Lady Woodward have established two medals for staff at the University with support from the Office of the Vice-Chancellor. The two awards – the Woodward Medal in Science and Technology and the Woodward Medal in Humanities and Social Sciences – are awarded annually to two University of Melbourne staff for research published in the preceding five years considered to have made the most significant contribution to knowledge and research excellence in fields relating to Science and Technology and Humanities and Social Sciences, respectively.