PROGRAM |
DISCIPLINE |
HEALTH THEMES |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Disease Elimination | Life Sciences | Malaria |
Protective immunity to malaria is mediated by antibodies that block parasite growth. Antibody development occurs within the germinal centres and during blood stage infection, the spleen is a key site of germinal centre development. Understanding immune development within this key site is challenging due to the difficulties in obtaining human secondary lymphoid tissues during infection.
This project will use unique human spleen samples collected from individuals with a current or prior malaria infection in Indonesia. Immune responses to malaria directly within the germinal centre will be analysed. You will learn to apply advanced immunology techniques (for example multiparametric flow cytometry, RNAseq, multiomic analysis, spatial profiling), and analyse data using bioinformatic pipelines, and advanced statistical methods.
Understanding the immune response directly in the tissue where germinal centre development occurs will revolutionise our understanding of immune development in human infection. Findings have the potential to inform future vaccine development to optimise protective response to malaria and other infectious diseases.
Contact
Dr Michelle Boyle
Head, Cellular Responses to Disease and Vaccination Group
michelle.boyle@burnet.edu.au
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Why study at Burnet?
When you study at Burnet, you broaden your impact working across our three Institute-wide programs: Disease Elimination; Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness; Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health.
Train with internationally recognised experts in a structured student support system, and gain a holistic research experience along the way.
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