Lab team

Our group includes a diverse mix of researchers interested in immunology, cell biology, gene regulation, and developing new approaches to treat cancer. We work closely with the other members of the Institute’s Immunology and Bioinformatics Divisions and the Centre for Dynamic Imaging and Advanced Genomics Facility.

Michaël Chopin, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, MSc Montpellier  PhD Dresden

Project: Dendritic cell differentiation and function

Key Publication: Zhan Y, Zhang Y, Zhang S, Coughlan H, Baldoni PL, Jacquelot N, Cao WHJ, Preston S, Louis C, Rautela J, Pellegrini M, Wicks IP, Alexander WS, Harrison LC, Lew AM, Smyth GK, Nutt SL, Chopin M. Differential requirement for the Polycomb repressor complex 2 in dendritic cell and tissue-resident myeloid cell homeostasis. Sci Immunol (2021) 6(63): eabf7268 PMID: 34533976.

Caleb Dawson, Postdoctoral Fellow, BSc(Hons) PhD Melbourne

Project: Visualising the immune system

Key Publication: Dawson CA, Pal B, Vaillant F, Gandolfo LC, Liu Z, Bleriot C, Ginhoux F, Smyth GK, Lindeman GJ, Mueller SN, Rios AC, Visvader JE. Tissue-resident ductal macrophages survey the mammary epithelium and facilitate tissue remodelling. Nat Cell Biol (2020) 22(5):546-558 PMID: 32341550

Ashley Ng, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, BMedSci MBBS (Hons) Melbourne FRACP FRCPA PhD Melbourne

Project: Development of normal and malignant blood cells

Key Publication: Ng AP, Coughlan HD, Hediyeh-Zadeh S, Behrens K, Johanson TM, Low MSY, Bell CC, Gilan O, Chan YC, Kueh AJ, Boudier T, Feltham R, Gabrielyan A, Di Rago L, Hyland CD, Ierino H, Mifsud S, Viney E, Willson T, Dawson MA, Allan RS, Herold MJ, Rogers K, Tarlinton DM, Smyth GK, Davis MJ, Nutt SL, Alexander WS. An Erg-driven transcriptional program controls B cell lymphopoiesis. Nat Commun (2020) 11(1):3013 PMID: 32541654.

Cyril Seillet, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, BSc MSc PhD Toulouse

Project: Biology of innate lymphoid cells

Key Publication: Seillet C, Luong K, Tellier J, Jacquelot N, Shen RD, Hickey P, Wimmer VC, Whitehead L, Rogers K, Smyth GK, Garnham AL, Ritchie ME, Belz GT. The neuropeptide VIP confers anticipatory mucosal immunity by regulating ILC3 activity. Nat Immunol (2020) 21(2):168-177 PMID: 31873294.

Julie Tellier, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, BSc MSc PhD Toulouse

Project: Antibody-secreting plasma cells

Key Publication: Tellier J, Shi W, Minnich M, Liao Y, Crawford S, Smyth GK, Kallies A, Busslinger M, Nutt SL. Blimp-1 controls plasma cell function through the regulation of immunoglobulin secretion and the unfolded protein response. Nat Immunol (2016) 17(3):323-330 PMID: 26779600.

Simon Willis, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, BSc(Hons) PhD Melbourne

Project: New treatments for multiple myeloma

Key Publication: Fedele PL, Liao Y, Gong JN, Yao Y, van Delft MF, Low MSY, Tai L, Herold MJ, Jackson JT, Teh CE, Tan T, O'Reilly LA, Tellier J, Grigoriadis G, Huang DCS, Shi W, Nutt SL, Willis SN. The transcription factor IRF4 represses proapoptotic BMF and BIM to licence multiple myeloma survival. Leukemia (2021) 35(7): 2114-2118 PMID: 33149265.

Mary Camilleri, Research Assistant

Angela D’Amico, Research Assistant

Ladina Di Rago, Research Assistant

Jacob T. Jackson, Senior Research Assistant, BSc(Hons), GradDipArts(Writing) Melbourne

Project: The role of IRF4 in haematological malignancy and the immune system

Key Publication. Jackson JT, Nasa C, Shi W, Huntington ND, Bogue CW, Alexander WS, McCormack MP. A crucial role for the homeodomain transcription factor Hhex in lymphopoiesis. Blood (2015) 125(5): 803-814. PMID: 25472970

Melissa Holmes, Research Assistant, BSc(Hons) PhD Melbourne

Project: New treatments for multiple myeloma

Junli Nie, PhD student, BSc Nankai

Project: Chromatin organisation in B cells

Le Xiong, PhD student, MBBS Changsha MSc Amsterdam

Project: Biology of innate lymphoid cells

Shengbo Zhang, PhD student, BSc Jiangsu MSc Shanghai

Project: Dendritic cell differentiation and function

Key Publication: Zhang S, Coughlan HD, Ashayeripanah M, Seizova S, Kueh AJ, Brown DV, Cao W, Jacquelot N, D'Amico A, Lew AM, Zhan Y, Tonkin CJ, Villadangos JA, Smyth GK, Chopin M, Nutt SL. Type 1 conventional dendritic cell fate and function are controlled by DC-SCRIPT. Sci Immunol (2021) 6(58): eabf4432 PMID: 33811060.