Thinking outside the box pays dividends for research on obesity and immune function

Immune system function is impaired in obese mice.
Image: WIKIMEDIA, SCHUMINWEB

by Anne Crawford

In 2010, the Department of Immunology at Monash University held a competition encouraging post-doctoral researchers to “think outside the square”, challenging them to design a project outside conventional thinking and their usual area of expertise. That competition, with a prize of $10,000, mushroomed into an NHMRC-funded project employing two post-doctoral researchers and two honours students. It culminated in 2016 with a paper reporting on the influence of obesity on allergic asthma – and some unexpected findings.