Tracking the pathway to immunity, one cell at a time

Plasma B-cell making antibody: Shutterstock

Why do some vaccines create long-lived responses and others don't? Monash immunology researchers Dr Marcus Robinson and Professor David Tarlinton are leading a team which is teasing out some answers.

Vaccines work their magic by effectively creating immune cells that are long-lived, often for over decades. These immune cells create both a protective barrier that can prevent or minimize re-infection and a memory that allows us to recognize an old invader like a virus and to kill it before it causes disease. The antibody making the barrier in our blood is itself made by long-lived plasma cells. While the importance of these cells has always been known, how and when they are generated following a vaccination has remained a mystery.

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Never a better time for immunology, says Department head

Professor David Tarlinton describes the Immunology department's
research. Video 2:07 min

by Anne Crawford

Professor David Tarlinton, one of Australia's foremost B-cell immunologists, reflects on his time in the field, his role heading Monash University’s Department of Immunology and Pathology, and tells of his own laboratory’s work. He points to two exciting new laboratories that will soon join the Department’s existing groups.