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.

Video of the week: Dr Sara Prickett and peanut allergy

Dr Sara Prickett talks about allergy research and how she got into it (via parasitology!).
Video link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yowZqNN5K08

In May 2006 the Australian Food Allergy Foundation (AFAF) was created to fund Australian scientific research into food allergies and anaphylaxis. This presentation, part of a series, highlights the world leading Australian research enabled by AFAF grants during our first ten years.

Dr Sara Prickett joined Monash University / Alfred Health as result of a grant from the foundation. Sara joined the allergy team led by Professor Robyn O’Hehir AO and Emeritus Professor Jennifer Rolland, which has created a world-first peanut allergy vaccine. With the vaccine now on the path to commercialisation through Aravax they are confident of a major global breakthrough in the treatment of peanut allergy once clinical trials begin.

For more information please visit www.foodallergy.org.au
To see more about the research:  Allergy lab

‘Retraining’ the immune system of patients with allergies

L-R: Allergy lab colleagures Dr Sara Prickett, Prof Robyn O'Hehir
and Emeritus Prof Jenny Rolland

Professor Robyn O'Hehir gives an overview of her research into immune system components involved in reducing allergic response.

Turning off the T cells in allergy

An aberrant allergic (IgE) response to a usually harmless stimulus (allergen) is orchestrated by a population of white blood cells known as helper T cells.  By reining in the activities of these T cells, it is possible to reduce the severity of the allergy.

Dr Sara Prickett - Project Grant to investigate T cell role in allergy

Dr Sara Prickett (Dept of Immunology) is CIA on a small project grant, for generating pilot data,  from the Monash Strategic Grant scheme commencing January 2013. Sara is a research fellow in Prof Robyn O'Hehir's and Prof Jenny Rolland's Allergy Laboratory. Her research interests are primarily in allergen-specific T cell responses. See Sara's Monash Researcher profile.