Researchers
- Professor Luc Delriviere
- Professor Gerald Waneck
- Mr Andrew Mitchell
- Dr Yan Wu Tian
- Dr Wen Hua Huang
The broad focus of their laboratory is to understand the role of innate versus adaptive immunity in organ transplantation, particularly in chronic allograft rejection.
Chronic rejection is the main cause of eventual graft failure, and is resistant to drugs currently used to suppress adaptive immune cells such as T and B lymphocytes.
The group is particularly interested in the immunobiology of NK cells - innate lymphocytes that have receptors for MHC transplantation antigens which are functionally different from receptors found on adaptive T cells.
The goal of the group is to improve long-term survival of human organ transplants through basic research using comparative genomics, histocompatibility immunogenetics, and preclinical organ transplant microsurgery in experimental small animal models. This exemplifies the concept of translational research: ‘from benchtop to bedside’.
The group is under the surgical leadership of Professor Luc Delriviere, School of Surgery, and the scientific leadership of Professor Gerry Waneck, School of Medicine and Pharmacology.
Research
The group’s past and present research interests include:
- surgical and survival outcomes following clinical transplantation
- role of innate NK cells versus adaptive T cells in transplantation immunobiology
- small animal microsurgery models for preclinical organ transplantation
- heterotopic mouse trachea transplants as a model for human bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome
- orthotopic rat liver transplants as a model for human graft tolerance versus rejection
- role of the liver in the pathogensis of human hereditary hameochromatosis
University information
CRICOS Code: 00126G
