Head

Associate Professor Denise Jackson, FAIMS, PhD

Post Doctoral Fellows

Dr. Yong Liu, PhD
Dr. Karen Harris, PhD
Dr. Michael Lovelace, PhD

Research Assistant

Ms. Jana Yip, BSc(Hons)
Ms S. Cyndi Wong, BSc (Hons)

 

 

Research Overview

Heart attack and stroke are leading causes of death and disability in the western world affecting all age groups including men, women and children in the community. With the growing number of elderly Australians, atherosclerosis, diabetes, myocardial infarcts, and ischemic strokes are major health problems in terms of mortality and results in a significant burden on the health care system. In addition, drug resistance to bacterial pathogens is becoming a major health problem in hospitals in our community.

Research in the Immunoreceptor Laboratory aims to understand the cellular mechanisms of how blood clots are formed and what leads to stabilisation of blood clots. The research of Associate Professor Jackson and her team ranges from work on the cellular, molecular, physiological and biochemical aspects of thrombosis, to small animal models of in vivo thrombus formation and ischaemic stroke. In addition, research of this team examines the importance of cell surface receptors known as immunoreceptors in infection and immunity, with a particular emphasis on bacterial pathogens.

 

Research Objectives

• To study mechanisms that regulate platelet thrombus formation in mouse models
• To study immunoreceptors in the immune system in our established models
• Develop a new understanding on how immunoreceptors recognise and process bacterial pathogens to regulate immunity
• To gain knowledge on the importance of tetraspanins and immunoreceptors in regulating blood clots
• To study mechanisms of signaling and compartmentalisation in platelet responsiveness
• To obtain crystal structures of immunoreceptors and use this information to design drugs.

 

Research Highlights

• Provided first evidence that tetraspanins, CD151 and TSSC6 regulate thrombus stability in vivo
• Defined new signaling pathway for CD151 in platelets
• Defined that PECAM-1 negatively regulates anergic B cells
• Identified that immunoreceptors are important in S. typhimurium infection
• Defined that palmitoylation of PECAM-1 is important in PECAM-1-mediated cytoprotection and microdomain localisation
• Identified CEACAM1 as a regulator of platelet-collagen interactions and thrombus growth in vivo.