Laboratory Head

Professor Geoffrey A Pietersz, PhD

Staff

Dr Martha Kalkanidis, PhD
Dr Owen Proudfoot, PhD
Ms Sandra Esparon, BSc
Mr Jason Choon Kit Tang, BSc (Hons)

Research Overview

This laboratory is involved in designing novel vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases. Our main strategy is to investigate approaches for delivering tumour associated proteins to immune cells called dendritic cells, so that they can activate killer cells that can target cancer cells and destroy them.

We use expertise in organic chemistry to design these novel carriers. Oxidised mannan is such a carrier that has been used in numerous clinical trials with promising results, and at present is in commercial development. This carrier is also effective as a mucosal adjuvant that can be given intranasally as a potential vaccine for influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and anthrax.

Two other delivery systems in development are a membrane translocating peptide that can deliver proteins or peptides to immune cells, and mannosylated proteins/peptides made using novel chemical methodology so that they target the immune cells.

 

Research Objectives

• Develop vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases
• Develop novel adjuvants
• Design novel antigen delivery systems by utilising organic chemical methodology
• Design more effective DNA vaccines

 

Research Highlights

• Demonstrated the utility of mannan as a mucosal adjuvant for human and avian influenza vaccine. When given intranasally mannan increased the immunogenicity of inactivated H1N1 and H5N1 virus and induced IgA and IgG in lungs and serum
• In collaboration with the Immunology & Vaccine Laboratory we have demonstrated that the membrane translocating peptide, penetratin, can be used to deliver whole recombinant tumour antigens by chemical conjugation or CD4 and CD8 epitopes as tandem peptides to induce protective immune responses in mice
• We have also developed novel mannosylated antigens and demonstrated that these antigens are superior to the unmannosylated antigen in inducing protective immune responses in mice