Projects

Understanding the impact of asplenia and hyposplenism on the immune system

The spleen is an important organ of the immune system, and it is often removed for the treatment of different medical conditions, to perform surgery on nearby organs and removed as a consequence of physical trauma (asplenia). However, some people are born without a spleen (congenital asplenia) or their spleen does not function due to haematological blood disorders, cancer and autoimmune diseases (hyposplenism).

Living without a functioning spleen increases a person’s risk of infection with encapsulated bacteria that can cause pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis. People living without a spleen need to monitor for signs of infection and are often required to take lifelong preventative antibiotics.

For people with hyposplenism it is less clear how their immune systems are affected and if their conditions impact the effectiveness of their immune responses to different pathogens.

Collaborating with clinicians from Monash Health, Alfred Health and the patient organisation, Spleen Australia, our research team is dedicated to:

profiling the immune systems of people who have had a splenectomy or live with hyposplenism to identify impairments
studying the impact of asplenia and reduced spleen function in immune responses to vaccinations and a range of infections
understanding the lived experience of people with asplenia and hyposplenism
testing novel solutions to preserve the spleen, in collaboration with surgical teams across Victoria.

Student opportunities

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Understanding the impact of hyposplenism on the immune system

The aim of this project is to identify immune impairments in different cohorts of people who live with hyposplenism. The student/s will characterise immunodeficiencies including changes in the proportion and function of immune cells e.g. T cells and B cells and the effect of immune impairments on the production of immune mediators and inflammation.

Students will learn an array of immunological techniques including cellular and serological using flow cytometric based assays (both conventional and spectral flow cytometry), ELISA and neutralising antibody assays.

Students will learn high dimensional data analysis approaches and work within a multidisciplinary team of virologists, immunologists, clinicians, and nurses across Monash Health and Alfred Health.

There will be opportunities to gain experience in coordinating clinical studies, performing clinical research and collaborating with consumer health organisations like Spleen Australia.

Top-up scholarships are available.

Open to

Honours
Masters by research
PhD

Supervisors

Gabriela Khoury

Contact

gabriela.khoury@burnet.edu.au

Immunity to SARS‐CoV‐2 post‐vaccination and infection in people who live without a functioning spleen

The aim of this project is to profile the immune response to COVID‐19 vaccination in people who live without a functioning spleen and to characterise immunodeficiencies within this diverse group.

Cellular and serological responses will be measured at multiple time points before and post‐vaccination using flow cytometric based assays, ELISA and neutralising antibody assays.

Students will work within a multidisciplinary team of virologists, immunologists, clinicians, and nurses across Monash Health and Alfred Health.

There will be opportunities to coordinate collection and processing of blood samples taken from participants and to gain experience collaborating with consumer health organisation Spleen Australia.