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41 Australian and New Zealand Society ...
ASI NEWS                                              JUNE 2019

                                     DAY OF IMMUNOLOGY
                                     APRIL 29TH P20

10
A GENTLE ADVOCATE,
                          41
                          ICB: DAY OF IMMUNOLOGY
                                                    CONTACT US
                                                    AUSTRALIAN AND NEW
                                                    ZEALAND SOCIETY FOR
                                                    IMMUNOLOGY INC.

AN INSPIRATION AND        SPECIALS
                                                    ASI INC. SECRETARIAT

EDUCATOR
                                                    PO BOX 1371,
                          NEW WAYS TO SHOWCASE      MITCHAM NORTH 3132
MARGARET BAIRD WOMEN IN   RESEARCH AND TO MAKE IT   PH: 03 8393 9388
IMMUNOLOGY AWARD          MORE ACCESSIBLE           immunology.org.au/contact-us
41 Australian and New Zealand Society ...
48th Annual Scientific Meeting of
                                            The Australian and New Zealand
                                            Society for Immunology
                                            Adelaide Convention Centre, South Australia
                                            8 - 12 December 2019

                                            www.asi2019.org                                      SAVE
                                                                                               THE
                                            The Organising Committee cordially invite
                                            you to participate in the 48th Annual Scientific  8
                                                                                                   DATE
                                                                                              -12 D
                                            Meeting of The Australasian Society for                ece
                                                                                                ADEL mber 20
                                            Immunology taking place from 8-12                       AIDE     1
                                                                                                        , SA 9
                                            December 2019 in Adelaide, South Australia.
                                            The Conference aims to provide
                                            another innovative and dynamic scientific program.

                                            We are putting together a varied and balanced program
                                            spread over 5 days to showcase the best immunological research from
                                            Australia and around the world. With a wide-range of topics from tumour
                                            immunology, inflammation, autoimmunity, infectious disease, translational
                                            immunology and more, we will ensure there is something for everyone.

                                            Preparations are well underway and we anticipate an intellectually
Key Dates                                   challenging time, as well as an enjoyable opportunity to experience
                                            South Australia and its unique environment. The Organising Committee
Registration Open
                                            are preparing an engaging social program to give you a flavour of South
3 May 2019
                                            Australian culture and cuisine.
Call for Abstracts Open                     Adelaide is a modern, dynamic, vibrant and lifestyle city with direct access
3 May 2019                                  to Australia’s best wine regions and stunning scenery, making it an ideal
                                            destination for pre and post-Conference touring. It is home to world-class
Call for Abstracts Close
                                            restaurants, a diverse nightlife, stylish shops and more.
30 August 2019
                                            We look forward to welcoming you to Adelaide!
Abstract Notifications
27 September 2019                           Adelaide Convention Centre
                                            The Adelaide Convention Centre is conveniently located in the heart of
Early-bird / Presenter Registration Close
                                            the city centre and nestled within the beauty of the Riverbank Precinct,
4 October 2019
                                            surrounded by parklands and the River Torrens.
Special Interest Group Workshops            Close proximity to the medical hub, entertainment, cultural and sport
8 December 2019                             precinct, the Centre is a short walk to international and boutique hotels
                                            and accommodation. Public transport, the Adelaide Railway Station and a
ASI2018 Conference
                                            taxi ramp are on our doorstep.
8 – 12 December 2019
41 Australian and New Zealand Society ...
ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

 CONTENTS
 EDITORIAL............................................................. 4   DOI IN VICTORIA.................................................. 21
 Curiosity Begins from a Conversation                                       Gabriela Khoury
 Angelica Lau
                                                                            DOI IN NSW......................................................... 25
 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT.......................... 6                      Public Forum on Asthma, Centenary Institute...25
 John Fraser                                                                Helen McGuire

 NOTE FROM THE HONARARY SECRETARY ...... 7                                  DoI Museum of Human Disease at UNSW........26
 Elissa Deenick                                                             Fabio Luciani
                                                                            Day of Immunology: Garvan Discovery
 WOMEN’S INITIATIVE ON THE MOVE ................ 9
                                                                            Tour for school students......................................27
 Kylie Quinn
                                                                            Angelica Lau
 A GENTLE ADVOCATE, AN INSPIRATION                                          The Day of Immunology: Fake Wounds
 AND EDUCATOR ..................................................10          and Vaccination Campaigns ............................. 30
 Margaret Baird Women in Immunology Award                                   Sinead Henderson, Richard Charlesworth
 Kylie Quinn                                                                and Natkunam Ketheesan
 STAY TUNED: VSP PROGRAM............................. 12                    DOI SNAPS FROM SOUTH AUSTRALIA............ 32
 Stuart Mannering
                                                                            DOI SNAPS FROM NEW ZEALAND................... 33
 BRANCH REPORTS.............................................. 14
 WA Branch Report............................................... 14         DOI 2019 IN THE MEDIA....................................... 34
 Bree Foley, WA Councillor                                                  Gabriela Khoury

 QLD Branch Report.............................................. 16         TRAVEL REPORT................................................. 38
 Sumaira Hasnain, QLD Councillor                                            Keystone Symposium on B Cell-T Cell
                                                                            Interactions, Keystone, Colorado, USA
 VIC/TAS Branch Report....................................... 17
                                                                            Oanh Nguyen
 Scott Mueller, VIC/TAS Councillor
                                                                            ICB: DAY OF IMMUNOLOGY SPECIALS.............. 41
 NSW Branch Report............................................. 18
                                                                            New ways of showcasing our content
 Helen McGuire, NSW branch Councillor                                       Anne La Flamme
 NEWS FROM FIMSA............................................. 19            PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST............................ 46
 Joanna Groom                                                               Our Sustaining Members
 DAY OF IMMUNOLOGY 2019.............................. 20                    AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND
 Gabriela Khoury                                                            SOCIETY FOR IMMUNOLOGY INC..................... 49

                               9                                               20                                                       38
WOMEN’S INITIATIVE                                        DAY OF IMMUNOLOGY                             KEYSTONE SYMPOSIUM
ON THE MOVE                                               This year events were                         ON B CELL-T CELL
A conversation is                                         hosted at 23 participating                    INTERACTIONS
happening and I                                           institutes around Australia
                                                                                                        Dr Oanh Nguyen,
encourage you to be a                                     and New Zealand.
                                                                                                        University of Melbourne,
part of it.

                                                                                                                                                     03
41 Australian and New Zealand Society ...
EDITORIAL                                  ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

        EDITORIAL:
        CURIOSITY BEGINS FROM A CONVERSATION
        Angelica Lau, Newsletter Editor
        newsletter@immunology.org.au

    With the successful launch of
    Day of Immunology celebrations
    across Australia and New
    Zealand on 29th April, what
    better time is there than now
    to engage and recruit new
    generation of scientists? The
    point of an outreach program
    is no doubt to raise awareness
    for immunology and medical
    research, but more importantly it
    serves the purpose of educating
    the public about facts and myths
    in research, interventions and
    developments. These are golden
    opportunities for us to clarify
    any misconceptions surrounding
    some of these important aspects
    of medicine.

    In this edition, it is my delight
    to present to you the amazing
    effort many volunteers and
    fellow researchers have put in to
    make this educational initiative a
    reality. This is most fitting as ASI
    have just launched the Margaret
    Baird Women in Immunology
    Award (read more about this in
    the Women’s Initiative Program
    section), to honor and celebrate
    the legacy of Margaret Baird
    who was a phenomenal teacher
    and female scientist in the
    Immunology community.
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41 Australian and New Zealand Society ...
EDITORIAL                                                                                     ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

A new campaign to connect            At the Studio: Artwork Submissions
you with the next generation
scientists out there through art
and conversation, to bring about
excitement and instill inspiration
wherever they are.

Carrying on with the same
enthusiasm, we have a new
campaign to connect you with
the next generation scientists
out there through art and
conversation, to bring about
excitement and instill inspiration
wherever they are. In order to
encourage regular conversations
about science between students,
parents, teachers, scientists,
we are now accepting artwork
submissions from school students
throughout years 1-12 featuring
these following themes:              ARTWORK BY DAMIAN TANGYE, AGE 11, “THE B CELLS”. “DAD TELLS ME HE WORKS ON B
                                     CELLS; AFTER DOING SOME READING THIS IS HOW I PICTURED A “B CELL” WOULD LOOK!”
• What makes up our immune
  system?

• Tricking the immune system to
  fight cancer

• How does our immune system
  fight diseases?

• Autoimmunity: when the
  immune system goes crazy

• Allergy: Bees, cheese to sneeze

We highly recommend ASI
members to encourage students
to participate and have their
artworks featured on ASI social
media and Newsletter.

So if you know any enthusiastic
children or students with an
unstoppable curiosity for science
(and Immunology in particular),
who loves to be creative – start
the conversation, check out the
Studio and turn science into art!

Submit now to newsletter@
immunology.org.au

                                     ARTWORK BY CALLAN PHAN, AGE 12, PLASMA CELL IS COOL. ”I HAD TO DO A SCIENCE
                                     PROJECT ON SOMETHING COOL AND MY DAD WORKS ON PLASMA CELLS, SO WE MADE A
                                     PLASMA CELL TOGETHER. I GOT 10/10 FOR IT!”

                                                                                                                         5
41 Australian and New Zealand Society ...
PRESIDENT’S REPORT                                                                       ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

         LETTER FROM THE
         PRESIDENT
         JOHN FRASER, ASI President
         president@immunology.org.au

     Dear Colleagues,                      ASI Advanced Immunology                small number of copies are being
                                           School 22-25 July 2019 at Iluka        printed anyway, most of which
     Many will be aware of the efforts
                                           Retreat. The theme for the 2019        probably went straight onto a
     over the past 6 months to improve
                                           AIS is ‘Immune Life’. There are 60     shelf. There is one added benefit.
     the ASI web portal. Council has
                                           places available with priority to      Submitting authors will no longer
     invested in the development of a
                                           our new and emerging members           be charged for colour images.
     new portal that should go live by
                                           and so far 45 places have been
     mid-June. Our general manager,                                               As part of the expanding Women’s
                                           filled. It would be wonderful if
     Tyani Chan, has been working                                                 Initiative programme we have
                                           we could fill all the places. Thanks
     tirelessly on this project and its                                           launched the Margaret Baird
                                           to all those who have organised
     launch will coincide with the                                                Women in Immunology Award.
                                           this school and who are giving of
     official change of our society name                                          This exciting lecturer’s award is
                                           their time to teach.
     from Australasian to Australia and                                           open to any ASI member who
     New Zealand. It looks terrific and    The IUIS 2019 conference in            can demonstrate a commitment
     most importantly has a modern,        Beijing is shaping up well and         to mentoring and support of
     secure backend to handle the          I’m sure many ASI members will         women in science. Margaret was
                                           be attending. We did note the          a dedicated supported of ASI
     This year we have launched a          very poor gender balance in the        and a model of enthusiasm and

     tremendous new initiative -
                                           list of invited plenary and major      tireless support for young women
                                           symposium speakers which               scientists.
     the ASI Advanced Immunology           prompted a letter of concern from
     School 22-25 July 2019 at Iluka       ASI to the IUIS President, Alberto
                                                                                  Kind regards

     Retreat. The theme for the 2019       Mantovani.                             John
     AIS is ‘Immune Life’.                 I have sad news for those of you
                                           who like to sit over coffee with
     processing of our all-important
     membership data. Thank you to
                                           the latest edition of Immunology       As part of the expanding
     those members who have acted as
                                           and Cell Biology. There will be no
                                                                                  Women’s Initiative programme
                                           more print copies of ICB. Most
     testers for the new site.
                                           people now read the journal on-
                                                                                  we have launched the Margaret
     This year we have launched a          line while still drinking coffee and   Baird Women in Immunology
     tremendous new initiative - the       avoiding keyboard spills. Only a       Award.

                                                    Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology Inc.
                                                    PO Box 1371, Mitcham North 3132 VIC
                                                    P: +61 3 8393 9388 W: immunology.org.au/contact-us

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41 Australian and New Zealand Society ...
SECRETARY’S REPORT                                                                     ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

    IMPORTANT NOTE
    FROM THE HONORARY SECRETARY
    ELISSA DEENICK, Honorary Secretary
    secretary@immunology.org.au

It’s been a while since I wrote      streamlined. Some details about       If you have more complex
a piece for the newsletter but       those call follow below.              questions about policy, council,
there’s been lots happening.                                               awards etc these are the kinds of
                                     Also I thought I’d take this
                                                                           things I can answer.
We’ve had calls for International    opportunity to clarify the
travel awards and bursaries for      difference between the Honorary       Award Information
IUIS going out earlier this year -   secretary (currently me, Elissa
thanks for all your applications,    Deenick) and the secretariat –        International Travel Award
it’s always exciting to be able to   something I found confusing prior     A reminder that we now have
support our members traveling to     to becoming secretary and I’m         a second call for applications
present the work they’re doing.      sure many other people do too.        for the Gordon Ada Award. The

Coming up there will be calls for    The Honorary secretary position
more awards – the Jared Purton,      is an elected position on the ASI
another round of International       executive and council. In contrast,   A reminder that we now have
travel awards (postgrad, postdoc     the secretariat is the company        a second call for applications
and Gordon Ada) as well as the       we employ to carry out a lot of       for the Gordon Ada Award. The
new Margaret Baird award and         the administrative matters for        second-round call for Postgrad
bursaries to attend the Annual       ASI. If you have questions about
                                                                           and Postdoc awards continues
meeting which is being held          your membership, payments,
                                     due dates for applications etc –
                                                                           unchanged. These applications
                                     your first point of contact should    will be due in September.
Coming up there will be calls for    be the secretariat on admin@
more awards – the Jared Purton,      immunology.og.au. If they can’t
                                                                           second-round call for Postgrad
another round of International
                                     answer your questions directly
                                                                           and Postdoc awards continues
                                     they can forward it to the most
travel awards (postgrad, postdoc     appropriate person on council.
                                                                           unchanged. These applications
and Gordon Ada) as well as the                                             will be due in September.

new Margaret Baird award and                                               I encourage all those planning to
bursaries to attend the Annual                                             apply for an International Travel
                                     If you have questions about
meeting which is being held in                                             award to be thinking about
                                     your membership, payments,
Adelaide this year.
                                                                           those already and contacting
                                     due dates for applications etc –      labs/institutes that you might
in Adelaide this year. By then       your first point of contact           want to visit now. If you have a
our new website should be
                                     should be the secretariat.            well-planned itinerary it greatly
up and running and make the                                                strengthens your application.
application procedure much more

                                                                                                                  7
41 Australian and New Zealand Society ...
SECRETARY’S REPORT                                                                             ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

    A reminder that the Jared Purton       travel to carry out experiments            engage in the ASI meetings
                                           in another lab, money for                  but are still struggling to find
    award is not just another travel       pilot experiments, support for             the money to attend. However,
    award. This award really looks         someone coming back from                   these awards will be judged
    to fund things that are a bit          parental leave etc                         separately from the 1-3 post-
    different and don’t fit under                                                     PhD awards to make sure
                                           Travel Bursaries for Annual
    funding for other awards               Meeting
                                                                                      that early postdocs are not
                                                                                      disadvantaged by this change.
                                           I’m also pleased to let you know
    Jared Purton Award                     that we’ve made a few changes to        2. We’ve included research
                                           the bursaries to attend the annual         assistants under the postgrad
    Applications for the Jared Purton
                                           meeting in Adelaide this year:             bursary category. This was to
    Award will be due in August.
                                                                                      recognise that we also have
    A reminder that the Jared Purton       1. We’ve introduced a second               members who are RAs who
    award is not just another travel          post-doc category for those             also often travel to present at
    award. Applications that read like        who are 3-6 years post-PhD –            our annual meetings.
    a travel award application (e.g. I        previously only those up to 3
    want to go to a conference and            years post-PhD were eligible.        Margaret Baird Award
    then travel to visit a few labs) are      We made this change because          This new award has just been
    very unlikely to score well. This         we recognised that many              introduced – please see the
    award really looks to fund things         people, particularly those           current updates in the Women’s
    that are a bit different and don’t        returning from an overseas           Initiative column on page 10.
    fit under funding for other awards        postdoc, may be more than 3
    e.g. Travel to learn a technique,         years post-PhD and want to

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41 Australian and New Zealand Society ...
WOMEN’S INITIATIVE ON THE MOVE                                                          ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

    WOMEN’S INITIATIVE
    ON THE MOVE
    KYLIE QUINN, Women’s Initiative Coordinator
    kylie.quinn@rmit.edu.au

While our community has made           kinds of speakers that we want to
                                                                            If you want to contribute to the
                                                                            development of formal policy on
progress with gender equity and        hear from at IUIS2019, and at any
diversity, there are also reminders    meeting.
that we are not “there” yet-                                                Gender Equity and Inclusion for
there remains a lot of work to
                                       ASI places a high value on
                                                                            IUIS, contact the IUIS Secretary,
                                       diversity, as outlined in our
be done. As noted in the John’s
                                       Gender Equity and Inclusion
                                                                            Roslyn Kemp.
president opening address in this
                                       Policy. Given the discordance with
newsletter, for many of us seeing
                                       our values, ASI tendered a formal    Aotearoa/New Zealand, and our
the speakers announcement for
                                       complaint to IUIS, alongside other   definition of women includes
the IUIS2019 Conference showing
                                       immunological societies. IUIS also   cis women, trans women and
a lack of gender equity and a
                                       places a high value on diversity     femme/feminine identifying
lack of diversity in general was
                                       and they responded to these          genderqueer and non-binary
a disappointing and frustrating
                                       complaints with transparency,        folks. While this may have been
reminder. This truly is a cause that
                                       an acknowledgement that the          implicit in the goals of the
we must continue to fight for.
                                       speaker line-up did not reflect      Women’s Initiative, we thought
For the many female researchers        their values and have pursued this   that it is important to make it
out there this is more than            issue with commitment to devise      explicit too, on our Website,
a glaring inequity – it is a           a formal policy on diversity and     on our applications and to our
missed opportunity. Diversity          inclusion.                           community. If there is anything
                                       So, a conversation is happening      else we can be doing to create a
                                                                            more inclusive community, we
Diversity is a strength; it brings     and I encourage you to be a part
                                                                            would appreciate hearing from
new perspectives, it brings            of it.
                                                                            you.
creative solutions, it is dynamic      If you want to contribute to the
and responds to the world              development of formal policy on

around us rather than setting up
                                       Gender Equity and Inclusion for      Our goal is to support women
paradigms to be adhered to.
                                       IUIS, contact the IUIS Secretary,
                                                                            working within immunology in
                                       Roslyn Kemp.
                                                                            Australia and Aotearoa/New
is a strength; it brings new
                                       To Those We Hope to Support          Zealand, and our definition of
perspectives, it brings creative       Finally, I wanted to clarify an      women includes cis women,
solutions, it is dynamic and           important point about the            trans women and femme/
responds to the world around us        purpose of the ASI Women’s
                                                                            feminine identifying genderqueer
                                       Initiative. Our goal is to support
rather than setting up paradigms
                                       women working within
                                                                            and non-binary folks.
to be adhered to. Those are the
                                       immunology in Australia and

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41 Australian and New Zealand Society ...
MARGARET BAIRD WOMEN IN IMMUNOLOGY AWARD                     ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

        A GENTLE ADVOCATE,
        AN INSPIRATION AND EDUCATOR
        MARGARET BAIRD WOMEN IN IMMUNOLOGY AWARD
        KYLIE QUINN, Women’s Initiative Coordinator

                                                      In the column for this quarter, I
                                                      find myself reflecting on notable
                                                      characters who have supported
                                                      equity and diversity within ASI,
                                                      how far we have yet to go and
                                                      what we can do to support equity
                                                      and diversity right now.

                                                      But first I wanted to put a
                                                      spotlight on a new, very special
                                                      award for ASI.

                                                      The Margaret Baird Women in
                                                      Immunology Lectureship
                                                      Immunology in Aotearoa/New
                                                      Zealand and ASI owes a great
                                                      debt to Professor Margaret
                                                      Baird. She was a co-founder
                                                      of Immunet, which is the local
                                                      branch meeting for ASI. She was
                                                      on the organising committee for
                                                      the first Tran-Tasman immunology
                                                      meeting, laying the groundwork
                                                      for ASI as we know it today. She
                                                      was a local ASI councillor and was
                                                      ASI Newsletter Editor for many
                                                      years. To recognise her many
                                                      contributions, Margaret received
                                                      the Derrick Rowley Medal in 2013.

                                                      Beyond her role in ASI, Margaret
                                                      was a rare individual. She was
                                                      an Emeritus Professor in the
                                                      Microbiology and Immunology
                                                      Department at Te Whare Wananga
     MARGARET BAIRD
                                                      o Otago/the University of Otago.
                                                      For many years, she led a group

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MARGARET BAIRD WOMEN IN IMMUNOLOGY AWARD                                                  ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

Her commitment to and joy in           to women immunologists and             must demonstrate leadership in
                                       to the immunology community            supporting and mentoring women
the pursuit of new knowledge           as a whole. Roslyn Kemp, Ries          in immunology.
was clear to all of those              Langley and a number of others
that worked with her. It was
                                                                              For further details or questions,
                                       then drove the establishment
                                                                              please refer to the ASI website or
infectious...                          of a trans-Tasman lectureship-
                                                                              email me directly at kylie.quinn@
                                       the Margaret Baird Women in
                                                                              rmit.edu.au.
                                       Immunology Award.
                                                                              Personally, I am so happy to see
focused on Dendritic Cell Biology      This lectureship will be a series of
                                                                              Margaret’s legacy recognised in
in infection models and cancer.        guest lectures across Aotearoa/
                                                                              this way and grateful to those
Her commitment to and joy in the       New Zealand and Australia,
                                                                              who organised it. I strongly
pursuit of new knowledge was           focusing on the applicant’s
                                                                              encourage you to apply for
clear to all of those that worked      research, but also including
                                                                              this award and, importantly, to
with her. It was infectious and it     perspectives on equity and
                                                                              encourage others to apply for this
was fully on display when, after       balance in science careers.
                                                                              award. I look forward to seeing
retiring, she took up a Research       While not limited to applicants
                                                                              the incredible candidates that are
Professorship in the Department        that are women, applicants
                                                                              highlighted in this process.
of Pathology with Prof Antony
Braithwaite- she just couldn’t
give up the pipette. Margaret
also taught many generations of
young immunologists. Those of
us fortunate to be her students
were treated with respect and
care while she guided us to reach
new heights in our careers- she
was an incredible teacher. She
achieved all of this because of her
wonderful character: intellectually
engaged, warm, open-minded, a
passionate advocate for science
and for women, and an inspiring
orator.

She was an incredible teacher.
She achieved all of this because
of her wonderful character:
intellectually engaged, warm,
open-minded, a passionate
advocate for science and women,
and an inspiring orator.

Margaret passed away in
September 2016, but it feels right
to remember her contributions to
our community with a celebration
of these last traits- her support of
women in research and her ability
to deliver an incredible talk. In
2017, the NZ-ASI AGM agreed to
propose a new award to ASI, to
highlight Margaret’s commitment

                                                                                                                     11
ASI’S VISITING SPEAKER PROGRAM                                                            ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

         STAY TUNED
         UPCOMING VISITING SPEAKERS IN
         AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
         STUART MANNERING,
         Visiting Speaker Coordinator
         smannering@svi.edu.au

                     Donna Faber            have been major achievements                         visit, Victoria,
                     Hosted by David        that have provided a basis for                       South Australia
                     Tarlinton, Monash      the field to progress. Perhaps of                    and NZ. Mirjam
                     University. Donna      greater significance is Donna’s                      will be here 6th
                     will visit Victoria,   contribution to the 5-centre                         to 19th October.
                     NSW, ACT and           program entitled “Tissue                             She will be visiting
     Queensland. She arrives in             compartmentalization of human                        Adelaide (6-
     Melbourne on August 14th, after        lymphocytes”, which is a truly        10/10), Melbourne (10-16/10) and
     attending the IgV meeting on           remarkable undertaking to map         Auckland (16-19/10).
     Friday 16th August she will travel     lymphocytes to tissues over
                                                                                  Research Interests
     to Sydney (18th, 19th Aug), then to    the lifespan of humans using a
                                            remarkable resource, tissues from     Mirjam has made seminal
     Canberra (20-21st Aug) and finally
                                            organ donors. Part of this work       contributions to two topics
     to Brisbane (22-23rd Aug).
                                            was published this year and last      of immunology: B cells and
     Research Interests                     year in Immunity and in the last      Primary Immunodeficiencies
     Donna has made seminal                 year in Science Immunology. It        (PIDs). Mirjam has specific
     contributions to two areas of          is easy to see how this study is      interests and expertise in V(D)
     Immunology. One is in resident         going to be the basis of many         J recombination and the impact
     memory T cells (Trm), a topic of       future studies. Equally important     of defects in this pathway on B
     great interest to ASI members.         is that Donna is particularly         cell differentiation and function,
     Her specific interests and             interested in collaborating with      with a focus on severe combined
     expertise in localisation and          groups that have an interest in the   immunodeficiency (SCID)
     function of Trm in the lung, and       data she and her colleagues are       and predominantly antibody
     their requirement for anti-viral       generating.                           deficiency (PAD). The most
     responses have made important                                                significant contributions to the
     contributions. Equally her analysis    Mirjam                                field were the identification of
     of the transcriptional networks        van der Burg                          four new candidate genes for
     required for the development           Hosted by Emily Edwards from          PIDS (genes mutated in PIDs).
     and activation of these cells          Monash University. Mirjam will        Two related to SCID and two

12
ASI’S VISITING SPEAKER PROGRAM                                                          ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

related to PAD. Mirjam’s research     insights into many disease states                    Michael Gerner
contributed to Erasmus MC being       such as COPD, obesity, cancer,                       Hosted by
recognized as a Jeffrey Mondell       and neurodegeneration.                               Cameron Bastow,
Foundation Centre for Excellence                                                           from University of
in PIDS in 2010.                                     Kate Jeffrey
                                                                                           South Australia.
                                                     Hosted by Joanna                      Micheal will visit
                Joachim Schultze                     Groom, from           Melbourne from Monday 19th to
                 Hosted by                           WEHI, Kate will       Friday 23rd August 2019. He will
                 Stephen Turner                      visit WEHI 6th        be in Adelaide from Saturday 24th
                 from Monash                         August (VIC)          August until he flies to Sydney
                 University.                                               on Tuesday 27th August. He flies
                                      Hudson Institute 8th August (VIC),
                 Joachim will                                              home from Sydney on Saturday
                                      Garvan 13th August (NSW) and UQ
visit Queensland, NSW, ACT and                                             31st August.
                                      15th August (QLD)
Victoria. He arrives in Brisbane on
                                      Research Interests                   Research interests
November 10th and leaves from
Adelaide after attending the ASI      Dr Jeffrey has made                  Michael Gerner, has made
meeting.                              significant contributions to our     a significant contribution to
                                      understanding of the intersection    the field of dendritic cell and
Research Interests
                                      of chromatin accessibility,          lymphocyte biology. He has
Prof Schultze is Director of                                               established the analytical
                                      epigenetics, non-coding RNAs
Genomics and Immunoregulation                                              technique of histo-cytometry.
                                      and transcriptional control in
research program, at the LIMES                                             Briefly, histo-cytometry
                                      innate immune cells and how
(Life and Medical Sciences                                                 combines the high-quantitative
                                      dysregulation of these events can
Bonn) Institute at the University                                          analysis and robust cell
                                      lead to immunological disease.
of Bonn. In addition, he is the                                            identification capabilities
                                      Her publication record in multiple
Founding Director of the Single                                            of flow cytometry with the
                                      high impact journals reflects
Cell Genomics and Epigenomics                                              spatial information provided by
                                      her important contributions to
platform at the University of                                              regular immunofluorescence
                                      these fields. In particular, Kate
Bonn and the German Center                                                 imaging techniques. Utilising
                                      is recognized for the discovery
for Neurodegenerative Diseases.                                            this technology, Michael has
                                      of the first inhibitor of the
Since 2018, he is also the Speaker                                         published a number of high-
                                      bromodomain and extra terminal
of the Bonn site of the newly                                              impact papers in Nature, Cell,
                                      (BET) family of epigenetic readers
formed West German Genome                                                  and Immunity centred around
                                      and the demonstration of its
Center, a center with more than                                            the precise microanatomical
                                      protective effects in inflammation
70 groups focusing on genomics                                             locations of immune cells and
                                      (Nicodeme, Jeffrey et al Nature,
research. Furthermore, he is                                               how this relates to their function,
                                      2010, cited >950 times). This
the designated coordinator of                                              information that is lost upon
                                      manuscript laid the ground
the national NGS competence                                                normal tissue dissociation
                                      for what is now and extremely
network, funded by the German                                              required for flow cytometry.
                                      active area in both academia
Research Foundation (DFG). He                                              Michael’s microspcopy expertise
                                      and industry. The bromodomain
has a sustained track record in                                            further branches out to include
                                      inhibitor that was discovered by
developing new systems biology                                             tissue clearing techniques which
                                      Dr. Jeffrey in collaboration with
approaches for unravelling                                                 best preserve reporter protein and
                                      GlaxoSmithKline is currently
complex transcriptional and                                                fluorophore detection, whole-
                                      in clinical trials. Now as an
epigenomic programs within                                                 organ confocal microscopy and
                                      independent investigator, Kate
immune cell lineages. He as                                                2-photon intra-vital microscopy.
                                      has discovered a novel immune-
applied these approaches
                                      restricted epigenetic reader         Paul Kubes
to generate paradigm shifts
                                      protein, SP140, essential for
in our understanding how                                                   Hosted by Tonia Woodberry, ANU.
                                      macrophage identity (Mehta et
transcriptional heterogeneity                                              Paul’s trip has been delayed for
                                      al, Science Immunology, 2017).
at a single cell level contributes                                         personal reasons. We’re expecting
                                      Importantly, mutations within this
to myeloid and lymphoid                                                    him to visit in 2020.
                                      epigenetic protein associate with
immune cell differentiation and
                                      3 immunological diseases: Crohn’s
development. He has also applied
                                      disease, multiple sclerosis and
these approaches to gain new
                                      CLL.

                                                                                                                   13
BRANCH REPORTS                                                                             ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

        BRANCH REPORTS
     WA BRANCH REPORT
     BREE FOLEY, WA Councillor, Bree.Foley@telethonkids.org.au

                     Firstly, on behalf   end of this year!                        unlock the reasons why allergies
                     of ASI WA I would                                             are on the rise in Australia by
                                          On Monday 29th of April, ASI
                     like to give a                                                studying epigenetic changes in
                                          WA held a public symposium to
                     huge thanks to                                                our immune cells.
                                          celebrate the Day of Immunology.
                     the outgoing WA
                                          This was a fantastic afternoon of        The audience was also treated
                     Councillor Dr
                                          interesting and entertaining talks       to an excellent talk from Dr
                     Connie Jackaman
                                          from researchers across Perth.           Alison McDonnell about how
     who has done an absolutely
                                          The audience was captivated              important your immune system
     amazing job over the past three
                                          by Professor Peter Richmond’s            is in patrolling your body looking
     years! Her dedication to not only
                                          presentation on vaccines and             to eliminate cancer and shared
     WA ASI but the whole of ASI
                                          how important it is for us to            her exciting research into new
     is hugely admirable and I have
                                          understand the immune response           immunotherapies. Dr Demelza
     very big shoes to fill as the next
                                          and develop more advanced                Ireland took the audience on
     WA Councillor, but I’m looking
                                          vaccines. Dr David Martino shared        a thrilling journey through the
     forward to the challenge.
                                          his exciting research in trying to       immunology of pregnancy and

     Firstly, on behalf of ASI WA I
     would like to give a huge thanks
     to the outgoing WA Councillor
     Dr Connie Jackaman who has
     done an absolutely amazing job
     over the past three years! Her
     dedication to not only WA ASI
     but the whole of ASI is hugely
     admirable.

     I would also like to thank all
     the committee members who
     were involved in organising a
     very successful Annual Scientific
     Meeting here in Perth late last
     year. It was amazing to see so
     many people volunteer their
     time to making this event so
     memorable and I know we’re all       DR DAVID MARTINO TEACHING US ABOUT THE EPIGENETIC CHANGES CAN INFLUENCE THE
     excited to head to Adelaide at the   ONSET OF ALLERGIES.

14
BRANCH REPORTS                                                                              ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

just how critical the balance
between accepting the foetus and
rejecting the foetus really is.

The audience was also treated
to an excellent talk from Dr
Alison McDonnell about how
important your immune system
is in patrolling your body looking
to eliminate cancer and shared
her exciting research into new
immunotherapies. Dr Demelza
Ireland took the audience on
a thrilling journey through the
immunology of pregnancy.
                                      PROFESSOR PETER RICHMOND GIVING HIS CAPTIVATING TALK ON VACCINE DESIGN

Lastly, I know every audience
member was riveted with
Ben Horgan’s presentation of
his experience as a consumer
advocate. Ben shared his
experience working closely with
researchers and how important it
is to actively involve consumers in
all aspects of research, something
I encourage all ASI members to
get involved with. A huge thanks
to our amazing student sub-
committee who organised the
event. Well done guys!!

The ASI WA branch has some
exciting events coming later
this year including the Perth
Immunology Group Meeting to
be held in October. I look forward
to providing more details soon on
these events and hope to see you
all there!

We always welcome any
feedback/suggestions from
our members and encourage
anyone interested in joining the
committee to please let us know!

A huge thanks to our amazing
student sub-committee who
organised the event. Well done
guys!!

                                                                                                                       15
BRANCH REPORTS                                                                      ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

     QLD BRANCH REPORT
     SUMAIRA HASNAIN, QLD Councillor, Sumaira.hasnain@mater.uq.edu.au

     The ASI Queensland committee
     is re-branding and we need your
     help!                                Brisbane Immunology Group          Advanced Immunology Course
                                          Meeting:                           ASI-QLD supports the Advanced
                      You are invited
                      to design our       Organising Committee: Sumaira      Immunology Course (Diamantina
                      logo (think         Hasnain, Ray Steptoe, Rajiv        Institute) at the Translational
                      immunology, think   Khanna, Kate Stacey, Margaret      Research Institute, Brisbane.
                      QLD!).              Jordan, Danielle Stanisic, Matt
                                                                             Registrations and applications are
                                          Sweet
                     The deadline for                                        open now on:
     submission is the 30th of June       ASI-QLD is very excited to
                                                                             www.di.uq.edu.au/advanced-
     2019.                                announce the opening of
                                                                             immunology-course
                                          registrations for the Brisbane
     The winning logo will receive        Immunology Group Meeting to
     $500 and a free registration the     be held at the Sunshine Coast in
     Brisbane Immunology Group            August!                            You are invited to design our
     Meeting.
                                          Register now and submit your       logo (think immunology, think
     Send your entries to the ASI-QLD     abstracts.                         QLD!).
     councillor Dr Sumaira Hasnain        www.qimrberghofer.edu.au/big/
     Sumaira.hasnain@mater.uq.edu

16
BRANCH REPORTS                                                                           ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

VIC/TAS BRANCH REPORT
SCOTT MUELLER, VIC/TAS Councillor, smue@unimelb.edu.au

                 The Immunology       15-16th (see more below). Dr           cancer” included speakers Mimi
                 group of Victoria    Michael Gerner (University of          Tang (MCRI), Benjamin Marsland
                 committee            Washington), well known for            (Monash Immunology) and
                 has seen a few       imaging the immune system              Misty Jenkins (WEHI), hosted by
                 members step off     using ‘histocytometry’, is also        Sammy Bedoui. Thanks to the
                 the committee,       visiting in August. He will be         local DoI organizing committee
                 including long-      giving 3 talks: one at SVI on          for all their hard work and to all
standing members Daniel               August 20th (hosted by Stuart          the sponsors of these events,
Andrews (Monash University) and       Mannering), one at PDI on August       including our gold sponsor CSL,
Daniel Layton (CSIRO), and Nick       21st (host by yours truly) and at      and silver sponsors: ARC Centre
Huntington (Monash) and Bruce         Monash BDI. And to continue            for Advanced Molecular Imaging,
Lyons (University of Tasmania).       our great VSP line-up, Professor       Monash University and Federation
We thank them for their superb        Joachim Schultze (University of        University.
contributions over the years          Bonn; hosted by Stephen Turner)
                                                                             As we look towards the year
and wish them all the best for        will be visiting in September; Dr
                                                                             ahead, IgV will once again be
the future. In return, we warmly      Kate Jeffrey (Harvard University;
                                                                             holding a number of exciting and
welcome Kirsten Fairfax (Menzies      hosted by Jo Groom) will also
                                                                             engaging scientific events:
Institute for Medical Research        come in September; and last but
and the University of Tasmania),      not least, Dr Mirjam van der Burg      1. The Winter Seminar will be held
Guna Kurupiah (University of          (Leiden University) will be coming        on 21st June and we are very
Tasmania), Katrina Binger (LaTrobe    in October (hosted by Emily               pleased to have one of IgVs’
University), Dan Pellicci (Murdoch    Edwards).                                 founders and ASI Honorary Life
Children’s Research Institute,                                                  Member Andrew Lew (WEHI) as
MCRI) and Andrew Murphy (Baker                                                  this year’s speaker.
Heart and Diabetes Institute) onto
                                      The Winter Seminar will be held
the committee. We also thank          on 21st June and we are very           2. In August, we will be holding
                                                                                our annual IgV scientific
student representatives Rosie         pleased to have one of IgVs’              meeting (August 15-16th)
Millen (Victorian Comprehensive       founders and ASI Honorary Life            at Yarra Valley Lodge in the
Cancer Centre, VCCC) and              Member Andrew Lew (WEHI) as               Yarra Valley, with an exciting
Marios Koutsakos (Peter Doherty
                                      this year’s speaker.                      line-up of international and
Institute, PDI) for their excellent                                             interstate speakers. Speakers
contributions over the last year,     In August, we will be holding our         include Donna Farber (USA),
and welcome new students Taylah       annual IgV scientific meeting             Kristen Radford (Mater,
Bennett and Xavier Sng (Monash).
                                      (August 15-16th) at Yarra Valley          UQ), Michael Hickey, David
We have a busy year for ASI           Lodge in the Yarra Valley                 Tarlinton, Laura Mackay, Kirsten
visiting speakers that was kicked                                               Fairfax, Vanessa Bryant, Sarah
off by Dr Bob Seder (from the                                                   Londrigan, Karla Helbig and
NIH; hosted by Kylie Quinn)           As I write this, another successful       more!
whom gave a seminar at the            series of Day of Immunology (DoI)      3. We will be holding the
VCCC on Feb. 20th and another         events just wrapped up around             2019 IgV Masterclass on
at the Doherty Institute on the       the state, including Discovery            Neuroimmunology in October
22nd on Feb. He also spoke at         Tours at MCRI, VCCC, PDI, WEHI,           at WEHI. More detailed
the Lorne Infection and Immunity      LaTrobe, Monash Immunology,               information on speakers for
conference on Feb. 21st. Coming       Monash BDI and the Hudson                 these events and registration
up, Professor Donna Farber            Institute. Student Workshops              will be announced soon.
(Columbia University) will be         were held at GTAC (Parkville) and
visiting Melbourne in August,         Federation University Berwick          Stay tuned to Twitter (@
speaking at Monash and also as        and Ballarat. Finally, a free public   ImmunoGroupVic) and to email
a plenary speaker at our annual       lecture on “An ABC of childhood        announcements for more details
branch meeting on August              immunity: allergy, bugs and            and registration information
                                                                             about these events.

                                                                                                                    17
BRANCH REPORTS                                                                       ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

     NSW BRANCH REPORT
     HELEN MCGUIRE, NSW Councillor, helen.mcguire@sydney.edu.au

                    Immunology            of the year on a strong program     September, get in touch with
                    is alive and          of ASI Visiting Speakers and our    me for further subsidies on your
                    well in NSW as        branch retreat, the cornerstone     ASI NSW/ACT Branch Retreat
                    evidenced by our      event on our state immunology       registration fee! At the moment
                    extensive Day         calendar.                           we are able to extend a fully
                    of Immunology         Upcoming VSP dates and              complimentary registration to
     Celebrations! This year saw us       locations:                          students!
     spread our reach far and wide in a
                                          • Prof Donna Farber: seminar at     And as always, please feel free to
     concerted effort to involve more
                                            Garvan Institute 19th August      contact me if you would like to
     of our great NSW state.
                                                                              get more information or make any
                                          • A/Prof Michael Gerner: visit
     It was fantastic to see our                                              suggestions for upcoming events
                                            to University of Sydney and
     Sydney based hosting centres                                             (helen.mcguire@sydney.edu. au).
                                            seminar at Garvan Institute,
     accommodate visitors locally and                                         It has been great to hear keen
                                            28th/29th August
     from wider afield!                                                       thoughts of ASI members.
                                          • Prof Joachim Schultze: seminar
     In the case of our Public Forum on
                                            at University of Sydney,
     Asthma, hosted by the Centenary
     Institute, we also connected in
                                            19th/20th November                And for those NSW ASI members
     by Zoom link up our colleagues in    Branch retreat details:             also planning to attend the
     Newcastle (more in special report    • 5th and 6th September 2019,       World Congress on Inflammation
     from me). Similarly, our school        Sebel Harbourside, Kiama, NSW     to be held in Sydney 15th to 19th
     outreach ‘Face-time a Scientist’
                                          *And for those NSW ASI members
                                                                              September, get in touch with
                                                                              me for further subsidies on your
     event not only accommodated
     3 student excursions directly to     also planning to attend the World
     the UNSW Museum, but also 4          Congress on Inflammation to         ASI NSW/ACT Branch Retreat
     schools across the state, in Bega,   be held in Sydney 15th to 19th      registration fee!
     Coolah, Gulgong and Condobolin
     were able to connected to our
     immunologists via Zoom link
     up (see special report on UNSW
     Museum of Human Disease
     events, from Fabio Luciani).

     In the case of the Discovery
     Tour at the Garvan Institute,
     we accommodated visiting
     students from Sydney catchment
     as well as Newcastle (more in
     Angelica Lau and Joanne Reed’s
     special report). And for the first
     time this year, we welcomed
     involvement from our colleagues
     in the New England region,
     hosting their own educational
     outreach activities in Armidale
     (see special report Fake Wounds
     and Vaccination Campaign for the
     Day of Immunology from our UNE
     colleagues).

     With our Day of Immunology
     events now taken care of, we’ve      DOI OUTREACH IS EXPANDING IN NSW!
     now set our sights for the rest

18
NEWS FROM FIMSA                                                                        ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

    NEWS FROM FIMSA
    JOANNA GROOM, groom@wehi.edu.au

Here is a brief update of the       to attend as Senior Lecturer         fellows and young faculty and
news from FIMSA.                    Faculty member for this Course.      researchers.
                                    Professor Gabrielle Belz from
Launch of new website.                                                   Many ASI members are preparing
                                    WEHI, has taken up this position
                                                                         to attend the 17th International
FIMSA has performed a complete      and will join a great line up of
                                                                         Congress of Immunology, which
redesign and relaunch of            Speakers. FIMSA is also offering
                                                                         is to be held in Beijing, China
the FIMSA.org website. The          the 10 travel grants for FIMSA
                                                                         19-23 October 2019. In May, ASI
development of the website          society members to travel to
                                                                         announced Special Travel Awards
update was led by the FIMSA         and participate in this course.
                                                                         to attend this meeting.
Secretary General and Chinese       Applications were announced
Society for Immunology (CIS),       in May and open to senior PhD        ICI in Beijing is also the location
Xuetao Cao. This is a fantastic     scholars, clinicians, postdoctoral   for the next FIMSA Council
new resource to find information                                         meeting.
and links for all current FIMSA
Immunology societies. The
website also features reports
from previous FIMSA courses and
links to upcoming conferences
and Advanced Courses in
Immunology.

This is a fantastic new resource
to find information and links for
all current FIMSA Immunology
societies.

Call for participation in FIMSA
events and travel bursaries.

It has been exciting to offer ASI
members several opportunities
to participate in upcoming FIMSA
events. The IUIS-IIS-FIMSA
Course in “Basic and Advanced
Translational Immunology is
taking place in Jaipur, India
12-16 October 2019. We had the
opportunity for one ASI member

                                                                                                                  19
DAY OF IMMUNOLOGY 2019                                                                  ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

                                                                  29TH APRIL

                          DAY OF
                   AUSTRALIA AND
                   NEW ZEALAND

                     IMMUNOLOGY

          GABRIELA KHOURY, twitter.com@GabrielaKhoury
          Day of Immunology Coordinator
          gabriela.khoury1@gmail.com

     Once again it is fabulous to see      joined in the celebrations. In       As with previous years our events
     the growing interest from our         collaboration with Wiley they        continue to generate media
     ASI members in engaging the           created ‘Grandma Summaries’,         opportunities. You can have a
     public with immunology. This          easy to comprehend summaries         closer look at the articles and
     year events were hosted at 23         of past ICB articles accompanied     interviews which featured our
     participating institutes around       with a Videobyte. The summaries      events in this issue at the “Day of
     Australia and New Zealand. There      were contributed by ASI members      Immunology 2019 in the media”
     were 5 public forums organised        and ICB Associate Editors, I would   and in the past bulletin and
     including a Panel discussion co-      recommend checking these out         membership emails.
     hosted with ‘Science in the Pub       online linked here.
                                                                                Congratulations to all of the
     Adelaide’. Nine research institutes
                                           In this issue I am excited to be     organising committees and
     and university Departments
                                           announcing the winner of the         thank you to all the volunteers
     opened their doors to the public
                                           Day of Immunology Science            who contributed their time to
     by running discovery tours.
                                           Communication People’s Choice        achieve another engaging Day
     Multiple secondary school
                                           Award. The posters were on           of Immunology. To recognise the
     workshops were held in Victoria
                                           display at the Melbourne public      hard work of our committees I
     and NSW, including a new
                                           lecture and the public voted on      have submitted an application
     workshop held in Armidale in
                                           their favourites. The votes were     to the IUIS International Day
     collaboration with the University
                                           close, with Chelsea Gerada’s         of Immunology prize. Fingers
     of New England (read about this
                                           (University of Sydney) “Alien        crossed, I will be updating you
     in NSW’s DOI report). There was
                                           vs Predator” taking the prize!       with good news in the future!
     also a museum exhibition, an
                                           You can view the posters in the
     expansion of “Face-time with a                                             Enjoy reading the Day of
                                           September’s issue and they will
     Scientist” and an immunology pub                                           Immunology featured articles
                                           be posted on social media this
     trivia night in New Zealand.                                               and the photos from many of the
                                           month where you can vote for
                                                                                events in this issue! You can also
     This year the editorial team at       your favourite over the next 2
                                                                                catch up online by checking out
     Immunology and Cell Biology           weeks.
                                                                                #DoImmuno.
20
DAY OF IMMUNOLOGY 2019                                                                        ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

  DAY OF IMMUNOLOGY
  IN VICTORIA
  GABRIELA KHOURY

In Victoria, the team has             about how the immune system
organised a great series of           works by Prof Fabienne MacKay
engaging events that focus on         (University of Melbourne) and Prof
educating the public and the next     Phil Hodgkin (WEHI), followed by
generation of immunologists.          laboratory practical classes which
The Melbourne Public Lecture          included ELISA and microscopy.
is always popular and this year’s     Students also enjoyed the highly
theme was exceptionally exciting      engaging Careers in Science
- “An ABC of Childhood Immunity:      networking session where
Allergy, Bugs, and Cancer”. The       they discussed different career
three themes were covered by          paths with students, academics,
Prof Mimi Tang (MCRI), Dr Ben         bioinformaticians, industry
Marsland (Monash University),         scientists and policy makers.
and Dr Misty Jenkins (WEHI)
                                      The GTAC program was also run
respectively. Prof Mimi Tang
                                      in Ballarat and students from
first discussed her research on
                                      4 schools in Western Victoria
an experimental therapy that
is showing promising results in
inducing remission in peanut
allergy, followed by Prof Ben
Marsland who introduced how
the microbiome influences
our immune system; Dr Misty
Jenkins presented on Cancer,
and focused on her CAR T-cells
therapy research in paediatric
brain cancers. If you weren’t in
Melbourne and missed out you
can watch the lecture online
(Click here to listen to the public
lectures).

Over 4-days we ran Secondary
School Workshops in 3 locations,      ABOVE: VICTORIAN COMMITTEE MEMBERS (LEFT TO RIGHT). FRONT: DR NICOLE MESSINA, DR
Parkville, Ballarat and Berwick.      DARRYL JOHNSON, DR GABRIELA KHOURY (CHAIR), CATRIONA NGUYEN-ROBERTSON. BACK:
At GTAC in Parkville, students        SCOTT REDDIEX, DR CHRIS HARPUR, DR CHRISTOPHE MACRI, DR DAN PELLICCI. ABSENT: DR
                                      MARIA DEMARIA (SECRETARY), DR RHEA LONGLEY, DR ERIKA DUAN, DR TIM GOTTSCHALK,
participated in the 1-day GTAC
                                      DR JESSICA BORGER, DR HUI FERN KOAY, DR CATARINA ALMEIDA, ANNABELLE BLUM, KAYLA
“Your body at war” program.
                                      WILSON, A/PROF SCOTT MUELLER. PHOTO CREDIT: HYNESITE   PHOTOGRAPHY
Year 12 biology students learnt

                                                                                                                         21
DAY OF IMMUNOLOGY 2019                                                                      ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

     travelled to Federation University    Maria Demaria (Secretary), Dr            Dr Jessica Borger, Dr Hui Fern
     to participate. Prof Stuart Berzins   Rhea Longley and Catriona                Koay, Dr Catarina Almeida,
     (Federation University) was the       Nguyen-Robertson (Discovery              Dr Nicole Messina, Annabelle
     keynote speaker (Read more            Tours), Dr Dan Pellicci (Public          Blum, Kayla Wilson and A/Prof
     about this event from “Day of         Lecture), Dr Chris Harpur                Scott Mueller and last but not
     Immunology 2019 in the media”         (Sponsorship), Dr Erika Duan and         least, our GTAC Secondary School
     column) and committee members         Dr Tim Gottschalk (Secondary             collaborators including Tony
     Dr Erika Duan and Catriona            School Workshops). Other notable         Chiovitti (Deputy Director, GTAC)
     Nguyen-Robertson discussed            members: Dr Christophe Macri,            and his team.
     different career paths in science.    Scott Reddiex, Dr Darryl Johnson,
                                                                                    A special thank you to our
     The Berwick Secondary School                                                   Sponsors for supporting our many
     program “Superheroes and Rogue                                                 events!
     Units” designed by ASI members,
     was run for the second time
     this year. Forty Year 12 Biology
     students had hands on laboratory
     experience learning about disease
     diagnosis by our volunteer
     demonstrators. The students also
     learnt about the immune system
     by keynote speaker Dr Justine
     Mintern (Bio21) and Careers in
     Science by Dr Danielle Auldist        ABOVE: CATRIONA NGUYEN-ROBERTSON
     (Federation University).              AND DR ERIKA DUAN AT THE GTAC
                                           BALLARAT SECONDARY SCHOOL
     Eight research institutes opened      WORKSHOP WITH TONY CHIOVITTI
     their doors to the public and         (DEPUTY DIRECTOR, GTAC). PHOTO CREDIT:
     hosted Discovery Tours during         FEDERATION UNIVERSITY

     May. The public and students
     groups learnt about the institute’s
     research and many people got
     to try out their science skills by
     look downing the microscope
     and even perform the odd
     ELISA! I would like to welcome
     our newest host - the Murdoch
     Children’s Research Institute -
     into our Discovery Tour program
     this year. I would also like to
     thank our returning hosts and
     their enthusiastic organising
     committees at: the Peter
     MacCallum Cancer Centre, the
     Walter and Eliza Hall Institute,                                               ABOVE: SOME OF OUR DEDICATED
     the Peter Doherty Institute for                                                DEMONSTRATORS AT THE GTAC PARKVILLE
                                                                                    SECONDARY SCHOOL WORKSHOPS. (LEFT
     Infection and Immunity, the La                                                 TO RIGHT) LAKSHANIE WICKRAMASINGHE,
     Trobe Institute for Molecular                                                  APRIL RAFTERY, DR TIMOTHY GOTTSCHALK,
     Science, the Department of                                                     DR JESS BORGER, DARSHANA CHERIAN.
                                                                                    PHOTO CREDIT: HYNESITE PHOTOGRAPHY
     Immunology and Pathology at
     Monash University, the Hudson
     Institute of Medical Research
     and the Monash Biomedicine
     Discovery Institute.                  ABOVE: SCIENCE CAREER LUNCH – SPEED
                                           NETWORKING! PHOTO CREDIT: HYNESITE
     Thank you to all my dedicated         PHOTOGRAPHY
     committee members, particularly
     the sub-committee chairs: Dr

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DAY OF IMMUNOLOGY 2019                                                                     ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

ABOVE: DR ERIKA DUAN AND DR TIM GOTTSCHALK, CO-CHAIRS OF THE SECONDARY
SCHOOL WORKSHOPS DISCUSS CAREERS IN SCIENCE. PHOTO CREDIT: HYNESITE
PHOTOGRAPHY

                                                                              ABOVE: DEPARTMENT OF IMMUNOLOGY
                                                                              AND PATHOLOGY, MONASH UNIVERSITY
                                                                              DISCOVERY TOURS. THE PUBLIC GOT
                                                                              TO LEARN HOW TO PIPETTE, LOOK AT
                                                                              MICROSCOPE SLIDE AND EVEN RUN AN
ABOVE: GTAC PARKVILLE SECONDARY SCHOOL WORKSHOPS, STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT        ELISA! PHOTO CREDIT: DR JESS BORGER
HOW THE IMMUNE SYSTEM WORKS BY PROF FABIENNE MACKAY (UNIVERSITY OF            (MONASH UNIVERSITY), DR RHEA LONGLEY
MELBOURNE) AND PROF PHIL HODGKIN (WEHI). PHOTO CREDIT: HYNESITE PHOTOGRAPHY   (WEHI)

                                                                                                                      23
ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

     ABOVE: GTAC PARKVILLE SECONDARY SCHOOL WORKSHOPS, STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT HOW THE IMMUNE SYSTEM WORKS BY PROF
     FABIENNE MACKAY (UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE) AND PROF PHIL HODGKIN (WEHI). PHOTO CREDIT: HYNESITE PHOTOGRAPHY

                                                                                      BELOW: MONASH BIOMEDICINE
                                                                                      DISCOVERY INSTITUTE TOUR. IMMUNE
                                                                                      SYSTEM SENSORY DISPLAY. PHOTO
                                                                                      CREDIT: THE MONASH BIOMEDICINE
                                                                                      DISCOVERY INSTITUTE

     LA TROBE INSTITUTE FOR MOLECULAR SCIENCE DISCOVERY TOURS.
     TOP LEFT: (L TO R) DR FUNG LAY, PRAMOD SUBEDI AND EBONY
     MONSON, TOP RIGHT: (L TO R) PRAMOD SUBEDI, PROF. MARILYN
     ANDERSON, DR GEORGIA ATKIN-SMITH, DR KHA PHAN AND PROF.
     ANDREW HILL (DIRECTOR OF LIMS). BOTTOM: (L TO R) STEPHANIE
     MARINIS AND KEATON CROSSE. PHOTO CREDITS: LATROBE
     INSTITUTE FOR MOLECULAR SCIENCE

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ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

  DAY OF IMMUNOLOGY
  IN NSW
PUBLIC FORUM ON ASTHMA, CENTENARY INSTITUTE
HELEN MCGUIRE

On the 2nd May we gathered              Teacher and Asthma Patient              set the scene for sharing such a
at the Centenary Institute in           Advocate on behalf of Asthma            wonderfully personal story of her
Sydney to kick off the first of our     Australia), Professor Vanessa           continuous battle with crippling
two evening Public Events in            McDonald (Co-director of the            severe asthma. From here she
celebration Day of Immunology.          NHMRC CRE in Severe Asthma,             threw down the gauntlet for
This tremendously informative           Deputy Director and Research            the two remaining speakers to
discussion of asthma covered            Leader in the Priority Research         address clinical need and offer
three perspectives – patient            Centre for Healthy Lungs and            some hope through cutting edge
experience, clinical and research,      an Academic Clinician in the            research, of which Prof McDonald
and thoroughly engaged our              Department of Respiratory               and Prof Hansbro offered up in
audience. In addition, those            and Sleep Medicine, John                spades! A thoroughly enjoyable
curious audience members who            Hunter Hospital.), Professor Phil       evening, for attendees at
arrived for the welcome reception       Hansbro (Deputy Director at the         Centenary and who remote
eagerly stepped up to have their        Centenary Institute and Director        joined in from Newcastle- Hunter
lung function tested- myself            of Centenary UTS Centre for             Medical Research Institute.
included!                               Inflammation.)                          Special thanks to the speakers
                                                                                and Karen McBrien from
I would sincerely like to first thank   Gabrielle began by reminding us
                                                                                Centenary Institute for helping
our three wonderful speakers:           that “we often forget breathing is
                                                                                organise.
Gabrielle Wenman (High School           life”. Such a profound statement

ABOVE: OUR THREE SPEAKERS, GABRIELLE WENMAN, PROF PHIL HANSBRO AND PROF VANESSA MCDONALD, AND VANESSA WITH AN
AUDIENCE MEMBER GETTING HER LUNG FUNCTION TESTED

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DAY OF IMMUNOLOGY 2019                                                                     ASI NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019

     DOI MUSEUM OF HUMAN DISEASE AT UNSW
     FABIO LUCIANI

     Face time with an immunologist
     for high school students
     As tradition of DoI in NSW, we
     have run for the 6th year in a
     row the “Face-time with an
     Immunologist”. Dean Lovett,
     director of the Museum of
     Human Disease has established
     a wonderful program with NSW
     Schools. We took advantage of
     this and ran 3 virtual and 2 live
     events at the Museum, engaging       OUR PANEL OF PHD STUDENTS AND POST DOC VOLUNTEERS IN ACTION DURING FACE-TIME
     with 7 High Schools across           WITH AN IMMUNOLOGIST.
     NSW and with more than 200
     students! This year we fabulously
     put together 10 early career         and tried to help answering these questions by telling their stories and
     researchers, 9 PHD students          more importantly by emphasising that it is not easy to find the right path
     and one postdoc. Notably, 9 of       and that lots of serendipity, passion, and talent need to go together.
     these were females! This gender      But most importantly, the joy of doing science! Students asked so many
     representation was very helpful      questions and provided feedbacks on how helpful this activity was for
     as we had several girls from High    them.
     Schools interested in career paths
                                          Engaging with general public
     towards science.
                                          We have also organised a public event at the Museum of Human
     On May 6th and 7th, Y11 and Y12      Disease, where we discussed the scratch and itches with Dr Brynn
     students engaged with several        Weinstein, president of the Australian Society of Clinical Immunology
     PhD students and early career        and Allergy who is also an expert in paediatric food allergy. For this event
     researchers (Caroline Ashley,        approximately 30 people from the general community came to attend
     Mikaela Coleman, Elinor Hortle       the event. Dr Brynn showed some fascinating data, for instance, 8 types
     from University of Sydney; Arun      of food cause 90% of common allergies in children. More strikingly
     Abayasingam, Brendan Hughes,         he reported on recent statistics, putting Australia as the country with
     Christine Fichter, Hannah Law,       the highest prevalence of allergies and sadly of the highest death rate
     Money Gupta, Nick Brasher,           following anaphylactic shocks. People were surprised and amazed and
     Thiruni Adikari from the UNSW        asked so many questions that when time was up I had to sadly interrupt
     Sydney) on how the Immune            the event! Overall, it was a special day, which left the organisers with
     system works and also to discuss     satisfaction in having contributed to successfully divulgate immunology
     career paths. This experience        to the inquisitive students and to the general public.
     aimed to provide support for
     their study (HSC and syllabus) as
     well as for providing “directions”
     on what research is, how to best
     choose their career path and
     have a better understanding of
     what research is and how this
     can be helpful for the Society.
     Students approaching HSC face
     the dilemma of “what should I do
     when I leave school?”, and “What
     is immune systems and how this
     fight pathogens and cancer”? The     INVITED SPEAKER DR BRYNN WEINSTEIN GIVING AN EDUCATION SEMINAR ON PAEDIATRIC
     panel engaged with the students      FOOD ALLERGIES.

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