WEHI Wednesday Seminar hosted by John Silke

Professor Sandra Nicholson

Laboratory Head – Immunity division, WEHI

SOCS proteins: Linking Molecular Structure, Biological Function, and Human Disease

Davis Auditorium

Join via SLIDO enter code #WEHIWednesday

Including Q&A session

Professor Sandra Nicholson leads a research laboratory in the Immunity Division at WEHI, where her team investigates the signalling networks that govern immune responses to infection and cancer. Since completing her PhD at the Ludwig Institute for Tumour Biology in Melbourne, studying cytokine-mediated activation of JAK kinases, Sandra has built an internationally recognised research program focused on the molecular mechanisms that regulate cytokine and growth factor signalling.

Her research centres on the Suppressor of Cytokine Signalling (SOCS) family proteins, key negative regulators of immune signalling pathways. Through studies spanning molecular biology, immunology, and cancer research, her laboratory seeks to uncover how SOCS proteins shape immune surveillance and host defence, with the ultimate goal of translating these discoveries into next-generation immunotherapies.

Members of the SOCS family, including CIS, SOCS1, SOCS2 and SOCS3, are critical intracellular checkpoints that restrain cytokine-induced JAK/STAT signalling. The importance of these proteins is underscored by the severe inflammatory, allergic and autoimmune disorders observed in individuals with SOCS1 haploinsufficiency, highlighting their essential role in maintaining immune balance.

In this seminar, Professor Nicholson will present new insights into SOCS1 and SOCS2 biology, including the discovery of novel interacting partners and the identification of the cellular machinery required for SOCS1 nuclear localisation. These findings provide fresh perspectives on the mechanisms that regulate immune function and may reveal new opportunities for therapeutic intervention in cancer and infectious disease.

All welcome!