Lab team

I lead a multidisciplinary, highly motivated team committed to elucidating the molecular and cellular basis of immunological tolerance. We collaborate closely with groups at the Institute, Monash University, Harvard Medical School, The University of Basel and the VIB (Belgium).

Julie Sheridan, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, BSc(Hons) Leeds PhD Edinburgh

Project: Molecular control of thymic epithelial cell death and differentiation

Key Publication: Sheridan JM, Keown A, Policheni A, Roesley SNA, Rivlin N, Kadouri N, Ritchie ME, Jain R, Abramson J, Heng TSP and Gray DHD. Thymospheres are formed by mesenchymal cells with the potential to generate adipocytes but not epithelial cells. Cell Rep. 2017. 21; 934-942. PMID: 29069601

Antonia Policheni, Postdoctoral Fellow, BSc(Hons) Melbourne BBiomedSc Monash PhD Melbourne

Project: How apoptosis controls competition among T cell progenitors in the thymus

Key Publication: Nolan E, Savas P, Policheni AN, Darcy PK, Vaillant F, Mintoff CP, Dushyanthen S, Mansour M, Pang JB, Fox SB, Kathleen Cuningham Foundation Consortium for Research into Familial Breast C, Perou CM, Visvader JE, Gray DHD*, Loi S*, Lindeman GJ*. (*co-senior authors) Combined immune checkpoint blockade as a therapeutic strategy for BRCA1-mutated breast cancer. Sci Transl Med 2017; 9(393). PMID: 28592566

Charis Teh, Postdoctoral Fellow, BSc(Hons) ANU PhD ANU

Projects: Treg development and homeostasis; Mass cytometric analysis of blood cancer cell death

Key Publication: Teh, Lalaoui, Jain, Policheni, Heinlein, Alvarez-Diaz, Sheridan, Rieser, Deuser, Darding, Koay, Hu, Kupresanin, O’Reilly, Godfrey, Smyth, Bouillet, Andreas Strasser, Walczak, John Silke and Gray. Linear Ubiquitin Chain Assembly Complex  Coordinates Late Thymic T Cell Differentiation and Regulatory T Cell Homeostasis Nat. Comm. 2016 Nov 18;7:13353. doi: 10.1038/ncomms13353 PMID: 27857075

Clare Weeden, Postdoctoral Fellow, BA UWA BSc(Hons) UWA PhD Melbourne

Project: Deep profiling of lung cancer, their metastases and the immune microenvironment 

Key Publication: Weeden CE, Ah-Cann C, Holik AZ, Pasquet J, Garnier JM, Merino D, Lessene G, Asselin-Labat ML. Dual inhibition of BCL-XL and MCL-1 is required to induce tumour regression in lung squamous cell carcinomas sensitive to FGFR inhibition. Oncogene. 2018. Doi:10.1038/s41388-018-0268-2. PMID: 29743589

Melanie Heinlein, PhD Student, BSc Masters (Molecular Medicine) Albert-Ludwigs-University

Project: The mechanisms of stromal cell death and survival in the thymus and bone marrow

Key Publication: Jain R, Sheridan JM, Policheni AN, Heinlein M, Gandolfo LC, Dewson G, Smyth GK, Sansom SN, Fu, NY, Visvader JE, Hollander GA, Strasser A and Gray DHD. A critical epithelial survival axis regulated by MCL-1 maintains thymic epithelial cell function in mice. Blood. 2017. 130 (23): 2504-2515. PMID: 28972012

Alissa Robbins, PhD student, BMedSc(Hons) Sydney

Project: TNF receptor signalling in T cell differentiation and function

Tania Tan, Research Assistant, BSc(Hons) Melbourne 

Project: Mass cytometric analysis of blood cancer cell death