Intestinal dysbiosis drives systemic, persistent low-grade inflammation, contributing to chronic diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), metabolic disorders, and dementia—major health burdens impacting the well-being of Australians.
Tissue-resident immune cells, including regulatory T cells (Tregs) and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), are critical for intestinal health, dynamically adapting to environmental changes.
In the gut, these cells integrate diverse signals—including nutrient availability, microbiota composition, tissue damage, and infection—to orchestrate appropriate immune responses. Therefore, different “flavours” of Tregs and ILCs are required to co-exist in the intestine in controlled numbers to maintain this delicate balance.
We have found that the same “flavour” of Tregs and ILCs in the gut is exquisitely sensitive to a unique form of cell death termed necroptosis.
This project will leverage these findings to explore the mechanisms behind programmed cell death processes regulating Treg and ILC homeostasis in the gut. You will translate these findings to IBD using patient-derived samples to gain insights into the function and regulation of these cells during health and disease. Students will combine multi-parameter flow cytometry, single cell technologies and state-of-the-art imaging with in vivo models of inflammation to answer these questions.
