Guest speakers Dr Zhian Chen and Dr Joseph Yunis from the Yu Lab at UQDI.

Zhian will be presenting A novel mechanism to direct germinal centre B cells for antibody-secreting cell differentiation. 

Joseph will be presenting High levels of soluble CD25 in COVID-19 severity suggests a divergence between anti-viral and pro-inflammatory T cell responses.

Wednesday 17 March, 9:30-10:30am, TRI Auditorium and via Zoom: https://uqz.zoom.us/j/81733511858

Email Jessica Iannotti for the Zoom password. 

Zhian ChenZhian’s Bio: I obtained my PhD degree from the Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI), Monash University in 2017. In my PhD research, I examined the mechanistic insights into the modulation of cytokine function and identified a new structural mechanism controlling interleukin-21 (IL-21) activity. I started my postdoctoral research in Professor Di Yu’s lab since 2018 in John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR), Australian National University and moved to UQ Diamantina Institute with the lab in 2020. My current research focuses on revealing novel mechanisms modulating T follicular helper cell (TFH) mediated antibody responses and developing new strategies for immunotherapies.    

Joseph YuniJoseph’s Bio: Dr Joseph Yunis obtained his PhD from the University of Queensland under the mentorship of Associate Professor Philip Stevenson at the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences on understanding the role of CD4+ T cells in herpesvirus immunity. He uncovered the immune evasion mechanisms of CD4+ T cells by cytomegaloviruses. Subsequently, he chose to conduct a postdoctoral research training with Professor Di Yu, first at the John Curtin School of Medical Research of Australian National University (Canberra) and then moved to UQ Diamantina Institute with the lab. Primarily using various mouse models, he is investigating the role of CD8+ T cells in elimination infection and driving immunopathology, such as promoting acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Venue

Via Zoom: https://uqz.zoom.us/j/81733511858