Dr Janin Chandra
Senior Research Fellow & Senior Research Fellow
Frazer Institute
+61 7 344 36976
Researcher biography
I received my Master of Science from the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe Universitaet in Frankfurt am Main in Germany. I completed my Master's project at the Paul Ehrlich Federal Institute for Sera and Vaccines in Langen where I investigated the impact of vaccinia virus‐induced type I interferons on T cells. Between 2007 and 2011, I completed my PhD studies in the Department of Experimental Immunology of the University of Zurich in Switzerland mentored by Prof. Burkhard Becher, where I investigated the role of NFkB‐inducing kinase (NIK) in cell‐mediated immunity and autoimmunity. It was then that I specialized in professional antigen-presenting cells and their properties in health and disease.
In 2012, I received a 3-year post-doctoral research fellowship to join Prof. Ian Frazer's research team at the University of Queensland (UQ). My studies here focussed on the role of different types of professional antigen-presenting cells in human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven immune suppression that enables development of cervical cancer and a proportion of head and neck cancers. In 2015, I joined the team of biotech company Admedus Vaccines Pty Ltd. as Senior Scientist, with the aim to develop immunotherapeutic vaccine strategies to combat chronic herpes-simplex 2 infections and HPV-induced malignancies. I delivered a pre-clinical research program leading to 3 clinical trials. In 2019, I re-joined UQ as Research Fellow, where I continued my research interest in human papillomavirus-driven immune suppression in antigen-presenting cells, with the aim to develop new experimental therapies that can modulate the performance of these cells.
Since 2023, I lead my own lab at the UQ Frazer Institute and focussed on deciphering intra-tumour and systemic immune regulations of professional antigen-presenting cells, with a special interest in cutaneous and mucosal squamous cell cancers of the head and neck.
Book Chapter
Yu, Meihua and Chandra, Janin (2021). Therapeutic DNA Vaccine Against HPV16-Associated Cancer. DNA Vaccines. (pp. 241-252) New York, NY United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0872-2_13
Journal Articles
Ladwa, Rahul, Chandra, Janin, Woo, Wai-Ping, Finlayson, Neil, Liu, Howard, McGrath, Margaret, See, Adrienne, Hughes, Brett G., Cooper, Caroline L., Jackson, Jim E., Dzienis, Marcin, Xu, Yan, Panizza, Benedict, Frazer, Ian and Porceddu, Sandro V. (2024). A phase Ib study to assess the safety of the human papillomavirus DNA vaccine (AMV002) in combination with durvalumab for HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Frontiers in Oncology, 14 1419258. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1419258
Bromfield, Jacoba I., Zaugg, Julian, Straw, Rodney C., Cathie, Julia, Krueger, Annika, Sinha, Debottam, Chandra, Janin, Hugenholtz, Philip and Frazer, Ian H. (2024). Characterization of the skin microbiome in normal and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma affected cats and dogs. mSphere, 9 (4), e0055523. doi: 10.1128/msphere.00555-23
Bromfield, Jacoba Isobella, Hugenholtz, Philip, Frazer, Ian Hector, Khosrotehrani, Kiarash and Chandra, Janin (2023). Targeting Staphylococcus aureus dominated skin dysbiosis in actinic keratosis to prevent the onset of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: Outlook for future therapies?. Frontiers in Oncology, 13 1091379, 1091379. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1091379
Mehdi, Ahmed M., Zhou, Chenhao, Turrell, Gavin, Walpole, Euan, Porceddu, Sandro, Frazer, Ian H. and Chandra, Janin (2022). HPV status represents dominant trait driving delineation of survival-associated gene co-expression networks in head and neck cancer. Cancer Gene Therapy, 30 (4), 1-12. doi: 10.1038/s41417-022-00577-9
Muralidharan, Sachin, Ali, Sarah, Yang, Lilin, Badshah, Joshua, Zahir, Syeda Farah, Ali, Rubbiya A., Chandra, Janin, Frazer, Ian H., Thomas, Ranjeny and Mehdi, Ahmed M. (2022). Environmental pathways affecting gene expression (E.PAGE) as an R package to predict gene–environment associations. Scientific Reports, 12 (1) 18710, 1-19. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-21988-6
Chandra, Janin, Hansen, Morten, Labarriere, Nathalie, Marigo, Ilaria, Souza-Fonseca-Guimaraes, Fernando, Vujanovic, Lazar, Koguchi, Yoshinobu and Jacquelot, Nicolas (2022). Editorial: Cancer Immunotherapies: From Efficacy to Resistance Mechanisms. Frontiers in Immunology, 13 939789, 939789. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.939789
Rødahl, Inga, Gotley, James, Andersen, Stacey B., Yu, Meihua, Mehdi, Ahmed M., Christ, Angelika N., Hamilton-Williams, Emma E., Frazer, Ian H., Lukowski, Samuel W. and Chandra, Janin (2021). Acquisition of murine splenic myeloid cells for protein and gene expression profiling by advanced flow cytometry and CITE-seq. STAR Protocols, 2 (4) 100842, 1-27. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100842
Tuong, Zewen K., Lukowski, Samuel W., Nguyen, Quan H., Chandra, Janin, Zhou, Chenhao, Gillinder, Kevin, Bashaw, Abate A., Ferdinand, John R., Stewart, Benjamin J., Teoh, Siok Min, Hanson, Sarah J., Devitt, Katharina, Clatworthy, Menna R., Powell, Joseph E. and Frazer, Ian H. (2021). A model of impaired Langerhans cell maturation associated with HPV induced epithelial hyperplasia. iScience, 24 (11) 103326, 103326. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103326
Lukowski, Samuel W., Rodahl, Inga, Kelly, Samuel, Yu, Meihua, Gotley, James, Zhou, Chenhao, Millard, Susan, Andersen, Stacey B., Christ, Angelika N., Belz, Gabrielle, Frazer, Ian H. and Chandra, Janin (2021). Absence of Batf3 reveals a new dimension of cell state heterogeneity within conventional dendritic cells. iScience, 24 (5) 102402, 1-21. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102402
Budhwani, Megha, Turrell, Gavin, Yu, Meihua, Frazer, Ian H., Mehdi, Ahmed M. and Chandra, Janin (2021). Immune-inhibitory gene expression is positively correlated with overall immune activity and predicts increased survival probability of cervical and head and neck cancer patients. Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, 8 622643, 622643. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.622643
Zhou, Chenhao, Tuong, Zewen Kelvin, Lukowski, Samuel Wieslaw, Chandra, Janin and Frazer, Ian H. (2021). Antigen nonspecific induction of distinct regulatory T cell states in oncogene-driven hyperproliferative skin. ImmunoHorizons, 5 (2), 102-116. doi: 10.4049/immunohorizons.2100006
Chandra, Janin, Teoh, Siok Min, Kuo, Paula, Tolley, Lynn, Bashaw, Abate Assefa, Tuong, Zewen Kelvin, Liu, Yang, Chen, Zibin, Wells, James W., Yu, Chengzhong, Frazer, Ian H. and Yu, Meihua (2021). Manganese-doped silica-based nanoparticles promote the efficacy of antigen-specific immunotherapy. The Journal of Immunology, 206 (5), ji2000355-998. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.2000355
Bashaw, Abate Assefa, Zhou, Chenhao, Yu, Meihua, Tolley, Lynn, Leggatt, Graham R., Frazer, Ian H. and Chandra, Janin (2020). Regulatory T-cells but not IL-10 impair cell-mediated immunity in HPV+ hyperplastic epithelium. The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 141 (5), 1264-1273.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2020.10.011
Chandra, J., Woo, W. P., Finlayson, N., Liu, H. Y., McGrath, M., Ladwa, R., Brauer, M., Xu, Y., Hanson, S., Panizza, B., Frazer, I. H. and Porceddu, Sandro V. (2020). A phase 1, single centre, open label, escalating dose study to assess the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of a therapeutic human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA vaccine (AMV002) for HPV-associated head and neck cancer (HNC). Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy, 70 (3), 743-753. doi: 10.1007/s00262-020-02720-7
Budhwani, Megha, Lukowski, Samuel W., Porceddu, Sandro V., Frazer, Ian H. and Chandra, Janin (2020). Dysregulation of stemness pathways in HPV mediated cervical malignant transformation identifies potential oncotherapy targets. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 10 307, 307. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00307
Chandra, Janin, Woo, Wai-Ping, Dutton, Julie L., Xu, Yan, Li, Bo, Kinrade, Sally, Druce, Julian, Finlayson, Neil, Griffin, Paul, Laing, Kerry J., Koelle, David M. and Frazer, Ian H. (2019). Immune responses to a HSV-2 polynucleotide immunotherapy COR-1 in HSV-2 positive subjects: a randomized double blinded phase I/IIa trial. PLoS One, 14 (12) e0226320, 1-20. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226320
Frazer, Ian H. and Chandra, Janin (2019). Immunotherapy for HPV associated cancer. Papillomavirus Research, 8 100176, 100176. doi: 10.1016/j.pvr.2019.100176
Bashaw, Abate Assefa, Teoh, Siok M., Tuong, Zewen K., Leggatt, Graham R., Frazer, Ian H. and Chandra, Janin (2019). HPV16 E7-driven epithelial hyperplasia promotes impaired antigen presentation and regulatory T cell development. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 139 (12), 2467-2476.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2019.03.1162
Chakraborty, Rituparna, Chandra, Janin, Cui, Shuai, Tolley, Lynn, Cooper, Matthew A., Kendall, Mark and Frazer, Ian H. (2017). CD8+ lineage dendritic cells determine adaptive immune responses to inflammasome activation upon sterile skin injury. Experimental Dermatology, 27 (1), 71-79. doi: 10.1111/exd.13436
Bashaw, Abate Assefa, Leggatt, Graham R., Chandra, Janin, Tuong, Zewen K. and Frazer, Ian H. (2017). Modulation of antigen presenting cell functions during chronic HPV infection. Papillomavirus Research, 4, 58-65. doi: 10.1016/j.pvr.2017.08.002
Chandra, Janin, Dutton, Julie L., Li, Bo, Woo, Wai-Ping, Xu, Yan, Tolley, Lynn K., Yong, Michelle, Wells, James W., Leggatt, Graham R., Finlayson, Neil and Frazer, Ian H. (2017). DNA vaccine encoding HPV16 oncogenes E6 and E7 induces potent cell-mediated and humoral immunity which protects in tumor challenge and drives E7-expressing skin graft rejection. Journal of Immunotherapy, 40 (2), 62-70. doi: 10.1097/CJI.0000000000000156
Chandra, Janin, Kuo, Paula T. Y., Hahn, Anne M., Belz, Gabrielle T. and Frazer, Ian H. (2016). Batf3 selectively determines acquisition of CD8+ dendritic cell phenotype and function. Immunology and Cell Biology, 95 (2), 215-223. doi: 10.1038/icb.2016.83
Dutton, Julie L., Woo, Wai-Ping, Chandra, Janin, Xu, Yan, Li, Bo, Finlayson, Neil, Griffin, Paul and Frazer, Ian H. (2016). An escalating dose study to assess the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of a Herpes Simplex Virus DNA vaccine, COR-1. Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics, 12 (12), 3079-3088. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2016.1221872
Chandra, Janin, Miao, Yan, Romoff, Natasha and Frazer, Ian H. (2016). Epithelium expressing the E7 oncoprotein of HPV16 attracts immune-modulatory dendritic cells to the skin and suppresses their antigen-processing capacity. Plos One, 11 (3) e0152886, e0152886. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152886
Mittal, Deepak, Kassianos, Andrew. J, Tran, Lee S., Bergot, Anne-Sophie, Gosmann, Christina, Hofmann, Janin, Blumenthal, Antje, Leggatt, Graham R. and Frazer, Ian H. (2013). Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase activity contributes to local immune suppression in the skin expressing human papillomavirus oncoprotein E7. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 133 (12), 2686-2694. doi: 10.1038/jid.2013.222
Winnik, Stephan, Lohmann, Christine, Richter, Eva K., Schäfer, Nicola, Song, Wen-Liang, Leiber, Florian, Mocharla, Pavani, Hofmann, Janin, Klingenberg, Roland, Borén, Jan, Becher, Burkhard, FitzGerald, Garret A., Lüscher, Thomas F., Matter, Christian M. and Beer, Jürg H. (2011). Dietary α-linolenic acid diminishes experimental atherogenesis and restricts T cell-driven inflammation. European Heart Journal, 32 (20), 2573-2584. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehq501
Hofmann, Janin, Mair, Florian, Greter, Melanie, Schmidt-Supprian, Marc and Becher, Burkhard (2011). NIK signaling in dendritic cells but not in T cells is required for the development of effector T cells and cell-mediated immune responses. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 208 (9), 1917-1929. doi: 10.1084/jem.20110128
Frenz, Theresa, Waibler, Zoe, Hofmann, Janin, Hamdorf, Matthias, Lantermann, Markus, Reizis, Boris, Tovey, Michael G., Aichele, Peter, Sutter, Gerd and Kalinke, Ulrich (2010). Concomitant type I IFN receptor-triggering of T cells and of DC is required to promote maximal modified vaccinia virus Ankara-induced T-cell expansion. European Journal of Immunology, 40 (10), 2769-2777. doi: 10.1002/eji.201040453
Stein, Sokrates, Lohmann, Christine, Schaefer, Nicola, Hofmann, Janin, Rohrer, Lucia, Besler, Christian, Rothgiesser, Karin M., Becher, Burkhard, Hottiger, Michael O., Boren, Jan, McBurney, Michael W., Landmesser, Ulf, Luescher, Thomas F. and Matter, Christian M. (2010). SIRT1 decreases Lox-1-mediated foam cell formation in atherogenesis. European Heart Journal, 31 (18), 2301-2309. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehq107
Rozenberg, Izabela, Sluka, Susanna H. M., Rohrer, Lucia, Hofmann, Janin, Becher, Burkhard, Akhmedov, Alexander, Soliz, Jorge, Mocharla, Pavani, Boren, Jan, Johansen, Pal, Steffel, Jan, Watanabe, Takeshi, Luescher, Thomas F. and Tanner, Felix C. (2010). Histamine H1 receptor promotes atherosclerotic lesion formation by increasing vascular permeability for low-density lipoproteins. Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, 30 (5), 923-U92. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.109.201079
Hofmann, Janin, Greter, Melanie, Du Pasquier, Louis and Becher, Burkhard (2010). B-cells need a proper house, whereas T-cells are happy in a cave: the dependence of lymphocytes on secondary lymphoid tissues during evolution. Trends in Immunology, 31 (4), 144-153. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2010.01.003
Greter, Melanie, Hofmann, Janin and Becher, Burkhard (2009). Neo-lymphoid aggregates in the adult liver can initiate potent cell-mediated immunity. PLoS Biology, 7 (5), e1000109. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000109
Conference Papers
Dang, Thi Viet Trinh, Gillinder, Kevin R., Nguyen, Quan, Mulay, Onkar, Vo, Tuan, Mehdi, Ahmed M., Zhou, Chenhao, Brooks, Andrew J., Asplett, Kiran, Leggatt, Graham R., Hume, David A., Frazer, Ian H. and Chandra, Janin (2024). Epithelial cancers demonstrate IL34-associated dysfunction of Langerhans cells. AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Boston, MA, United States, 18-21 October 2024. Philadelphia, PA, United States: American Association for Cancer Research. doi: 10.1158/2326-6074.tumimm24-a001
Dang, T. V. T., Gillinder, K. G., Brooks, A. J., Asplett, K., Tolley, L. K., Hume, D. A., Leggatt, G. R., Frazer, I. H. and Chandra, J. (2022). Gene-therapy based modulation of antigen-presenting cells within hyperproliferative epithelium to restore immunity. 29th Annual Congress of the European-Society-of-Gene-and-Cell-Therapy (ESCGT), Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 11-14 October 2022. New Rochelle, NY United States: Mary Ann Liebert.
Frazer, I, Mattarollo, S., Leggatt, G., Wells, J., Tuong, K., Kuo, P., Jazayeri, S., Lambert, P. and Chandra, J. (2016). Immunotherapy for persisting viral infection and associated cancer. ICI 2016 International Congress of Immunology, Melbourne, Australia, 21-26 August 2016. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley.