Tuesday 19th September, 12 - 1pm (Lunch from 11.45am), Venue: Seminar Room 1, Level 2, TRF Building
A/Prof
Miller's group uses multi-photon microscopy (MPM) in combination with
histological and genetic approaches to study the immune response to bacterial
infection in the spleen. He has shown that bacterial challenge in mice induces
the rapid redistribution of splenic macrophages and dendritic cells in a
bacteria-specific fashion. His hypothesis is that tissue remodelling serves an
“antigen transport” function that delivers pathogen-derived antigens to
distinct microenvironments for presentation. Because both the antigen
presenting cell type and the local environment impact the immune response, this
could provide a mechanism to tailor immune responses to a wide-range of
pathogens.
His
laboratory focuses on three key stages of infection: 1) the initial capture and
fate of bacteria in marginal zone macrophages and dendritic cells, 2) the
migration of these cells in response to infection, and 3) bacterial-antigen
presentation in tissue microenvironments and its influence on the subsequent
adaptive immune response. Moreover, the multi-dimensional cell tracking data
from these studies is being used to create in silico models of infection and
immunity in the hope of providing fresh mechanistic insight into microbial
pathogenesis and guide vaccine development.
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