"Immune modulation by bacterial pathogens" Friday 18 Nov

This week's Hudson Seminar will be held from 18 November, 12-1 pm, Lecture Theatre 1, Monash Medical Centre.

Our speaker will be Dr Maria Liaskos, Laboratory Head, Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, Hudson Institute of Medical Research.

Light refreshments to follow presentation outside the Lecture Theatre.

Dr Maria Kaparakis-Liaskos obtained her Ph.D from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne in 2005, under the supervision of Professor Richard Strugnell. Since graduating, Dr Liaskos research interests have focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying the induction of inflammation and pathology in response to bacterial infection, and in particular, to the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori.

Dr Liaskos undertook her post-doctoral studies in the laboratory of Associate Professor Richard Ferrero at Monash University, where she examined innate immune responses to Helicobacter pylori. During this time, she and her colleagues identified bacterial outer membrane vesicles as a novel mechanism whereby all Gram negative bacteria, irrespective of their mode of infection, could be detected by the intracellular pathogen recognition receptor, NOD1.