The immune system: Department of Defence or Department of Destruction

Associate Professor Di Yu will receive the 2017 John James Foundation Tony Ayers Prize for his work in translational medicine.

The immune system strikes a kaleidoscope way to eliminate different types of infections and cancerous cells. While a weakened immune system leads to susceptibility to infections and cancers, the trade-off of “strong” immune responses is the risk of autoimmune diseases and inflammation. Maintenance of a competent but balanced immune system is the cornerstone of health. In this public lecture, Associate Professor Di Yu from The John Curtin School of Medical Research will present cutting-edge science providing a better understanding of the protective and deleterious role of the immune system.  Associate Professor Yu will also discuss novel strategies invented by his research group to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases such as lupus and osteoporosis.

Associate Professor Di Yu leads the TIM3 (T-Cell Immune Mechanism, Monitoring and Modulation) at The John Curtin School of Medical Research. His group investigates the molecular mechanisms used by T-cells to regulate and balance the immune response, to design new strategies for immunotherapies to treat inflammation, autoimmune diseases, infections and cancer. Associate Professor Yu completed his PhD (2007) from The Australian National University. After a decade at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Monash University, he came back to ANU in 2017 to set up a new research group at The John Curtin School of Medical Research.