We congratulate Associate Professor Laura Mackay from the University of Melbourne who is a finalist in the Macquarie University Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher.

Widely regarded as a leader in the field of immunological memory, Associate Professor Laura Mackay has discovered that a novel population of immune cells called tissue-resident T cells are critical for immune protection against infection and cancer.

Harnessing these cells will be key for the development of new immunotherapeutic strategies against disease.

“The goal of my research program is to identify ways to augment tissue-resident T cell formation and function to provide enhanced local immunity, and to develop new approaches to utilise tissue-resident T cells for next generation vaccines,” Associate Professor Mackay said.

Acknowledgment: This is based on an article originally published by the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity at the University of Melbourne.