Congrats Wael, Jia Jia and Jamie on securing NHMRC Investigator Grants

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Monash BDI researchers secure more than $18M in NHMRC Investigator Grants

Nine researchers from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) have secured more than $18 million in funding through the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) 2026 Investigator Grant scheme, announced by Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Mark Butler.

 

Monash BDI’s NHMRC Investigator Grants 2026 recipients: Prof Mary Herbert, Prof Jamie Rossjohn, Prof Andrew Ellisdon, A/Prof Rhys Grinter, Prof Francine Marques, Dr Wael Awad,  Dr Lauren Alesi, Dr Meiling Han, Dr Jia Jia Lim.

Professor Dena Lyras, Interim Director of the Monash BDI, said the funding highlights the strength and diversity of the Institute’s research community.

“These Investigator Grants support some of Australia’s most innovative and ambitious biomedical research programs, and I’m delighted to see nine Monash BDI researchers recognised through this highly competitive scheme,” Professor Lyras said.

“The funded projects span a remarkable breadth of research, from reproductive health and cardiovascular disease to cancer immunotherapy, antimicrobial resistance and AI-enabled drug discovery. Together, they have the potential to deliver important advances in our understanding of disease and contribute to the development of new treatments that improve health outcomes,” she said.

“This funding will enable our researchers to pursue bold ideas and address some of the most significant health challenges facing Australia and the global community. I congratulate all of our Investigator Grant recipients on this achievement and acknowledge the significant effort that goes into developing applications for such a competitive funding scheme.”

The nine Monash BDI projects are among 26 projects awarded more than $49 million in funding to Monash Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences (MNHS) researchers in the latest NHMRC Investigator Grants. Read more on each of the MNHS recipients here.

The Rossjohn lab researchers to receive funding were:

Professor Jamie Rossjohn FAA FRS, A molecular investigation into T cell antigen receptor function and dysfunction in humans

T cells play a key role in the human immune system. However, there are many aspects of T cell mediated immunity we do not understand. This proposal is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning how T cell antigen receptor (TCR) recognition events govern cellular immunity in the context of protective, aberrant and anti-tumour immunity. This includes understanding how TCRs recognise peptides, lipids and metabolites presented by the MHC, CD1 and MR1 family of antigen presenting molecules.

Emerging Leadership 2

Dr Wael Awad, Harnessing Cancer-Activated Invariant T cells for next-generation cancer immunotherapy

A newly discovered cancer-fighting immune cell could pave the way for next-generation immunotherapies that work across a wide range of tumour types. This project focuses on cancer-associated invariant T (CAIT) cells, which recognise cancer-related metabolic signals presented by the molecule MR1. Using structural biology, biochemistry and immunology, this project aims to identify the tumour metabolites that activate these cells and develop novel MR1-based therapies. The findings could reveal universal cancer targets and support the creation of broadly applicable immunotherapies and vaccines for cancer treatment and prevention.

Emerging Leadership 1

Dr Jia Jia Lim, Targeting CD1a-restricted T cells for molecular intervention in skin autoimmunity  

New insights into how the skin’s immune system responds to altered lipids, with the goal of  developing more targeted treatments for inflammatory skin diseases. This project focuses on CD1a, an immune molecule that presents lipid antigens to T cells and can trigger harmful immune responses when skin lipids are altered by factors such as UV exposure or cosmetic products. Using structural biology and immunology, the research will uncover how altered lipids activate pathogenic T cells and explore ways to block these interactions, providing a foundation for improved therapies for psoriasis, eczema and allergic contact dermatitis.

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Congratulations, Jamie on your appointment as Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor!

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Inaugural cohort of Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Professors

Monash University has established the Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Professorships, a distinguished title that will be conferred to senior Monash University professors across our International Campus Network who are of sustained international pre-eminence in research or education within their discipline.

Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Professorships (VCDP) will be conferred annually through a nomination process that will be overseen by the Provost and Senior Vice-President, who will receive nominations from deputy vice-chancellors, faculty deans and heads of international campuses and locations.

First cohort of Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Professors

Monash University congratulates the first cohort of Monash University professors to be conferred the title of Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor, commencing today (Monday 1 June 2026):

These recipients embody the excellence that Monash University has come to be recognised for nationally and globally over the years. As researchers, they consistently achieve pioneering breakthroughs and discoveries in their fields, many of which are translated into innovations that change and save lives. As educators, they empower our students and graduates to be the leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators who will build and shape our future. Their work transcends generations, creating social and technological transformation at a global scale.

We look forward to the many accomplishments they will continue to achieve at Monash in their respective fields as the inaugural holders of the Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor title. We also look forward to future nominations for this prestigious title in later nomination rounds.

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Congrats Mai on your Breakthrough T1D Researcher Fellowship

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Monash University’s Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) is celebrating the achievement of Dr Mai Tran, who has been awarded a highly competitive Breakthrough T1D Australia Early Career Basic Researcher Fellowship 2026 through the Type 1 Diabetes Clinical Research Network (T1DCRN).

Dr Tran is one of only seven Australian researchers selected for this national fellowship, which supports exceptional early‑career scientists accelerating world‑class type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Each Fellow receives $150,000 over three years, along with tailored mentorship and training designed to foster research independence and develop the next generation of leaders in T1D science.

An immunologist based at the Monash BDI, Dr Tran investigates the earliest events that trigger the autoimmune attack responsible for T1D. Her research focuses on how tiny proteins within the pancreas may mistakenly signal the immune system to treat insulin‑producing beta cells as dangerous invaders. This misdirection initiates a cascade of immune activity, ultimately destroying the beta cells essential for blood‑glucose control.

Through the fellowship, Dr Tran will work to identify the key factors that drive this abnormal immune recognition. Understanding these early triggers is critical for preventing the autoimmune cascade before irreversible beta‑cell damage occurs. Her findings could lay the groundwork for next‑generation immunotherapies that stop T1D before it starts.

Breakthrough T1D Australia Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Dorota Pawlak, said the fellowships are designed to cultivate Australia’s most promising emerging researchers.

“By funding this fantastic group of researchers, we’re investing in the future of T1D research,” Dr Pawlak said.

“These fellowships give budding scientists a clear path to independence, helping them become future leaders in T1D research.”

Dr Tran said she is honoured to receive the fellowship and excited about the opportunity to push the boundaries of early‑stage T1D research.

“This support enables our team to investigate the very first moments of autoimmune activation in unprecedented detail,” Dr Tran said. “Understanding these earliest events is essential for developing strategies that prevent T1D before it takes hold.”

The Monash BDI congratulates Dr Mai Tran and looks forward to the discoveries that will emerge from her fellowship‑supported research.

Read more about Breakthrough T1D and these new research fellowships here.

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Congrats Phat on your first authored Nature Communications paper

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New discovery rewrites the rules of antigen presentation

Credit: Thinh-Phat Cao, Monash University.

A new discovery about how cells communicate with each other in the body’s immune system has revealed deeper insights for an international team of scientists into fundamental immune system function.

The new study, published in Nature Communications, overturns a long held understanding about how T cells – white blood cells that make up a key part of the immune system – recognise lipid antigens, a chemical class of molecules that make up cell membranes.

Lipids are presented to T cells by a distinct family of molecules called CD1, yet one member of this family, CD1c, has remained poorly understood despite its significant role in human immunity.

For more than 30 years, scientists considered that antigens were displayed to T cells in a simple, upright position, pointing directly towards the T cell. This “end-to-end” arrangement was considered a universal rule governing how immune cells recognise threats.

Now, researchers from Monash University’s Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) and the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital, together with collaborators from the University of Melbourne and the University of Oxford, have challenged long-held assumptions about how immune recognition works.

Challenging rules in immunology

Using high resolution imaging the research team discovered that CD1c can display lipid molecules in an unexpected sideways orientation. Dr Adam Shahine, a NHMRC research fellow at Monash BDI, said the discovery reveals that antigen presentation is not governed by a single rigid set of rules, but instead can involve different arrangements that expand how the immune system surveys its environment.

“Much of immunology has been built around the idea that immune recognition follows one fixed arrangement,” Dr Shahine said. “This work shows that the immune system is more flexible than we assumed, and that there are additional ways immune cells can ‘see’ what’s around them.”

Rather than interfering with immune recognition, the sideways positioning allows T cells to scan CD1c effectively.

The findings show that CD1c can handle larger lipid molecules by allowing part of the molecule to extend out to the side, while remaining visible to T cells.

This new antigen display model does not merely hold for a single type of lipid. Dr Tan-Yun Cheng has demonstrated that mass spectrometry could be used to directly detect CD1c binding to dozens of lipid types, with the patterns of lipids displayed suggesting this new model could be broadly used in the CD1c system.

First author Dr Thinh-Phat Cao said that the findings highlight CD1c as a complex molecular player with unique properties in immune recognition.

“Using data collected at the ANSTO Australian Synchrotron, we found that CD1c can hold multiple lipids in place at the same time, in unique configurations, but can position them in a manner that still allows immune cells to engage,” Dr Cao said.

“That flexibility helps explain how the immune system can deal with such a wide variety of lipid molecules, shaping immune responses in unexpected ways.”

What this means for future breakthroughs on health and disease

Lipids are abundant throughout the body and play important roles in normal physiology and disease. Understanding how the immune system recognises these molecules is essential for building a more complete picture of immune function.

By revealing a new way lipids can be displayed to immune cells, the study helps explain how immune recognition can extend beyond traditional models based on proteins alone.

While this research is driven by fundamental discovery, it also lays important groundwork for future studies exploring how lipid recognition contributes to health and disease.

At Monash University, this work is supported by growing international collaborations, including through the Monash Boston Hub, which strengthens research connections between Australia and the United States.

By bringing together basic scientists and clinical researchers, these partnerships help ensure that foundational discoveries, such as this new understanding of lipid immunity, can be explored further in human disease over time.

Understanding this could lead to new strategies for diagnostics and targeted therapies.

“This discovery opens new avenues to better understand how diseases where lipids play a role,” Dr Shahine said.

“This could aid in the design of treatments that are better matched to how the body responds to disease.”

Read the full publication, “Sideways lipid presentation by the antigen-presenting molecule CD1c”, in Nature Communications: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67732-2

This research has been supported with funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.

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Congrats Mohamed on your first authored JEM paper

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Scientists discover natural molecules that help calm immune cells

First author on the JEM publication, Monash BDI PhD student Mohamed Abdelaal, and co-senior and co-corresponding author, Dr. Wael Awad.

Researchers have uncovered a surprising way the human body helps keep its immune system in check. The study found that when the body breaks down vitamin B2 (riboflavin), it produces natural molecules that can reduce the activity of MAIT cells – specialised immune cells involved in inflammation.

Co-led by Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) and University of Melbourne researchers, and published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, the discovery shows that our bodies naturally produce molecules that can suppress MAIT cell activity, filling a major gap in understanding how the body maintains immune balance. Previously, research focused on how bacteria activate these cells, but little was known about the body’s own regulatory mechanisms.

These molecules interact with an immune sensor called MR1, which normally helps activate MAIT cells. Instead of boosting MR1 activity like vitamin-related molecules do, the body’s own molecules keep MR1 inside the cell, lowering its presence on the surface and dampening the immune response.

“Our findings reveal a natural mechanism that prevents unnecessary immune activation and inflammation,” said Mohamed Abdelaal, a PhD student with the Monash BDI and first author of the study.

“Understanding this process opens the door to new ways of controlling inflammation and immune-related diseases, by targeting overactive immune responses,” he said.

The study highlights a new dimension of MR1 biology and its role in immune homeostasis, paving the way for future research into how metabolic byproducts influence immunity.

Next steps include testing these molecules in living systems and exploring drug-like compounds that fine-tune MAIT cell activity, potentially leading to new therapeutic targets for immune disorders.

This study was co-led by Dr Wael Awad from Monash University’s Biomedicine Discovery Institute, and Dr Nicholas Gheradin from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne.

Read the full paper published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, titled The antigen presenting molecule MR1 binds host-generated riboflavin catabolites.
DOI: 10.1084/jem.20250711

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