CIDR Seminar
Title: Rediscovering macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF): new roles for an old cytokine
Speaker: Dr Jim Harris, Joint Head Rheumatology Research Lab, Monash University
Biosketch:
Dr Harris is an Immunologist/Cell Biologist with interests in cytokine biology, autophagy, innate immunity, inflammation and host-pathogen interactions. He has worked on a wide range of different projects at numerous universities and institutes, including Oxford University, University of New Mexico and Trinity College Dublin. As Joint Head of the Rheumatology Research Lab at Monash University, he is currently running projects on innate immune responses and inflammation in autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, lupus), arthritis and scleroderma. The Rheumatology Research Group runs the Lupus Biobank, which houses the countries largest collection of lupus patient blood samples, collecting whole blood, sera, PBMC, DNA and RNA and is currently developing large data analysis of protein biomarkers and genetic information. The group also has access to samples from patients with Rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma and fibromyalgia.
About Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research Annual Symposium
The IMB Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research (CIDR) annual symposium is an opportunity for research students, postdoctoral staff and group leaders to get together to exchange ideas and techniques, and discuss the basis and role of inflammation in multiple human diseases.