Matt Sweet is a Group Leader at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Matt studies innate immunity, the body's danger sensing system that responds to infection, injury and dysregulated homeostasis, and the role of this system in health and disease. Matt's research team focuses on manipulating the innate immune system for the development of anti-infective and anti-inflammatory strategies. To do so, his lab characterizes the roles of specific innate immune pattern recognition receptors and their downstream signalling pathways/gene products in inflammatory and infectious disease processes, with a particular focus on immunometabolism. He has authored >190 journal articles and book chapters, including in Science (2), Science Translational Medicine, Science Immunology (2), Nature Immunology, Nature Reviews Immunology, Nature Genetics, Nature Communications(4), PNAS USA (8), Cell Metabolism, Developmental Celland Journal of Experimental Medicine (2), and his career publications have accrued ~23,000 citations. Matt has held several leadership roles at the IMB, including IMB Director of Higher Degree Research (DHDR, 2021-2025), member of the IMB Senior Executive Committee (2023-2025), founding Director of the IMB Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research (2014-2018), and Deputy Head of the IMB Division of Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine (2014-2018).

Biography

I was awarded a PhD (The University of Queensland) in 1996 for my research under the supervision of Prof David Hume into gene regulation in macrophages, immune cells with important roles in health and disease. I subsequently undertook a short postdoctoral position in the same laboratory, focusing on the activation of macrophages by pathogen products. I then embarked on a CJ Martin post-doctoral training fellowship with Prof Eddy Liew, FRS at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Returning to The University of Queensland, I had a prominent role within the Cooperative Research Centre for Chronic Inflammatory Diseases (including as UQ node head from 2007-2008) and was appointed as a Group Leader at the IMB in 2007. Since that time, I have held several fellowships, including an ARC Future Fellowship, two NHMRC Senior Research Fellowships, an NHMRC Leadership Fellowship, and a Le Studium Visiting Researcher Award.

Key discoveries

CpG-containing DNA as an activator of innate immunity, and characterization of the receptor (TLR9) detecting this microbial component.

The IL-1 receptor family member ST2 as a critical regulator of innate immunity and inflammation.

Inflammatory and antimicrobial functions of histone deacetylase enzymes (HDACs) in macrophages.

Effects of the growth factor CSF-1 on inflammatory responses in macrophages.

Mechanisms responsible for divergence in TLR responses between human and mouse macrophages, as well as the functional consequences of such divergence.

The first description of the p19/EBI3 heterodimer, subsequently renamed by others as the cytokine IL-39.

TLR-inducible zinc toxicity as an antimicrobial weapon of macrophages, as well as its deficiency in Cystic Fibrosis.

Host evasion strategies used by the bacterial pathogens Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and uropathogenic E. coli.

SCIMP as a novel TLR adaptor that mediates TLR tyrosine phosphorylation and selective cytokine outputs.

Genes and pathways associated with the severity of chronic liver disease.

Molecular mechanisms controlling macrophage immunometabolism, as well as associated inflammatory and antimicrobial responses.

Anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities of the metabolite ribulose-5-phosphate.

Role of mitochondrial fission in antibacterial defence.

Research training

I have supervised or co-supervised 34 completed PhD students and 26 completed honours students, and have mentored many post-doctoral researchers over the course of my career. Many of my former staff and students continue to have active research careers around the world (USA, UK, Europe, Australia), including as independent laboratory heads. Others have key roles in and industry and government. I currently supervise 4 PhD students in my laboratory, co-supervise 3 PhD students in other laboratories, and oversee the research activities of 3 post-doctoral researchers in my group. Current and former staff/students have received numerous fellowships and awards during their research careers (e.g. ARC DECRA, NHMRC CJ Martin fellowship, UQ post-doctoral fellowship, Smart State scholarship). I have also examined 32 PhD theses and 3 MPhil theses, primarily in the fields of innate immunity, inflammation and host defence.

Professional activities

I have served as an editorial board member for several international journals including Journal of Leukocyte Biology (current), Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology (current), and Immunology and Cell Biology (past). I have served on NHMRC project grant review panels in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012 (as panel chair) and 2014, NHMRC Ideas panels in 2020 and 2024, NHMRC Investigator panels in 2021 and 2022, as well as a member of the NHMRC RGMS user reference group committee from 2010-2012. I acted as national representative for the Australasian Society of Immunology (ASI) Infection and Immunity special interest group from 2012-2017 and currently serve as a board member for the International Society for Zinc Biology. At UQ, I served as chair of an animal ethics committee from 2013-2014 and co-organized the UQ Host-Pathogen interaction network from 2007-2010 (prior to the establishment of the Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre). Other leadership roles have included IMB Director of Higher Degree Research (DHDR, 2021-2025), member of the IMB Senior Executive Committee (2023-2025), founding Director of the IMB Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research (2014-2018), and Deputy Head of the IMB Division of Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine (2014-2018).

I have made extensive contributions to conference organization in my discipline. I co-organized the national TLROZ2009 and TLROZ2012 conferences, I organized the first ever Australasian Society for Immunology (ASI) Infection and Immunity workshop (2009), was chair of the ASI Program Committee and co-organizer of the Infection and Immunity workshop for ASI2017, and I co-organized the annual IMB Inflammation Symposium (2014-2018). I also co-chaired the 2019 World Conference of Inflammation (Sydney, September 2019). In addition, I have been a member of the organizing committee for ASI2009, the 2014 International Cytokine and Interferon Society conference, the Lorne Infection and Immunity conference (2014-2020), the Queensland Immunology Networking Symposium (2020-2024), the Brisbane Immunology Group annual meeting (2008-2024), and the International Society for Zinc Biology Conference (2026).

I am an NHMRC Leadership Fellow with joint apointments at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) and School of Pharmacy, UQ. My research interests lie in the fields of peripheral pain mechanisms, target identification and analgesic drug discovery. I investigate the contribution of ion channels to sensory neuronal physiology using highly subtype-selective toxins isolated from venomous animals with the aim to develop novel analgesics with improved efficacy and tolerability.