Congratulations to Dr Lisa Mielke, who received a prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship totalling $1.13 million to research new molecules for future drug and vaccine development.
Better understanding the complexities of our gut’s immune system will help guide Dr Mielke’s team in the Mucosal Immunity and Cancer Laboratory in their work on bowel cancer.
Our intestine faces daily damage from chemicals, carcinogens and potential pathogens in the food that we eat. Therefore, understanding how our gut immune system can protect us is critical. Dr Mielke says:
“Immune cells play a key role in protecting the intestine from damage, including from the development of cancer.
“Therefore, by understanding how immune cells develop and function in the intestine, we can develop future strategies to promote gut health and to better protect ourselves against bowel cancer.”
Bowel cancer made up over 9% of all cancer diagnoses and nearly 10% of all cancer deaths in 2024. While Australia has access to a Bowel Cancer Screening Program which has led to this increase in diagnoses, further research is required to identify new treatments that are more effective and tolerable for patients.
Dr Mielke explains the direction that this ARC Future Fellowship allows her research to take:
“My team will work to understand immune cell development, homeostatic maintenance and essential repair processes in the intestine.
“We will focus on immune cells known as gamma delta (γδ) T cells, which are highly enriched in the gut.
“We aim to better understand their development and important function in maintaining intestinal homeostasis and repair.”
Dr Mielke recently returned from the Early Onset CRC Global Think Tank, where a group of international bowel cancer experts discussed possible new strategies to slow the sharp rise in this insidious disease. This Think Tank was a highly positive experience, which will lead to further international collaboration between bowel cancer researchers.
Congratulations to Dr Mielke for this much-deserved achievement, reflecting her leadership in the bowel cancer space.