
Overview
Background
Emily is currently a post-doctoral researcher in the Vukovic laboratory for Neuroimmunology and Cognition where she investigates the functional consequences of neuro-immune interactions and their impact on traumatic brain injury outcomes. Specifically, she investigates microglia, the CNS resident innate immune cells, and their role in mediating learning and memory deficits arising from brain injury. Dr Willis completed her PhD in neuroimmunology at The University of Queensland in October 2020. During this time, she identified that microglia do not actively drive secondary inflammatory pathology after brain injury, but rejuvenating microglia can induce microglia to become neuro-protective, driving brain repair and restoring cognition after brain injury. She identified that these rejuvenated microglia act via the interleukin-6 signalling pathway and identify this pathway as a potential target for therapeutic intervention. Her work demonstrates that microglia and their suggested roles in propagating brain injury have been previously misunderstood, and approaches to harness and modulate microglia are possible and this can support brain repair and restore brain function after injury. Her work was published in the leading life sciences journal Cell in 2020 (IF: 41.58, citations to date: >350). Her research has received several awards, including the Mark Rowe award and the Paxinos-Watson award, both from the Australian Neuroscience Society (ANS) in 2021, as well as the Postdoctoral Investigator Award from the National Association of Research Fellows (NARF) of the NHMRC in 2020.
Availability
- Dr Emily Willis is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Microglia
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Learning and Memory
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Neurogenesis
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Brain Injury
Works
Search Professor Emily Willis’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2020
Journal Article
Repopulating Microglia Promote Brain Repair in an IL-6-Dependent Manner
Willis, Emily F., MacDonald, Kelli P. A., Nguyen, Quan H., Garrido, Adahir Labrador, Gillespie, Ellen R., Harley, Samuel B. R., Bartlett, Perry F., Schroder, Wayne A., Yates, Abi G., Anthony, Daniel C., Rose-John, Stefan, Ruitenberg, Marc J. and Vukovic, Jana (2020). Repopulating Microglia Promote Brain Repair in an IL-6-Dependent Manner. Cell, 180 (5), 833-846.e16. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.02.013
2024
Journal Article
Phagocytosis of aggrecan-positive perineuronal nets surrounding motor neurons by reactive microglia expressing MMP-9 in TDP-43Q331K ALS model mice
Cheung, Sang Won, Willis, Emily F., Simmons, David G., Bellingham, Mark C. and Noakes, Peter G. (2024). Phagocytosis of aggrecan-positive perineuronal nets surrounding motor neurons by reactive microglia expressing MMP-9 in TDP-43Q331K ALS model mice. Neurobiology of Disease, 200 106614, 1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2024.106614
2024
Journal Article
Featured Cover
Chauquet, Solal, Willis, Emily F., Grice, Laura, Harley, Samuel B. R., Powell, Joseph E., Wray, Naomi R., Nguyen, Quan, Ruitenberg, Marc J., Shah, Sonia and Vukovic, Jana (2024). Featured Cover. Aging Cell, 23 (7). doi: 10.1111/acel.14279
2024
Journal Article
Exercise rejuvenates microglia and reverses T cell accumulation in the aged female mouse brain
Chauquet, Solal, Willis, Emily F., Grice, Laura, Harley, Samuel B. R., Powell, Joseph E., Wray, Naomi R., Nguyen, Quan, Ruitenberg, Marc J., Shah, Sonia and Vukovic, Jana (2024). Exercise rejuvenates microglia and reverses T cell accumulation in the aged female mouse brain. Aging Cell, 23 (7) e14172, e14172. doi: 10.1111/acel.14172
2024
Journal Article
ROCK2 regulates microglia proliferation and neuronal survival after traumatic brain injury
Willis, Emily F., Kim, Seung Jae, Chen, Wei, Nyuydzefe, Melanie, MacDonald, Kelli P.A., Zanin-Zhorov, Alexandra, Ruitenberg, Marc J. and Vukovic, Jana (2024). ROCK2 regulates microglia proliferation and neuronal survival after traumatic brain injury. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 117, 181-194. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.01.004
2023
Journal Article
CSF-1R inhibitor PLX3397 attenuates peripheral and brain chronic GVHD and improves functional outcomes in mice
Shaikh, Samreen N., Willis, Emily F., Dierich, Max, Xu, Yi, Stuart, Samuel J. S., Gobe, Glenda C., Bashaw, Abate A., Rawashdeh, Oliver, Kim, Seung Jae and Vukovic, Jana (2023). CSF-1R inhibitor PLX3397 attenuates peripheral and brain chronic GVHD and improves functional outcomes in mice. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 20 (1) 300, 300. doi: 10.1186/s12974-023-02984-7
2023
Journal Article
Robust mapping of spatiotemporal trajectories and cell–cell interactions in healthy and diseased tissues
Pham, Duy, Tan, Xiao, Balderson, Brad, Xu, Jun, Grice, Laura F., Yoon, Sohye, Willis, Emily F., Tran, Minh, Lam, Pui Yeng, Raghubar, Arti, Kalita-de Croft, Priyakshi, Lakhani, Sunil, Vukovic, Jana, Ruitenberg, Marc J. and Nguyen, Quan H. (2023). Robust mapping of spatiotemporal trajectories and cell–cell interactions in healthy and diseased tissues. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 7739, 1-25. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-43120-6
2023
Journal Article
Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) promotes brain repair and improves cognitive outcomes after traumatic brain injury in a FcγRIIB receptor-dependent manner
Willis, Emily F., Gillespie, Ellen R., Guse, Kirsten, Zuercher, Adrian W., Käsermann, Fabian, Ruitenberg, Marc J. and Vukovic, Jana (2023). Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) promotes brain repair and improves cognitive outcomes after traumatic brain injury in a FcγRIIB receptor-dependent manner. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 109, 37-50. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.12.018
2021
Journal Article
Selective ablation of BDNF from microglia reveals novel roles in self-renewal and hippocampal neurogenesis
Harley, Samuel B. R., Willis, Emily F., Shaikh, Samreen N., Blackmore, Daniel G., Sah, Pankaj, Ruitenberg, Marc J., Bartlett, Perry F. and Vukovic, Jana (2021). Selective ablation of BDNF from microglia reveals novel roles in self-renewal and hippocampal neurogenesis. The Journal of Neuroscience, 41 (19), 4172-4186. doi: 10.1523/jneurosci.2539-20.2021
2020
Journal Article
Protocol for brain-wide or region-specific microglia depletion and repopulation in adult mice
Willis, Emily F. and Vukovic, Jana (2020). Protocol for brain-wide or region-specific microglia depletion and repopulation in adult mice. STAR protocols, 1 (3) 100211, 100211. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2020.100211
2020
Other Outputs
Role of microglia in traumatic brain injury
Willis, Emily (2020). Role of microglia in traumatic brain injury. PhD Thesis, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/906b939
2018
Journal Article
Complement components are upregulated and correlate with disease progression in the TDP-43 mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Lee, John D., Levin, Samantha C., Willis, Emily F., Li, Rui, Woodruff, Trent M. and Noakes, Peter G. (2018). Complement components are upregulated and correlate with disease progression in the TDP-43 mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 15 (1) 171, 171. doi: 10.1186/s12974-018-1217-2
2018
Journal Article
Defects in synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction precedes motor deficits in a TDP-43Q331K transgenic mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Chand, Kirat K., Lee, Kah Meng, Lee, John D., Qiu, Hao, Willis, Emily F., Lavidis, Nickolas A., Hilliard, Massimo A. and Noakes, Peter G. (2018). Defects in synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction precedes motor deficits in a TDP-43Q331K transgenic mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. FASEB Journal : Official Publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 32 (5), fj201700835R-2689. doi: 10.1096/fj.201700835R
2017
Journal Article
Somatic Arc protein expression in hippocampal granule cells is increased in response to environmental change but independent of task-specific learning
Cleland, J. P., Willis, E. F., Bartlett, P. F. and Vukovic, J. (2017). Somatic Arc protein expression in hippocampal granule cells is increased in response to environmental change but independent of task-specific learning. Scientific Reports, 7 (1) 12477, 12477. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-12583-1
2017
Journal Article
Protocol for Short- and Longer-term Spatial Learning and Memory in Mice
Willis, Emily F., Bartlett, Perry F. and Vukovic, Jana (2017). Protocol for Short- and Longer-term Spatial Learning and Memory in Mice. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 11 197, 1-8. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00197
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Emily Willis is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Role of Microglia in Neurotrauma
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Marc Ruitenberg, Professor Jurgen Götz, Professor Jana Vukovic
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Doctor Philosophy
Targeting IL-6 trans-signalling in brain injury
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Seung Jae Kim, Professor Jana Vukovic
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Doctor Philosophy
Role of Microglia in Neurotrauma
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Marc Ruitenberg, Professor Jurgen Götz, Professor Jana Vukovic
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Doctor Philosophy
Impact of brain injury on the dopaminergic circuits
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Oliver Rawashdeh, Professor Jana Vukovic
Media
Enquiries
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