Overview
Background
Emeritus Professor Michael Pender graduated from The University of Queensland in 1974 with First Class Honours in Medicine and a University Medal. Over the next six years he trained as a physician and neurologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, and became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) in 1981. During his specialist clinical training he developed a keen interest in multiple sclerosis which he has continued since then. After completing his clinical training in neurology, he was a research scholar in the field of multiple sclerosis at the Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, and was awarded a PhD from the University of London and Queen Square Prize for Research in 1983. From 1984 to 1986 he continued this research as a Research Fellow at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra. In 1987 he was appointed Senior Lecturer in the Department of Medicine, The University of Queensland, at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. In 1989 he was awarded a Doctorate of Medicine from The University of Queensland for his research in the field of multiple sclerosis and was promoted to Reader in Medicine. In 1995 he was promoted to Professor of Medicine (Personal Chair), The University of Queensland, which he held until his retirement in 2021. His main clinical and research interest is multiple sclerosis. He also held the positions of: Consultant Neurologist, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, 1987–2021; Director of Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, 1992–2005: Director of the Neuroimmunology Research Centre, The University of Queensland, 1991–2007; Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Research Centre, The University of Queensland, 2009–2014; and Clinical Fellow, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, 2017–2021. In 1996, with the support of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Queensland, he established a Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. In 2006 he was awarded the Multiple Sclerosis Australia Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research - "For outstanding commitment and dedication to research into the cause and cure of Multiple Sclerosis in Australia". In 2011 he received the John H Tyrer Prize in Internal Medicine, The University of Queensland, for research in the field of Internal Medicine. He was the Sir Raphael Cilento Orator of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators for 2009 and the W Ian McDonald Lecturer of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists for 2014. In 2019 he received the John Studdy Award from Multiple Sclerosis Australia for "lifelong commitment and service to research to identify the cause of and potential cure for Multiple Sclerosis". In 2024 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to medicine, particularly neurology and multiple sclerosis research, and to tertiary education. Major research achievements include: the discovery of apoptosis of autoreactive T cells in the central nervous system as a fundamental mechanism of recovery from autoimmune attack (Journal of the Neurological Sciences 1991, Journal of Autoimmunity 1992, European Journal of Immunology 1994); formulation of a novel hypothesis (The Lancet 1998) proposing a failure of this mechanism in multiple sclerosis; and the further development of this hypothesis into a new paradigm (Trends in Immunology 2003) for the cause of human chronic autoimmune diseases based on infection of autoreactive B cells with the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), some of the predictions of which have already been verified in multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren’s syndrome. His EBV hypothesis led to the first clinical trial of EBV-specific T cell therapy in multiple sclerosis (JCI Insight 2018), a trial in which he was a principal investigator.
Group page: https://medicine-program.uq.edu.au/multiple-sclerosis-research-group
Availability
- Emeritus Professor Michael Pender is:
- Not available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Medicine Surgery, The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, University College London
- Doctoral Diploma of Medicine, The University of Queensland
- Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Royal Australasian College of Physicians
Works
Search Professor Michael Pender’s works on UQ eSpace
2024
Journal Article
Examining the environmental risk factors of progressive-onset and relapsing-onset multiple sclerosis: recruitment challenges, potential bias, and statistical strategies
Li, Ying, Saul, Alice, Taylor, Bruce, Ponsonby, Anne-Louise, Simpson-Yap, Steve, Blizzard, Leigh, Broadley, Simon, Lechner-Scott, Jeannette, Lucas, Robyn, Dear, Keith, Ponsonby, Anne-Louise, Dwyer, Terry, van der Mei, Ingrid, Blizzard, Leigh, Simpson-Yap, Steve, Taylor, Bruce, Broadley, Simon, Kilpatrick, Trevor, Williams, David, Lechner-Scott, Jeanette, Shaw, Cameron, Chapman, Caron, Coulthard, Alan, Pender, Michael, Valery, Patricia, Karabudak, Rana, Patti, Francesco, Eichau, Sara, Onofrj, Marco ... van der Mei, Ingrid (2024). Examining the environmental risk factors of progressive-onset and relapsing-onset multiple sclerosis: recruitment challenges, potential bias, and statistical strategies. Journal of Neurology, 271 (1), 472-485. doi: 10.1007/s00415-023-11980-z
2023
Journal Article
A pro-inflammatory diet in people with multiple sclerosis is associated with an increased rate of relapse and increased FLAIR lesion volume on MRI in early multiple sclerosis: A prospective cohort study
Saul, Alice M., Taylor, Bruce V., Blizzard, Leigh, Simpson-Yap, Steve, Oddy, Wendy H., Shivappa, Nittin, Hébert, James R., Black, Lucinda J., Ponsonby, Anne-Louise, Broadley, Simon A., Lechner-Scott, Jeanette, van der Mei, Ingrid, Lucas, Robyn M, Dear, Keith, Dwyer, Terry, Broadley, Simon, Kilpatrick, Trevor, Williams, David, Shaw, Cameron, Chapman, Caron, Coulthard, Alan, Pender, Michael P. and Valery, Patricia (2023). A pro-inflammatory diet in people with multiple sclerosis is associated with an increased rate of relapse and increased FLAIR lesion volume on MRI in early multiple sclerosis: A prospective cohort study. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 29 (8), 1012-1023. doi: 10.1177/13524585231167739
2022
Journal Article
Long-term trajectories of employment status, workhours and disability support pension status, after a first episode of CNS demyelination
Zarghami, Amin, van der Mei, Ingrid, Hussain, Mohammad Akhtar, Claflin, Suzi B, Bessing, Barnabas, Simpson-Yap, Steve, Ponsonby, Anne-Louise, Lechner-Scott, Jeanette, Broadley, Simon, Lucas, Robyn, Dear, Keith, Dwyer, Terry, Taylor, Bruce V, Kilpatrick, Trevor, Williams, David, Shaw, Cameron, Chapman, Caron, Coulthard, Alan, Pender, Michael P., Valery, Patricia and AusLong Investigator Group (2022). Long-term trajectories of employment status, workhours and disability support pension status, after a first episode of CNS demyelination. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 28 (11), 1793-1807. doi: 10.1177/13524585221089900
2022
Journal Article
Predictors of progression from a first demyelinating event to clinically definite multiple sclerosis
Chapman, Caron, Lucas, Robyn M., Ponsonby, Anne-Louise, Taylor, Bruce, Chapman, Caron, Coulthard, Alan, Dear, Keith, Dwyer, Terry, Kilpatrick, Trevor, Lucas, Robyn, McMichael, Tony, Pender, Michael, Ponsonby, Anne-Louise, Valery, Patricia C., Van Der Mei, Ingrid and Williams, David (2022). Predictors of progression from a first demyelinating event to clinically definite multiple sclerosis. Brain Communications, 4 (4) fcac181, 1-1155. doi: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac181
2021
Journal Article
NMOSD and MS prevalence in the Indigenous populations of Australia and New Zealand
Bukhari, Wajih, Khalilidehkordi, Elham, Mason, Deborah F., Barnett, Michael H., Taylor, Bruce V., Fabis-Pedrini, Marzena, Kermode, Allan G., Subramanian, Sankar, Waters, Patrick, Broadley, Simon A., Bukhari, Wajih, Broadley, Simon A., Abernethy, David, Bhuta, Sandeep, Blum, Stefan, Boggild, Mike, Boundy, Karyn, Brew, Bruce J., Brilot, Fabienne, Brownlee, Wallace J., Bundell, Christine S., Butzkueven, Helmut, Carroll, William M., Chen, Celia, Clarke, Laura, Coulthard, Alan, Dale, Russell C., Das, Chandi, Dear, Keith ... Yiu, Eppie M. (2021). NMOSD and MS prevalence in the Indigenous populations of Australia and New Zealand. Journal of Neurology, 269 (2), 836-845. doi: 10.1007/s00415-021-10665-9
2021
Journal Article
High Prudent diet factor score predicts lower relapse hazard in early multiple sclerosis
Simpson-Yap, Steve, Oddy, Wendy H, Taylor, Bruce, Lucas, Robyn M, Black, Lucinda J, Ponsonby, Anne-Louise, Blizzard, Leigh, van der Mei, Ingrid, Dear, Keith, Dwyer, Terry, Taylor, Bruce V., Broadley, Simon, Kilpatrick, Trevor, Williams, David, Lechner-Scott, Jeanette, Shaw, Cameron, Chapman, Caron, Coulthard, Alan, Pender, Michael P. and Valery, Patricia (2021). High Prudent diet factor score predicts lower relapse hazard in early multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 27 (7), 1112-1124. doi: 10.1177/1352458520943087
2021
Journal Article
Erratum: Epstein–Barr Virus in Multiple Sclerosis: Theory and Emerging Immunotherapies: (Trends in Molecular Medicine, 26:3 p:296-310, 2020) (Trends in Molecular Medicine (2020) 26(3) (296–310), (S1471491419302941), (10.1016/j.molmed.2019.11.003))
Bar-Or, Amit, Pender, Michael P., Khanna, Rajiv, Steinman, Lawrence, Hartung, Hans-Peter, Maniar, Tap, Croze, Ed, Aftab, Blake T., Giovannoni, Gavin and Joshi, Manher A. (2021). Erratum: Epstein–Barr Virus in Multiple Sclerosis: Theory and Emerging Immunotherapies: (Trends in Molecular Medicine, 26:3 p:296-310, 2020) (Trends in Molecular Medicine (2020) 26(3) (296–310), (S1471491419302941), (10.1016/j.molmed.2019.11.003)). Trends in Molecular Medicine, 27 (4), 410-411. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2021.01.004
2021
Journal Article
Sustained Clinical Improvement in a Subset of Patients With Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Treated With Epstein–Barr Virus-Specific T Cell Therapy
Ioannides, Zara A., Csurhes, Peter A., Douglas, Nanette L., Mackenroth, Gem, Swayne, Andrew, Thompson, Kate M., Hopkins, Tracey J., Green, Kerryn A., Blum, Stefan, Hooper, Kaye D., Wyssusek, Kerstin H., Coulthard, Alan and Pender, Michael P. (2021). Sustained Clinical Improvement in a Subset of Patients With Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Treated With Epstein–Barr Virus-Specific T Cell Therapy. Frontiers in Neurology, 12 652811, 652811. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.652811
2021
Journal Article
Correlations between macrophage/microglial activation marker sTREM-2 and measures of T-cell activation, neuroaxonal damage and disease severity in multiple sclerosis
Ioannides, Zara A., Csurhes, Peter A., Swayne, Andrew, Foubert, Philippe, Aftab, Blake T. and Pender, Michael P. (2021). Correlations between macrophage/microglial activation marker sTREM-2 and measures of T-cell activation, neuroaxonal damage and disease severity in multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Journal Experimental, Translational and Clinical, 7 (2), 1-12. doi: 10.1177/20552173211019772
2020
Journal Article
Epstein-Barr virus-specific T cell therapy for progressive multiple sclerosis
Pender, Michael P., Csurhes, Peter A., Smith, Corey, Douglas, Nanette L., Neller, Michelle A., Matthews, Katherine K., Beagley, Leone, Rehan, Sweera, Crooks, Pauline, Hopkins, Tracey J., Blum, Stefan, Green, Kerryn A., Ioannides, Zara A., Swayne, Andrew, Aftab, Blake T., Hooper, Kaye D., Burrows, Scott R., Thompson, Kate M., Coulthard, Alan and Khanna, Rajiv (2020). Epstein-Barr virus-specific T cell therapy for progressive multiple sclerosis. JCI insight, 5 (20) e144624. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.144624
2020
Journal Article
Correlation between anti-myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) antibodies and disease severity in multiple sclerosis patients with PLP response-permissive HLA types
Greer, Judith M., Trifilieff, Elisabeth and Pender, Michael P. (2020). Correlation between anti-myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) antibodies and disease severity in multiple sclerosis patients with PLP response-permissive HLA types. Frontiers in Immunology, 11 1891, 1891. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01891
2020
Journal Article
Reduced IκB-α protein levels in peripheral blood cells of patients with multiple sclerosis — a possible cause of constitutive NF-κB activation
Yan, Jun, McCombe, Pamela A., Pender, Michael P. and Greer, Judith M. (2020). Reduced IκB-α protein levels in peripheral blood cells of patients with multiple sclerosis — a possible cause of constitutive NF-κB activation. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9 (8) 2534, 2534-13. doi: 10.3390/jcm9082534
2020
Journal Article
Hypothesis: bipolar disorder is an Epstein-Barr virus-driven chronic autoimmune disease - implications for immunotherapy
Pender, Michael P. (2020). Hypothesis: bipolar disorder is an Epstein-Barr virus-driven chronic autoimmune disease - implications for immunotherapy. Clinical & Translational Immunology, 9 (4) e1116, 1-12. doi: 10.1002/cti2.1116
2019
Journal Article
Epstein–Barr virus in multiple sclerosis: theory and emerging immunotherapies
Bar-Or, Amit, Pender, Michael P., Khanna, Rajiv, Steinman, Lawrence, Hartung, Hans-Peter, Maniar, Tap, Croze, Ed, Aftab, Blake T., Giovannoni, Gavin and Joshi, Manher J. (2019). Epstein–Barr virus in multiple sclerosis: theory and emerging immunotherapies. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 26 (3), 296-310. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2019.11.003
2019
Journal Article
Estimation of annual probabilities of changing disability levels in Australians with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
Ahmad, Hasnat, van der Mei, Ingrid, Taylor, Bruce, Lucas, Robyn M., Ponsonby, Anne-Louise, Lechner-Scott, Jeannette, Dear, Keith, Valery, Patricia, Clarke, Philip M., Simpson, Steve, Palmer, Andrew J., The Ausimmune and AusLong Investigator Groups, Dwyer, Terry, Blizzard, Leigh, Broadley, Simon, Kilpatrick, Trevor, Williams, David, Lechner-Scott, Jeanette, Shaw, Cameron, Chapman, Caron, Coulthard, Alan and Pender, Michael P. (2019). Estimation of annual probabilities of changing disability levels in Australians with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 25 (13), 1800-1808. doi: 10.1177/1352458518806103
2019
Journal Article
A higher mediterranean diet score, including unprocessed red meat, is associated with reduced risk of central nervous system demyelination in a case-control study of Australian adults
Black, Lucinda J., Baker, Kimberley, Ponsonby, Anne-Louise, Van Der Mei, Ingrid, Lucas, Robyn M., Pereira, Gavin, Chapman, Caron, Coulthard, Alan, Dear, Keith, Dwyer, Terry, Kilpatrick, Trevor, McMichael Dec, Tony, Pender, Michael P., Taylor, Bruce, Valery, Patricia and Williams, David (2019). A higher mediterranean diet score, including unprocessed red meat, is associated with reduced risk of central nervous system demyelination in a case-control study of Australian adults. Journal of Nutrition, 149 (8), 1385-1392. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxz089
2019
Journal Article
Higher Non-processed Red Meat Consumption Is Associated With a Reduced Risk of Central Nervous System Demyelination
Black, Lucinda J., Bowe, Gabrielle S., Pereira, Gavin, Lucas, Robyn M., Dear, Keith, van der Mei, Ingrid, Sherriff, Jill L., and the Ausimmune Investigator Group, Chapman, Caron, Coulthard, Alan, Dwyer, Terry, Kilpatrick, Trevor, Lucas, Robyn, McMichael, Tony, Pender, Michael P., Ponsonby, Anne-Louise, Taylor, Bruce, Valery, Patricia and Williams, David (2019). Higher Non-processed Red Meat Consumption Is Associated With a Reduced Risk of Central Nervous System Demyelination. Frontiers in Neurology, 10 (FEB) 125. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2019.00125
2019
Conference Publication
Preliminary safety and efficacy of ATA188, a pre-manufactured, unrelated donor (off-the-shelf, allogeneic) Epstein-Barr virus-targeted T-cell immunotherapy for patients with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis
Pender, M., Hodgkinson, S., Broadley, S., Lindsey, J., Ioannides, Z., Munson, D., Rasor, K., Forozan, F., Foubert, P., Aftab, B., Gamelin, L., Ye, W. and Willmer, J. (2019). Preliminary safety and efficacy of ATA188, a pre-manufactured, unrelated donor (off-the-shelf, allogeneic) Epstein-Barr virus-targeted T-cell immunotherapy for patients with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis. 35th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) / 24th Annual Conference of Rehabilitation in MS, Stockholm, Sweden, 11-13 September 2019 . London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
2019
Conference Publication
Preliminary phase 1 safety of ATA188, a pre-manufactured, unrelated donor (off-the-shelf, allogeneic) Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-targeted T-cell immunotherapy for patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS)
Pender, M. P., Hodgkinson, S., Broadley, S., Lindsey, J. W., Ioannides, Z. A., Aftab, B. T., Munson, D., Rasor, K., Forozan, F., Foubert, P., Gamelin, L., Feng, A. and Willmer, J. (2019). Preliminary phase 1 safety of ATA188, a pre-manufactured, unrelated donor (off-the-shelf, allogeneic) Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-targeted T-cell immunotherapy for patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). 5th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN), Oslo, Norway, June 29-July 2, 2019. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.
2019
Journal Article
Higher fish consumption and lower risk of central nervous system demyelination
Black, Lucinda J., Zhao, Yun, Peng, Yee Cheng, Sherriff, Jill L., Lucas, Robyn M., van der Mei, Ingrid, Ausimmune Investigator Group , Chapman, Caron, Coulthard, Alan, Dear, Keith, Dwyer, Terry, Kilpatrick, Trevor, Lucas, Robyn, McMichael, Tony, Pender, Michael P., Ponsonby, Anne-Louise, Taylor, Bruce, Valery, Patricia, van der Mei, Ingrid, Williams, David and Pereira, Gavin (2019). Higher fish consumption and lower risk of central nervous system demyelination. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 74 (5), 818-824. doi: 10.1038/s41430-019-0476-z
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Emeritus Professor Michael Pender is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Completed supervision
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
Amino acid variants of myelin proteolipid protein: potential inducers of multiple sclerosis or potential means to a cure?
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Judith Greer
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
Altered peptide ligands as therapeutic agents for a model of multiple sclerosis: Determining the signature of clinical efficacy
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Judith Greer
-
2012
Doctor Philosophy
The genetics controlling the course of herpes virus infection in humans
Associate Advisor
-
2012
Doctor Philosophy
Immune dysregulation in schizophrenia: Do some cases of schizophrenia have an autoimmune basis?
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Bryan Mowry, Associate Professor Judith Greer
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2012
Doctor Philosophy
Neuropathological and Neuroimmunological Studies of the Central Nervous System of Mice With Axial-Rotatory Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Judith Greer
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