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After receiving a PhD on immune regulation from La Sorbonne Universitas in France, Anne-Sophie joined Prof. Ian Frazer’s lab in Australia in 2010 where she led a highly successful and independent research program on the mechanisms of immune tolerance in human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated lesions in mice. She then joined the field of autoimmune diseases with Prof. Ranjeny Thomas in 2016. In Type 1 Diabetes (2016-2018), her pre-clinical data showed the feasibility of an antigen-specific liposome targeted immunotherapy in pre-diabetic mice and led to the first-in-human clinical trial using liposome nanoparticles.

Since 2019, her research program investigates how immune cells and microbes at mucosal barrier sites contribute to autoimmune and infection-associated disease in inflammatory arthritis, like Spondyloarthritis.

Her pre-clinical work has advanced the concept that the gut microbiome can influence autoimmune diseases affecting tissues outside the gut, including joints in inflammatory arthritis. Following up on this, her ongoing work aims to further understand how 1) gut bacteria-derived nanovesicles or BEVs may contribute to disease development, and 2) what pattern is presented to T cells and why T cells become pathogenic

Working towards translational research, her team is also establishing a humanised mouse model of psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis to test alternative drugs, vehicles and biologics to treat arthritis in the context of human immune cells.

She is also working as a principal investigator in a pilot cohort study in synergy with Sanofi TSH at TRI, and clinicians at the Gold Coast precincts, to identify key immune biomarkers of Pelvic Inflammation Disease (PID) in individuals infected with Chlamydia trachomatis. This work aims to understand links between infection, pelvic inflammation disease and dysregulated immunity.

Shaun O’Leary, BPHTY (Hon), MPHTY (Msk), PhD, is an Associate Professor in Physiotherapy between the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Queensland, and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Physiotherapy Department, in Brisbane, Australia. He is also a Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist (as awarded by the Australian College of Physiotherapists (ACP) in 2008). Shaun is a longstanding member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association and Fellow of the ACP. Shaun is across clinical education at all levels of physiotherapy training. He has had a major teaching role in the University of Queensland’s postgraduate specialty Masters of Physiotherapy (Musculoskeletal and Sports Physiotherapy) programs since 2001, and nationally has served the ACP as an examiner, and former council member and Chair of the Fellowships Program Standing Committee. In 2021 Shaun was awarded a Senior Fellowship within the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). Shaun has over 130 publications relating to the management of musculoskeletal conditions (including >110 research articles, 6 book chapters, 2 books translated to multiple languages), > 50 conference presentations, nearly AUD$6 million career grant funding, and have delivered over 60 clinical workshops worldwide, and received clinical research awards nationally and internationally, and supervised 13 research higher degrees.