I am a puzzle game/escape room enthusiast and have solved and escaped each game attempted so far. Looking forward to joining in more escape room experiences once my young children are older, but recently we’ve been able to enjoy a great escape-room-at-home series.

Since my undergraduate studies, I’ve had a continuous passion for human stem cell biology and the potential for utilising this promising cellular source to understand development and disease, and to engineer new cellular therapies. For many years, my research efforts focused on understanding immune cell development from human haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), particularly in the context of clinical transplantation. Promising findings of clinical trials conducted by our group and the interest of the multiple sclerosis (MS) community in this work led me and our group to pursue investigations into the mechanisms underlying the high efficacy of HSC transplantation for MS. It is especially rewarding to witness how my research contributes to enhancing the treatment options available for people living with MS and to improving their quality of life and treatment outcomes.

There have been many significant advances in the field of MS research and the potential treatment options available to people living with MS over the last couple of decades. For me, the finding that autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT; transplanting a person’s own blood stem cells) can induce durable remission in people with MS has been really exciting. Also, I find the direct relevance of research in this area to people living with MS and the possibilities for rapid clinical translation really exciting and inspiring!

Findings from our research suggest that a key aspect of the clinical effectiveness of AHSCT for MS is the presence of T regulatory cells (Tregs) within the mobilised stem cell autograft. Tregs are essential mediators of immune tolerance and the potential for manipulating Tregs ex vivo highlights Tregs as attractive candidates for cellular therapy. However, the function and biology of Tregs within the stem cell autograft of people with MS remains poorly defined. My research aims to investigate Tregs from people with MS and the potential of expanding these cells as a novel practical clinical product for transplantation to improve care and widen the available therapeutic options. We hope that our investigations will improve understanding of Treg biology in clinical transplantation for MS and provide a basis for accelerating novel Treg-based therapies for MS into the clinic, ultimately improving accessibility, quality of life and transplant outcomes.

AHSCT is an emerging treatment option for severe autoimmune conditions, however, the required chemotherapy carries associated risks. The key goal of our research is to provide novel safer treatment with at least the efficacy of AHSCT, to broaden access to people living with MS who were previously too unwell for AHSCT. Improving our understanding of the biology of anti-inflammatory disease-stabilising Tregs in people with MS will also provide a platform from which we can manipulate Treg balance to improve care and widen the therapeutic options available. Additionally, the experience of our team in clinical trials in AHSCT for autoimmune diseases will help facilitate rapid translation into the clinic.

It is such a joy to be able to do work that I love and really enjoy, and I’m very thankful for the support of a great multidisciplinary team of dedicated scientists, clinicians, nurses and trials staff who make the difficult times of laboratory work brighter. Knowing that the work I’m doing will ultimately contribute to improving the lives and experiences of people living with MS provides me with great motivation. And these things together with the joy and thrill of discovery and solving problems and challenges in the lab makes everything I strive towards worthwhile. One of the biggest challenges that research scientists currently face is the limited funding available for us to keep doing research and contributing to society, so I’m very thankful and appreciative of the generosity and efforts of MS Australia and its community for supporting my work and investing in MS research in Australia.