Person
Oehlers, Stefan
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Biography and Research Interest
Tuberculosis pathogenesis and host-directed therapies
Novel host-directed therapies against tuberculosis (TB) are required to overcome the threat posed by multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Pathogenic mycobacteria modify or co-opt a range of evolutionarily conserved host responses to infection to successfully establish persistent granulomatous infections. We have shown that inhibiting angiogenesis in zebrafish models of mycobacterial infection reduces the growth and spread of mycobacteria by limiting the supply of oxygen to granulomas. Thrombosis is another basic and conserved response to infection that may aid the survival of mycobacteria in granulomas by redirecting the immune response.
Immune response to Cryptococcal infection
Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen responsible for upwards of 600,000 deaths annually and is one of the most deadly infectious afflicting AIDS patients. The related species Cryptococcus gattii is endemic to Australia and capable of causing disease even in immunocompetent people. These fungi home to the central nervous system and are capable of causing severe meningitis even with conventional treatments. Cryptococcal infection of zebrafish can be used to model this process and fungus-immune system interactions can be analysed by live imaging.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
IBD encompasses a range of chronic inflammatory diseases affecting the gut including Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. The aetiology of IBD is multifactorial involving an interplay for host genetics (IBD susceptibility genes) and environment (microbiota, diet and other exposures). We have utilised zebrafish models of intestinal inflammation to study the impact of susceptibility genes and the environment on IBD aetiology.
Novel host-directed therapies against tuberculosis (TB) are required to overcome the threat posed by multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Pathogenic mycobacteria modify or co-opt a range of evolutionarily conserved host responses to infection to successfully establish persistent granulomatous infections. We have shown that inhibiting angiogenesis in zebrafish models of mycobacterial infection reduces the growth and spread of mycobacteria by limiting the supply of oxygen to granulomas. Thrombosis is another basic and conserved response to infection that may aid the survival of mycobacteria in granulomas by redirecting the immune response.
Immune response to Cryptococcal infection
Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen responsible for upwards of 600,000 deaths annually and is one of the most deadly infectious afflicting AIDS patients. The related species Cryptococcus gattii is endemic to Australia and capable of causing disease even in immunocompetent people. These fungi home to the central nervous system and are capable of causing severe meningitis even with conventional treatments. Cryptococcal infection of zebrafish can be used to model this process and fungus-immune system interactions can be analysed by live imaging.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
IBD encompasses a range of chronic inflammatory diseases affecting the gut including Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. The aetiology of IBD is multifactorial involving an interplay for host genetics (IBD susceptibility genes) and environment (microbiota, diet and other exposures). We have utilised zebrafish models of intestinal inflammation to study the impact of susceptibility genes and the environment on IBD aetiology.
Non-Zebrafish Publications