Mackay Laboratory
Immunology and Therapeutic
Innovation
Welcome to the Mackay Lab
We are exploring an exciting new concept - that nutrition and the gut microbiome have profound influences on physiology, particularly immune responses. Our lab has demonstrated that dietary fibre and its breakdown fermented products, the short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), influence gut homeostasis, the composition of the gut microbiota, immune tolerance, and inflammatory responses.
We're part of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, and a member of the Infection & Immunity Program,
and the Department of Microbiology.
Professor Charles Mackay
My global research connections, partners and funding can be viewed on my Monash Research Profile.
If you are a student interested in doing research in our lab, visit Supervisor Connect.
Click the links below to connect with me on ORCID, Google Scholar and LinkedIn.
Our research
Our research has relevance to applied outcomes for immunological diseases, including new monoclonal antibody treatments for inflammation, fibrosis and cancer. Recently we have uncovered molecules and receptors responsible for gut homeostasis, supporting a ‘diet hypothesis’ to explain the increased incidence of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases in western countries. Our research focuses on cellular and molecular pathways, such as the metabolite-sensing GPCRs, and epigenetic pathways including HDAC inhibition, and on understanding mechanisms of cell migration, and cytokines and chemokines for immune responses.
Lab members
We are committed to excellence in research.
Join Our Lab
We're always interested in collaborating with bright and motivated researchers, clinicians and industry. Whether you want to research, study or partner with us to accelerate our discoveries, find out about the work we do.