O'Keeffe
Laboratory
Dendritic Cells in Health and
Disease Research Group
Welcome to the O'Keeffe Lab
Our laboratory investigates how pathogens and their products - or danger signals of our own bodies - activate dendritic cells, or prevent their activation.
We're part of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, and a member of the Immunity and Cancer Programs, and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Associate Professor Meredith O'Keeffe
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
Dendritic cells are sentinels of the immune system that produce cytokines and interferons upon sensing danger. They are also professional antigen presenting cells, thereby connecting the innate and adaptive immune systems. Our laboratory investigates how pathogens and their products or danger signals of ‘self’, activate dendritic cells. Currently we are aiming to understand the role of dendritic cells in interferon-mediated diseases, including autoimmune diseases such as Lupus, in cancer immunotherapies and in antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.
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Checkpoint regulation of dendritic cell function
Our hypothesis: PD-1 blocking immunotherapy directly targets dendritic cells as well as T cells. This directly enhances their ability to stimulate T cells. It also enhances their ability to produce certain soluble factors.
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Dendritic cells at the centre of interferon-related autoimmune disease
We are investigating the production of different classes of interferons by dendritic cells and how these interferons regulate dendritic cell development and function.
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Altered dendritic cell responses coincident with onset of antibiotic resistance
Bacterial antibiotic resistance is often mitigated, at least in part, by changes in the bacterial cell wall. We are investigating dendritic cell responses to clinical isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains that are resistant to antibiotics including Daptomycin.
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.