van Zelm/O'Hehir - Allergy & Clinical Immunology Laboratory

B cells are a critical component of the human immune system, producing antibodies to combat infection and long-lived memory cells to protect against disease upon secondary infection, often for life. However, abnormalities in B cell development or function can lead to immunodeficiency, autoimmunity and allergic diseases. The outcomes of immunisation and treatment of immune-mediated diseases are unpredictable, largely inefficient and empirical, posing a large societal burden via life-long therapy and infection susceptibility. Molecular insights into the pathways underlying the formation, durability and plasticity of immune memory are needed to overcome the limitations in current intervention strategies.

Our research

In the past 10 years, our lab  has developed, patented and applied new technologies to ex vivo evaluate antigen-specific, human B-cell memory following infection, vaccination and treatment intervention. We will apply these new technologies for quantitative measurements of immune memory and thereby systematise the provision and use of an evidence base for clinical care and assessing vaccination strategies. See our research themes below:

  1. Defining the contribution of rare and common genetic variants to the severity and heterogeneity of disease in patients with inborn errors of immunity;
  2. Abnormal IgE responses and memory B cells in allergic asthma and anaphylaxis, and how IgG induced by allergen-specific immunotherapy inhibits IgE-mediated effector cell activation.
  3. Diversity, specificity and durability of B-cell memory following vaccination or natural infection with zoonotic viruses (influenza, SARS-CoV-2)
  4. Immunological predictors of success and adverse reactions in melanoma patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibition therapy

Meet the team

Van Zelm
2026 van Zelm group

Lab Heads

Other staff

  • Dr Emily S.J. Edwards, group leader Primary Immunodeficiencies
  • Dr Paul A. Gill, postdoctoral fellow COVID-19 vaccination
  • Dr Simone Reinwald, postdoctoral fellow IgE-mediated allergies
  • Ms Alina Wang, research assistant COVID-19 vaccination

Contact Details
E: menno.vanzelm@monash.edu