Hill - Precision Vaccinology Laboratory

Key terms

Mucosal immunology, human immunology, infectious disease, autoimmunity, vaccines, vaccine design, Streptococcus pyogenes, Strep A, malaria, Plasmodium, clinical trials, human challenge models, monoclonal antibodies, Indigenous health.

Research overview

The Precision vaccinology lab, led by Dr Danika Hill, aims to transform vaccine development and develop novel therapies for infectious disease by advancing our understanding of the immune mechanisms and antigens that drive optimal immune responses. We focus on complex pathogens of global significance where improved vaccines are urgently needed (e.g., malaria, influenza, and shingles) or where no vaccine currently exists (e.g., Streptococcus pyogenes). Our transdisciplinary research integrates human immunology, infectious diseases, bioinformatics, and molecular biology, and we work in partnership with clinicians and vaccine developers from across academia and industry.

2023 Hill group

Our people

Laboratory Head

Graduate Research Projects

Follow us on social media

@DrDanikaHill | @precisionvaxlab.bsky.social

Research Assistant
Cathy Pitt
PhD student
Holly Fryer

Current projects

A vaccine is urgently needed to combat the >500,000 global deaths annually caused by Strep A, however the development of helpful and harmful immune responses following Strep A infections in humans remains poorly understood. To bridge these knowledge gaps and aid the development of safe and effective vaccines, we are studying memory B and CD4+ T cells at single cell and single epitope resolution with samples from Strep A human challenge models and infected paediatric tonsils.
Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A) infections can lead to the autoimmune disease Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF), likely triggered by molecular mimicry, although the exact Strep A antigen remains elusive. These complications are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries, but in Australia they continue to impede efforts to ‘close the gap’ in health outcomes for First Nations people. We are working a global network of clinicans and researchers to uncover, at a cellular level, how autoreactive T and B cell responses emerge following Strep A infections using samples from First Nations Children with Acute Rheumatic Fever.
Monoclonal antibody therapies have transformed the treatment landscape for many infectious diseases including SARS-CoV-2, yet no such therapy exists for invasive Group A Streptococcus (iGAS) infections. iGAS infections, such as toxic shock and necrotizing fasciitis, present a critical clinical challenge, as >28% of patients die despite the optimal use of antibiotics and intensive care. Antibiotics cannot cure the cause of immunopathology in
iGAS – superantigens exotoxins that directly bind both human leukocyte antigens and the T cell receptor to provoke widespread T cell activation and cytokine storm. We are seeking to develop a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies to neutralising superantigens and effectively treat iGAS immunopathology.

Vaccine clinical trials

Our team continues to work closely with academic and industry partners to evaluate the immunogenicity of vaccines in clinical trials using cutting-edge immunological techniques such as spectral flow cytometry and single cell sequencing.

Publications

For a full list of publications, please see Pubmed.

Department of Immunology

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences