A/Prof Alec Redwood

A/PROF ALEC REDWOOD

PRINCIPAL RESEARCH FELLOW
BAPPSCI PHD

Associate Professor Alec Redwood holds a B.Sc. (Hon) and PhD in immunology. He has a focus on vaccine design, virus/host interactions and T-cell immunity, with a particular focus on antigen discovery. Dr Redwood holds a number of international and national competitive grants and patents. He has extensive experience in vaccine design, specifically the use of cytomegalovirus (CMV) as a vaccine vector. He led a large research team at the University of Western Australia’s (UWA) node of the Pest Animal Control-Cooperative Research Centre (PAC-CRC) applying disseminating CMV vectors to sterilise invasive pest species. These proof-of-concept studies were amongst the first to demonstrate the utility of CMVs as highly effective vaccine vectors. CMV is now being trialled as a vaccine vector for a range of diseases including, HIV, Ebola and cancer. Dr Redwood now heads the Vaccines and Viral Immunity Group at the Institute of Respiratory Health at UWA. Their work is funded by US Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to use CMV as disseminating vectors for the control of zoonotic infectious agents, such as COVID-19 and Lassa Fever. Dr Redwood also heads the neo-antigen and immune monitoring team at the National Centre of Asbestos Related Diseases (NCARD). This research seeks to develop therapeutic anti-cancer vaccines targeting expressed tumour specific mutations.

CURRENT PROJECTS

An advanced digital monitoring and engagement platform for at-risk and confirmed COVID-19 individuals. Chief Investigator: Prof Bruce Robinson. Associate Investigators: Dr Anna Tai, Prof Jenette Creaney and Assoc Prof Alec Redwood
Improving Mesothelioma Therapy by Boosting Immune Responses to Mutations by Vaccination and by Immunogenic Chemotherapy. Funding body: US Department of Defense (DoD), icare NSW, WA Department of Health. Principal Investigator: Prof Bruce Robinson. Co-PIs: Prof Jenette Creaney and Assoc Prof Alec Redwood.
Prediction of Spillover Potential and Interventional En Masse Animal Vaccination to Prevent Emerging Pathogen Threats in Current and Future Zones of US Military Operation (PREEMPT). Funding body: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Subaward Assoc Prof Alec Redwood. Chief Investigators: Dr Peter Barry, Dr Michael Jarvis, Dr Brian Bird and Dr Scott Nuismer. Co-investigators: Dr Alec Redwood, Dr Wolfram Brune, Dr Andrew Davison and Dr Heinz Feldmann.