Presented by Dr Maria Sukkar, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney
Dr Sukkar’s work focusses on the role of the protein high-mobility group box-1 and its receptor RAGE in chronic inflammatory airways disease. Dr Sukkar was the first to show that soluble RAGE, an endogenous inhibitor of RAGE signaling, is deficient in sub-phenotypes of asthma/COPD in which neutrophilic inflammation plays a key role. Subsequent mechanistic investigations in mouse models identified a crucial role for HMGB1 and RAGE in driving distinct endotypes of asthma. Studies in mouse models of cigarette smoke exposure also revealed the important role of this inflammatory axis in COPD pathogenesis. In this seminar, Dr Sukkar will discuss current understanding of the HMGB1-RAGE axis in chronic inflammatory airways disease, and its potential as a therapeutic target.
Having completed her PhD at the University of Sydney in 2002, Dr Sukkar undertook postdoctoral research on a Wellcome Trust programme grant at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London; one of the top-ranked universities in the world. There, she worked with Prof Kian Fan Chung, a world leader in respiratory medicine. She returned to Australia in 2008 to take up a Lectureship at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney. In 2012, she moved to the Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney, where she is currently Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Pharmacy. Upon returning to Australia, Dr Sukkar established her own laboratory for respiratory research. She has maintained her international links, and has built an extensive network of national and international collaborations. Her current research is focused on innate immune mechanisms that drive the abnormal airway inflammatory response to environmental allergens, pollutants and pathogens in people with asthma and COPD.