12 November 2012
Congratulations to Dr Bridget Stocker on being awarded a Sir Charles Hercus Research Fellowship from the Health Research Council of New Zealand, to develop novel cancer therapies.
Head of the Immunoglycomics Research Group at the Malaghan Institute, Dr Stocker's research focus is in understanding the role of carbohydrates in immune responses, and applying this knowledge to the development of more effective therapies for diseases such as cancer, asthma and tuberculosis.
Dr Stocker's Sir Charles Hercus Fellowship is for $500,000 over four years and will be used to support the cancer project 'Switching off tumour-promoting immune cells to develop novel cancer therapies'.
From the Health Research Council of New Zealand's media release: "To date, much work in immunology has focused on making good immune cells work stronger and faster. However, not all immune cells are good. Dr Stocker, a specialist in chemistry and immunology at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, will use the funds from the fellowship to explore ways to remove bad immune cells or convert them back to a good type using two unique classes of immunomodulators. This research will help to develop new cancer therapies."
Read more about Dr Stocker and her research programmes at the Malaghan Institute.