Rate My Professor Delia Nelson

Associate Professor Delia Nelson is a prominent researcher in tumour immunology at Curtin University, holding the position of Associate Professor in the Curtin School of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Sciences within the Faculty of Health Sciences. She earned her Bachelor of Science with Honours in Microbiology and her PhD from the University of Western Australia, where her doctoral research focused on asthma and allergy during her undergraduate and postgraduate studies from 1990 to 1995. Nelson joined Curtin University in January 2009 as a Senior Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the School of Biomedical Sciences, progressing to her current role. She also serves as a Research Integrity Advisor for Curtin Medical School and contributes to higher degree supervision in immunology-related fields.

Nelson's research investigates how the tumour microenvironment modulates innate and adaptive immune responses, with particular emphasis on the effects of ageing, chemotherapy, immunotherapies, gene therapies, and vascular targeting agents on immune cell function. Her work centers on macrophages, dendritic cells, T cells, and their roles in cancer progression, especially mesothelioma. This includes studies on how ageing alters monocyte and macrophage populations, CSF-1 receptor expression, and tumour-associated macrophage expansion in murine mesothelioma models. Her laboratory's innovations have led to the formation of Selvax Immunology, commercializing immunological therapies developed over eight years under her leadership. Key publications include 'Does ageing modulate interactions between mesothelioma cells, macrophages, and tumour endothelial cells?' (2024), 'Ageing and its Role in Modulating Healthy and Tumour-Associated Macrophages' (2024), 'Prognostic role of immune environment in luminal B early breast cancer' (2023), 'The STING agonist, DMXAA, reduces tumor vessels and enhances mesothelioma tumor antigen presentation yet blunts cytotoxic T cell function in a murine model' (2022), 'Aging Leads to Increased Monocytes and Macrophages With Altered CSF-1 Receptor Expression and Earlier Tumor-Associated Macrophage Expansion in Murine Mesothelioma' (2022), 'Macrophage function in the elderly and impact on injury repair and cancer' (2021), and 'Microenvironment-Dependent Gradient of CTL Exhaustion in the AE17sOVA Murine Mesothelioma Tumor Model' (2020). With over 4,450 citations across 98 publications, her contributions significantly influence cancer immunology. Recent funding supports copper-binding drugs for mesothelioma therapy.