Rate My Professor Ian Cockburn

Professor Ian Cockburn serves as Head of the Division of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and Group Leader of the Cockburn Group - Malaria Immunology at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University. He earned his PhD from the University of Edinburgh, during which he discovered a new malaria resistance gene among individuals in Papua New Guinea. Following this, in 2004, Cockburn undertook postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins University, concentrating on CD8+ T cells and their capacity to eliminate malaria parasites in the liver. His pioneering contributions there included the first intravital imaging of pathogen killing in vivo, which facilitated the recognition of tissue-resident T cells in the liver as primary effectors of protection against malaria. In 2013, he established his independent laboratory at the Australian National University, launching a novel research program on B cell responses to malaria. Notable achievements encompass biophysical analyses of antibody binding to the circumsporozoite protein, identification of regulatory factors influencing memory responses to malaria vaccines, and elucidation of selection mechanisms within germinal centers.

The core of Cockburn's research investigates T cell responses to infection by the malaria parasite Plasmodium. His studies probe how immunization with irradiated parasites elicits potent CD8+ T cell responses, revealing that these parasites prompt the immune system to sustain antigen presentation for up to two months, thereby optimizing the proliferation of malaria-specific CD8+ T cells. Further, employing innovative transgenic models, his team has pinpointed parasite-secreted proteins entering the host hepatocyte cytosol as prime targets for protective immunity and prospective vaccine candidates. Ongoing efforts, in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur in Paris, utilize intravital imaging to track effector CD8+ T cell migration and parasite eradication in the liver. Cockburn supervises key projects including B cell responses to malaria, T cell responses to malaria, the superiority of live pathogen vaccines, and RNA-binding proteins in immune cell differentiation. He was awarded the Finkel Prize in 2015 for his contributions. His work profoundly influences malaria vaccine development by clarifying the mechanisms of protective immunity against this persistent global health challenge.