Rate My Professor Ian van Driel

Professor Ian van Driel is a prominent immunologist and biochemist affiliated with the University of Melbourne. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Melbourne and obtained his PhD from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne. Following his doctoral training, he spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Basel Institute for Immunology in Switzerland before returning to the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. In 1989, he joined Monash University as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry, progressing to Associate Professor and Head of Department. Recruited to the University of Melbourne in 2001, he served as Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute. He held the position of Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology until 2024 and was appointed Interim Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences in 2020.

Van Driel's research centers on immunological tolerance, autoimmune diseases such as autoimmune gastritis, and the cellular and molecular mechanisms of immune defense against bacterial pathogens, including Legionella pneumophila. His laboratory has investigated the role of immune cells like tissue-resident macrophages and the impact of interferon on Legionella-containing vacuoles. Key publications include 'IFNs Modify the Proteome of Legionella-Containing Vacuoles and Lead to ER Stress upon Infection' (2016), 'MAIT cells contribute to protection against lethal influenza infection in vivo' (2018), 'IL-33 promotes gastric tumour growth in concert with activation and spatial heterogeneity of cancer associated fibroblasts' (2022), and studies on MHC class II presentation pathway manipulation and T cell responses by cytohesins. His work has elucidated novel immune cell circuitry in lung defense against Legionnaires' disease and contributed to understanding premalignant gastric inflammation. Currently, he serves as the Independent Chair of Animal Ethics Committees for the University of Melbourne.