Rate My Professor Joanna Kirman

Kirman's research centers on applied cellular and molecular immunology, medical microbiology, and vaccine immunology, with emphasis on tuberculosis (TB), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and rotavirus. Her work elucidates protective immune responses to TB, investigating BCG vaccine mechanisms such as trained innate immunity, phagocytic cell roles, and unconventional lymphocytes like innate lymphoid cells. Funded projects include Marsden Fund-supported studies on Beijing TB strain evasion of BCG immunity and novel TB vaccine designs, as well as Otago Medical Research Foundation work on phagocytic cells in anti-mycobacterial immunity. She has supervised postgraduate students who earned awards like the David T Jones Prize and John Miles Prize, with alumni in prominent research roles globally. Selected publications include Kirman, J. R., Weinkove, R., & Borger, J. G. (2024). Immunology across two islands: understanding the research landscape of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Immunology & Cell Biology, 102(4), 235-239; Kirman et al. (2016). Microbiol Spectr, 4(6); and Steigler et al. (2018). Immunol Cell Biol, 96:379. Kirman contributes to public outreach on vaccines and infectious diseases.