Justine Mintern

Professor Justine Mintern is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology at the University of Melbourne, part of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. She heads the Vaccine Biology laboratory, also known as the Mintern laboratory, located at the Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute. In this role, her research focuses on vaccine and immunotherapy development, with key investigations into antigen cross-presentation by dendritic cells, the role of ubiquitination in regulating MHC class II molecules, MARCH ubiquitin ligases in immune responses and infection, nanoparticle interactions with immune cells for targeted drug delivery, autophagy processes in antigen presentation, and strategies for targeting dendritic cells to enhance vaccine effectiveness. Professor Mintern holds a PhD and a Bachelor's Degree with Honours, both from the University of Melbourne. She serves as Associate Dean of Graduate Research for the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. An Australian Research Council Future Fellow, her work has garnered significant recognition, evidenced by over 21,700 citations on Google Scholar, where her research interests are listed as immunology, cell biology, and biochemistry.

Professor Mintern's influential publications include 'MARCH ligases in immunity' (Current Opinion in Immunology, 2019, co-authored with H. Liu and J.A. Villadangos), 'Ubiquitination of MHC Class II Is Required for Development of Regulatory but Not Conventional CD4+ T Cells' (Journal of Immunology, 2020, with H. Liu et al.), 'MARCH1-mediated ubiquitination of MHC II impacts the MHC I antigen presentation pathway' (PLoS One, 2018, with K.R. Wilson et al.), 'Transience of MHC Class I-restricted antigen presentation after influenza A virus infection' (PNAS, 2009, with S. Bedoui et al.), and 'FcRn regulates antigen presentation in dendritic cells downstream of cross-presentation' (npj Vaccines, 2024). Her contributions have advanced the understanding of dendritic cell function in immunity, infection, and vaccine design, impacting the broader field of biomedical sciences.

Professional Email: jmintern@unimelb.edu.au