Rate My Professor Katharina Robichon

Dr Katharina Robichon is a Lecturer in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Wellington, Faculty of Medicine, University of Otago. She holds an MBiotech from UF, MSc from UDS, and PhD from UHEI, with her doctoral work at the German Cancer Research Centre focusing on cell signalling and receptor expression in human viral infections. Before her current role, she was a Postdoctoral Researcher for eight years at Victoria University of Wellington with Prof Anne La Flamme, concentrating on multiple sclerosis. Recently appointed as an early-career researcher, she leads a translational research team in collaboration with neurologists, rheumatologists, basic scientists, and chemists. She is a member of the Division of Health Sciences Early-to-Mid career management committee and supervises Honours and PhD students in aligned areas.

An immunologist specializing in autoimmune diseases and with expertise in persistent viral infections, Dr Robichon studies factors shaping disease onset, progression, and treatment response, particularly in multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Her research employs full-spectrum flow cytometry and molecular techniques to characterize immune cell phenotypes, explore links between chronic viral infections and treatment outcomes, and investigate therapy mechanisms on immune cells. Key publications include 'Monitoring treatment-associated receptor expression in multiple sclerosis using a newly developed panel for spectral flow cytometry' (Cytometry Part A, 2025, co-authored with Taylor, Milner, Hally, and La Flamme); 'Nalmefene enhances the remyelinating ability of nalfurafine when administered therapeutically at very low doses during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis' (Clinical & Translational Immunology, 2025, co-authored with Denny, Templeton, Kiernan, Prisinzano, Kivell, and La Flamme); 'Development and application of an LC-MS method for the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of oral therapeutic efficacy of nalfurafine' (Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, 2026, co-authored with Sondhauss, Kiernan, Morizzi, Wright, Prisinzano, Kivell, and La Flamme); and earlier works such as 'Clozapine reduces infiltration into the CNS by targeting migration in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis' (Journal of Neuroinflammation, 2020). She received the Australian Society for Immunology Career Advancement Award and was a finalist for the Otago University Students' Association Supervisor of the Year award.