Rate My Professor Ling Loo

Dr. Su Ling Loo is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy completed in 2018, a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences (Honours), and a Bachelor of Science, all from the University of Newcastle. Since obtaining her PhD, Dr. Loo has worked in the Viral Immunology and Respiratory Disease group under Associate Professor Nathan Bartlett. Her doctoral work developed a coronavirus model of infection in air-liquid interface cultures of primary bronchial epithelial cells, a technique she has applied to research on rhinovirus, influenza H1N1, and other viruses, including primary corneal epithelial cells. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Loo contributed to projects for local businesses evaluating disinfectants, sanitizers, and virus-inactivating materials against coronavirus. She currently collaborates with Ena Therapeutics, screening innate immune stimulant compounds in air-liquid interface cultures derived from donors with respiratory diseases and the elderly.

Dr. Loo's research focuses on virology (60%) and respiratory diseases (40%), with keywords encompassing bronchial epithelial cells, cell culture, coronavirus, rhinovirus, and virus infection. She has earned notable awards: the 2018 Best Presentation in the Cell, Immunology and Molecular Biology of the Lung Special Interest Group from the Thoracic Society of Australia & New Zealand; the 2017 Translational Basic Science Award from the Priority Research Centre for Healthy Lungs, University of Newcastle; and the 2017 Lung Foundation Australia-sponsored David Serisier Memorial Award for Translational Research in the Respiratory Infectious Disease Special Interest Group from the Thoracic Society of Australia & New Zealand. Key publications include the journal article 'IL-25 blockade augments antiviral immunity during respiratory virus infection' in Communications Biology (2022), 'TLR2-mediated innate immune priming boosts lung anti-viral immunity' in the European Respiratory Journal (2021), 'Rhinovirus-induced CCL17 and CCL22 in Asthma Exacerbations and Differential Regulation by STAT6' in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology (2021), and chapters such as 'Rhinovirus diversity and virulence factors' (2019) and 'Ground zero-the airway epithelium' (2019). Dr. Loo has presented at conferences including the American Thoracic Society annual meetings in 2022 and 2019.