Associate Professor Brendan Jenkins

Associate Professor Brendan Jenkins is a Senior Scientist and Head of the Cytokine Signalling Laboratory in the Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases. Following on from his National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) RD Wright Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, he currently holds a prestigious Sylvia and Charles Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellowship, as well as a Monash University Fellowship.

Following his PhD studies at the Hanson Institute in Adelaide, Associate Professor Jenkins continued his research interest on the roles of cytokines in hematological disorders at the world-renowned Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, USA. Since moving back to Australia in 1999 to join the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, he has continued his research to examine the roles cytokines play in human disease, in particular inflammation (eg peritonitis, gastritis) and stomach/gastric cancer. He was recruited to MIMR at the start of 2006, and has further expanded his research to also include the debilitating lung disease chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Collectively, his research programs incorporate long standing collaborations with basic scientific researchers and clinicians both nationwide and overseas.

Amongst his scientific achievements are publications in the highest ranking science and medical research journals including Nature, Nature Medicine, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Blood, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Gastroenterology and Journal of Immunology. In recognition of his group’s research, Associate Professor Jenkins has received numerous national and international awards, including the Australian Institute for Policy and Science Tall Poppy Award. He is a holder of multiple project grants within Australia (NHMRC, Cancer Council) and overseas (Association for International Cancer Research), and is a regular invited speaker at local and international scientific meetings.