Dr Kerrilyn Diener

Dr Kerrilyn Diener
  • Biography/ Background

    Dr Kerrilyn R. Diener, is an NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow in the School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health and the Robinson Research Institute at The University of Adelaide. She was awarded her PhD in 2008 from the University of South Australia. Her thesis project investigating the use of novel viral vectors in immunotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of prostate cancer was submitted within three years, and included the acceptance of three first author original research publications and one minor original research publication, all internationally peer reviewed and published in high ranking journals in their field. This resulted in her being awarded the Sansom Institute Medal in recognition of her PhD productivity. She was subsequently invited to submit a review outlining the influence of TGFβ in forming niche environments in which tumours are able to grow. She continued with mechanistic viral studies in collaboration with a PhD student to show that plasmacytoid dendritic cells are essential to the formation of anti-viral adaptive immune responses and that this occurs in the absence of type I IFN production.

    Career objectives: By having a background in a different field of research, namely immunological tolerance and immunity, particularly viral immunology, Dr Diener has had the unique opportunity to apply her research skills and knowledge base to an under-represented area of reproductive biology, that is anti-viral immune responses and their effects on fetal development and role in programming life-long physiological and neurological health. This transition started in 2011 with the award of her NHMRC ECR fellowship to work with Prof Sarah Robertson and her Reproductive Immunology group as part of the Robinson Research Institute. Since then Dr Diener has been developing a small independent research group in her own right, as well as using her experience to make significant collaborative contributions to other ongoing projects within the Institute and surrounds. Recently Dr Diener has teamed with other ECRs from the Robinson Research Institute to embark upon investigation of the ancient endogenous alarmin, high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), in preterm infants with late-onset sepsis, an area of recent scientific interest and in which the collaborative team have expertise.

  • Qualifications

    PhD in Immunology, University of South Australia, 2008

    BSc (Hons) in Immunology, University of Adelaide, 1995

    BSc majoring in Organic Chemistry and Microbiology & Immunology, University of Adelaide, 1994

  • Research Funding

    NHMRC Project Grant, Application ID 1020984
    ‘The consequences of innate immune inflammatory responses during early pregnancy and their effect on reproductive outcomes'. K.R.Diener
    Awarded $326,175 (2012-2014)

    NHMRC Training Fellowship, Application ID 1012386
    ‘Innate anti-viral effector responses and adverse reproductive outcomes'. K.R.Diener
    Awarded $290,032 (2011-2014)

    Royal Adelaide Hospital Research Committee Mary Overton Early Career Research Fellowship
    ‘A comparative analysis of the relative therapeutic efficacy of phenotypically-distinct populations of genetically-modified tumour-specific T cells as detected and assessed by functionalised solid support surfaces'. K.R.Diener
    Awarded $252,000 (2011-2013). Note: rescinded due to acceptance of NHMRC Training Fellowship

    Royal Adelaide Hospital Research Committee Project Grant
    ‘Assessing the neutralising activity of therapeutic antibodies directed against the endogenous alarmin HMGB1 in serum samples from septic shock patients and in an experimental murine model of bacterial sepsis'. K.R.Diener, J.D. Hayball and M.J. Chapman.
    Awarded $25,000 (2011)

    NHMRC/Cancer Australia, Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme, Application ID 631921.
    ‘Development of microfluidic chips to isolate and analyse peripheral blood cell populations in pancreatic cancer patients'. K.R. Diener.
    Awarded $90,000 (2010) jointly funded by Cure Cancer Australia and Cancer Australia

    University of South Australia Competitive Research Development Grants Scheme
    ‘Early anti-viral immune responses within the reproductive tract and the effect on reproductive outcomes'. K.R.Diener and J.D.Hayball
    Awarded $15,000 (2010)

    University of South Australia Competitive NHMRC Project Grant Funding Scheme
    ‘A comparative analysis of the relative therapeutic efficacy of phenotypically-distinct populations of genetically-modified tumour-specific T cells as detected and assessed by functionalised solid support surfaces'. K.R.Diener, H.J.Griesser, J.D.Hayball, M.P.Brown, and K.Vasilev
    Awarded $10,000 (2010)

    Royal Adelaide Hospital Research Committee Clinical Project Grant
    ‘An investigation of autophagy in response to hormone deprivation in prostate cancer: implications for therapeutic treatment regimes'. M.P. Brown, K.R. Diener, and J.D. Hayball.
    Awarded $20,000 (2006)

  • Publications

    REFEREED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS

    1.              Susan N. Christo, Akash Bachhuka, Kerrilyn R. Diener, Agnieszka Mierczynska, John D. Hayball and Krasimir Vasilev. The role of surface nanotopography and chemistry on primary macrophage and neutrophil cellular responses. 2015. Nanoscale.

    2.              Susan N. Christo, Kerrilyn R. Diener, Akash Bachhuka, Krasimir Vasilev, and John D. Hayball. Innate Immunity and Biomaterials at the Nexus: Friends or Foes. BioMed Research International, vol. 2015, Article ID 342304, 23 pages, 2015. doi:10.1155/2015/342304

    3.              Akash Bachhuka, Susan N. Christo, Alex Cavallaro, Kerrilyn R. Diener, Agnieszka Mierczynska, Louise E. Smith, Romeo Marian, Jim Manavis, John D. Hayball, Krasimir Vasilev. Hybrid core/shell microparticles and their use for understanding biological processes. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2015, 457:9-17

    4.              Christo SN, Diener KR, Hayball JD. The functional contribution of calcium ion flux heterogeneity in T cells. Immunol Cell Biol. 2015 Mar 31. doi: 10.1038/icb.2015.34. [Epub ahead of print] Review

    5.              Christo SN, Diener KR, Nordon RE, Brown MP, Griesser HJ, Vasilev K, Christo FC, Hayball JD. Scrutinizing calcium flux oscillations in T lymphocytes to deduce the strength of stimulus. Sci Rep. 2015 Jan 14;5:7760. doi: 10.1038/srep07760

    6.              Corrigan F, Wu Y, Tuke J, Coller JK, Rice KC, Diener KR, Hayball JD, Watkins LR, Somogyi AA, Hutchinson MR. Alcohol-induced sedation and synergistic interactions between alcohol and morphine: A key mechanistic role for Toll-like receptors and MyD88-dependent signaling. Brain Behav Immun. 2014 Dec 24. 45:245-252 pii: S0889-1591(14)00608-4. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2014.12.019. [Epub ahead of print]

    7.              Nenke M, Rankin W, Chapman M, Stevens N, Diener K, Hayball J, Lewis J, Torpy D. Depletion of high affinity corticosteroid-binding globulin corresponds to illness severity in sepsis and septic shock; clinical implications. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2014 Nov 20. doi: 10.1111/cen.12680. [Epub ahead of print]

    8.              Simovic, S., K. R. Diener, A. Bachuka, K. Kant, D. Losic, J. D. Hayball, M. P. Brown and K. Vasilev. 2014. Controlled release and bioactivity of the monoclonal antibody rituximab from a porous matrix: a potential in situ therapeutic device. Biomat. Sci. (In Press).

    9.              Natalie E. Stevens*, Cara K. Fraser*, Mohammed Alsharifi, Michael P. Brown, Kerrilyn R. Diener# and John D. Hayball#. An empirical approach towards the efficient and optimal production of influenza-neutralizing ovine polyclonal antibodies demonstrates that the novel adjuvant CoVaccine HTTM is functionally superior to Freund's adjuvant. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8(7):e68895 (# denotes equal corresponding author)

    10.          Kerrilyn R. Diener#, Noor Al-Dasooqi, Erin L. Lousberg, and John D. Hayball#. The multifunctional alarmin HMGB1 with roles in the pathophysiology of sepsis and cancer. Immunology and Cell Biology, 2013; 91(7):443-450 (# denotes equal corresponding author)

    11.          Alison S. Care, *Kerrilyn R. Diener, *Melinda J. Jasper, Hannah M. Brown, Wendy V. Ingman, Sarah A. Robertson. Macrophages regulate corpus luteum development during embryo implantation in mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2013; 123(8):3472-3487 (*denotes equal contribution to this work)
           profiled in Research Highlights, Nature Reviews Immunology 2013, 13:549
                                                       (doi:10.1038/nri3512)
           profiled in Faculty of 1000’s F1000Prime (DOI: 10.3410/f.718056654.793482963)

    12.          Gerard E. Kaiko, Zhixuan Loh, Kirsten Spann, Jason P. Lynch, Amit Lalwani, Zhenglong Zhang, Sophia Davidson, Satoshi Uematsu, John D. Hayball, Kerrilyn R Diener, Katherine J. Baines, Jodie L. Simpson, Paul S. Foster and Simon Phipps. TLR7 gene deficiency and early-life Pheumovirus infection interact to predispose toward the development of asthma-like pathology in mice. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2013; 131(5):1331-1339.

    13.          Tushar Kumeria, Mahaveer D. Kurkuri, Kerrilyn R. Diener, Luke Parkinson, and Dusan Losic. Label-free reflectometric interference microchip biosensor based on nanoporous alumina for detection of circulating tumour cells. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2012; 35(1):167-173.

    14.          Bryan R. Coad, Krasimir Vasilev, Kerrilyn R. Diener, John D. Hayball, Robert D. Short, and Hans J. Griesser. Immobilized Streptavidin Gradients as Bioconjugation Platforms. Langmuir, 2012; 28(5):2710-2717

    15.          Kerrilyn R. Diener, Susan N. Christo, Stefani S. Griesser, Ghafar T. Sarvestani, Krasimir Vasilev, Hans J. Griesser and John D. Hayball. Solid state capture and real-time analysis of individual T cell activation via self-assembly of binding multimeric proteins on functionalized materials surfaces. Acta Biomaterialia, 2012; 8(1):99-107

    16.          Susan N. Christo, Ghafar T. Sarvestani, Stefani S. Griesser, Bryan Coad, Hans J. Griesser, Krasimir Vasilev, Michael P. Brown, Kerrilyn R. Diener, and John D. Hayball. Individual and population quantitative analyses of calcium flux in T cells activated on functionalised materials surfaces. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 2011; 65(1):45-49.

    17.          Yoichi Furuya, Jennifer Chan, En-Chi Wan, Aulikki Koskinen, Kerrilyn R. Diener, John D. Hayball, Matthias Regner, Arno Mullbacher, Mohammed Alsharifi. Gamma-irradiated influenza virus uniquely induces IFN-I mediated lymphocyte activation independent of the TLR7/MYD88 pathway. PLoS ONE, 2011; 6(10):e25765

    18.          Erin L. Lousberg, Kerrilyn R. Diener, Michael P. Brown and John D. Hayball. Innate Immune Recognition of Poxviral Vaccine Vectors. Expert Reviews of Vaccines, 2011; 10(10):1435-49.

    19.          Erin L. Lousberg, Kerrilyn R. Diener, Cara K. Fraser, Simon Phipps, Paul S. Foster, Weisan Chen, Satoshi Uematsu, Shizuo Akira, Sarah A. Robertson, Michael P. Brown and John D. Hayball. Antigen-specific T-cell responses to a recombinant fowlpox virus are dependent on MyD88 and IL-18 and independent of TLR7- and TLR9-mediated innate immune recognition. Journal of Virology, 2011, 85:3385-3396.

    20.          Tushar Kumeria, Mahaveer Kurkuri, Kerrilyn Diener, Chen Zhang, Luke Parkinson, and Dusan Losic. Reflectometric interference biosensing using nanopores: Integration into microfluidics (Conference paper). Proceedings of SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering, 2011, 8204:82043C.

    21.          Cara K. Fraser#, Kerrilyn R. Diener#, Erin L. Lousberg, Gerald W. Both, Larry Ward, Michael P. Brown and John D. Hayball. Induction of both cellular and humoral immunity following a rational prime-boost immunization regimen that incorporates recombinant ovine atadenovirus and fowlpox virus. Clinical Vaccine Immunology, 2010, 17(11):1679-1686 (#denotes equal contribution to this work).

    22.          Cara K. Fraser, Erin L. Lousberg, Leigh R. Guerin, Timothy P. Hughes, Michael P. Brown, Kerrilyn R. Diener and John D. Hayball. Dasatinib alters the metastatic phenotype of B16-OVA melanoma in vivo. Cancer Biology and Therapy, 2010, 10(7):715-727.

    23.          Erin L. Lousberg, Cara K. Fraser, Michael G. Tovey, Kerrilyn R. Diener#, and John D. Hayball#. Type I interferons mediate the innate cytokine response to recombinant fowlpox virus but not the induction of plasmacytoid dendritic cell-dependent adaptive immunity. Journal of Virology, 2010, 84(13):6549-6563 (#denotes equal contribution to this work).

    24.          Cara K Fraser, Michael P Brown, Kerrilyn R. Diener, and John D Hayball. Unravelling the complexity of cancer-immune system interplay: a critical concern for the improved design of anti-cancer therapies. Expert Reviews of Anticancer Therapy, 2010, 10(6):917-934.

    25.          Kerrilyn R. Diener, Eleanor F. Need, Grant Buchanan and John D. Hayball. TGFβ signalling and immunity in prostate tumorigenesis. Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets. 2010. 14(2):179.

    26.          Cara K. Fraser, Erin L. Lousberg, Raman Kumar, Timothy P. Hughes, Kerrilyn R. Diener and John D. Hayball. Dasatinib inhibits the secretion of TNF-alpha following TLR stimulation in vitro and in vivo. Experimental Hematology, 2009, 37(12):1435-1444.

    27.          Lachlan M. Moldenhauer, Kerrilyn R. Diener, Dougal M. Thring, Michael P. Brown, John D. Hayball and Sarah A. Robertson. Cross-presentation of male seminal fluid antigens elicits T cell activation to initiate the female immune response to pregnancy. The Journal of Immunology, 2009, 182(12):80808093.

    28.          Cara K. Fraser, Stephen J. Blake, Kerrilyn R. Diener, Michael P. Brown, Timothy P. Hughes and John D. Hayball. Dasatinib inhibits recombinant viral antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses and NK cytolytic activity in vitro and in vivo. Experimental Hematology, 2009, 37(2):256-265.

    29.          Kerrilyn R. Diener, Anthony E. Woods, Michael P. Brown and John D. Hayball. Transforming growth factor β-mediated signalling in T lymphocytes impacts on prostate-specific immunity and tumourogenesis in TRAMP mice. Laboratory Investigation, 2009, 89:142-151.

    30.          Kerrilyn R. Diener, Erin L. Lousberg, Emma L. Beukema, Anastasia Yu, Paul M. Howley, Michael P. Brown and John D. Hayball. Recombinant fowlpox virus elicits transient cytotoxic T cell responses due to suboptimal innate recognition and recruitment of T cell help. Vaccine, 2008, 26(29-30):3566-3573.

    31.          Kerrilyn R. Diener, Lachlan M. Moldenhauer, A. Bruce Lyons, Michael P. Brown and John D. Hayball. Human Flt-3-ligand-mobilized dendritic cells require additional activation to drive effective immune responses. Experimental Hematology, 2008, 36(1):51-60.

    32.          Fares Al-Ejeh, Jocelyn M. Darby, Katherine Pensa, Kerrilyn R. Diener, John D. Hayball and Michael P. Brown. In vivo targeting of dead tumor cells in a murine model using a monoclonal antibody specific for the La autoantigen. Clinical Cancer Research, 2007, 13(18 Pt 2):5519s-5527s.

    33.          Cara K. Fraser, Kerrilyn R. Diener, Michael P. Brown and John D. Hayball. Improving vaccines by incorporating immunological coadjuvants. Expert Review of Vaccines, 2007, 6(4):559-578.

    34.          Jason R. Lees, Bridget Charbonneau, John D. Hayball, Kerrilyn R. Diener, Michael P. Brown, Robert Matusik, Michael B. Cohen and Timothy L. Ratliff. T-cell recognition of a prostate specific antigen is not sufficient to induce prostate tissue destruction. The Prostate, 2006, 66(6):578-590.

    35.          Mahin Moghaddami, Bernadette B. Schwartz, Pakathip Reynolds, Kerrilyn R. Diener and Michael P. Brown. Flt3 ligand expands dendritic cell numbers in normal and malignant murine prostate. Immunology and Cell Biology, 2002, 80(4):370-381.

    36.          Phillipe A. Tessier, Paul H. Naccache, Kerrilyn R. Diener, Ronald P. Gladue, Kuldeep S. Neote, Ian Clark-Lewis and Shaun R. McColl. Induction of acute inflammation in Vivo by staphylococcal superantigens. II: Critical role for chemokines, ICAM-1 and TNF-alpha. The Journal of Immunology, 1998, 161(3):1204-1211.

    37.          Kerrilyn Diener, Phillipe Tessier, John Fraser, Frank Köntgen and Shaun R. McColl. Induction of acute inflammation in vivo by staphylococcal superantigens I: Leukocyte recruitment occurs independently of T lymphocytes and major histocompatibility complex class II molecules. Laboratory Investigation, 1998, 78(6):647-656.

     

    BOOK CHAPTERS

     

    38.          Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.), 2014, 1139:407-427. Paul M. Howley, Kerrilyn R. Diener, and John D. Hayball. ‘Making an avipoxvirus encoding a tumour-associated antigen and a costimulatory molecule’. 

  • Professional Associations

    Current member of the following:

    PdCCRS/NHMRC Grant Review Committee (Cancer Australia)
    Register of Eligible Research Supervisors, University of Adelaide
    Register of Postgraduate Research Degree Supervisors, University of South Australia 
    Australasian Society for Immunology (ASI)
    Society for Reproductive Biology (SRB)
    Developmental Origins for Health and Disease Australia and New Zealand (DOHaD ANZ)

    Reviewed for the following Journals:

    Immunome Research Journal
    Journal of Reproductive Immunology
    Reproduction
    European Journal of Pharmacology
    PLoS ONE
    ImmunoTargets and Therapy
    Molecular Human Reproduction 

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Entry last updated: Friday, 23 Jun 2017