Bridget Stocker (left) and Janice Cheng (right) holding a flask of the fluorescent adjuvant in the lab
Adjuvants are compounds that stimulate the body's immune system to fight diseases such as viruses or cancers. They are an essential ingredient in vaccines, and with colleagues at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, Bridget Stocker and PhD student Janice Cheng are developing better adjuvants for personalised cancer vaccines.
Bridget Stocker heads the Immunoglycomics Research Group and is particularly interested in the role carbohydrates play in the immune response. The adjuvants being developed are glycolipids, and by synthesising a green fluorescent version of the glycolipid, it is hoped to better understand how they work and thereby develop better vaccines. Click here to listen to a previous Our Changing World story on the development of personalised cancer vaccines at the Malaghan Institute, and here for a story on sorting cells.
