Mark Smyth

Professor Mark Smyth is a Senior Scientist and Immunology Coordinator at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. He completed his PhD in 1988 and trained at the NCI (1988-1992), before commencing his independent research career in Australia.

Over the last 15 years he rekindled world-wide interest in cancer immune surveillance, defined immune-mediated dormancy of cancer, and the role of the host in chemotherapy responses in mice and humans. More recently, he has provided new means of classifying natural killer cell (NK) subtypes and two new targets for cancer immunotherapy in CD73 and CD96.

The Immunology in Cancer and Infection Laboratory that he leads focuses upon advancing our understanding of the basic principles underlying an immune response to cancer and infection. Their aim is to further understand these processes at the molecular level, with particular emphasis on the role of the innate immune system, in particular, NK cells and gamma-delta T-cells. Their findings are being used to develop more effective biological and cellular therapies for human cancer.