Dr Samantha Dando
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Biography
Dr Samantha Dando leads the Neuroimmunology and Infections Research Group at QUT. Our research aims to generate new knowledge of immune cells within the brain and eye during health and disease. Ultimately, our goal is to apply this knowledge to better understand normal neurological processes and identify immunotherapeutic targets for neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.
Samantha completed her PhD in microbiology at QUT, investigating the pathogenesis of intra-amniotic infections. She undertook post-doctoral training at Griffith University , where she studied bacterial mechanisms of brain invasion, and Monash University, where her research focus shifted to neuroimmunology and ocular immunology. In 2018, she received an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship to characterise novel subsets of resident immune cells within sub-compartments of the brain and eye. Dr Dando then returned to QUT, where she established the Neuroimmunology and Infections Research Group within the Centre for Immunology and Infection Control.
She in a Senior Lecturer within the School of Biomedical Sciences at QUT and teaches microbiology and immunology to biomedical science, medical laboratory science and optometry undergraduate students.
Lab website: https://research.qut.edu.au/ciic/projects/neuroimmunology-and-infection-research/
Personal details
Positions
- Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Keywords
Microglia, Immune cells, Microbiology, Toxoplasma gondii, Immune privilege, Neuroimmunology, Ocular Immunology, Meninges, Brain, Retina
Research field
Immunology, Neurosciences, Medical Microbiology
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (Queensland University of Technology)
Professional memberships and associations
Australian Society for Microbiology (MASM)
Australia and New Zealand Society for Immunology
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
International Society of Neuroimmunology
Neuroimmunology Australia
Australian Neuroscience Society
Teaching
I contribute to undergraduate teaching within the School of Biomedical Sciences:
- LQB292 : Principles of Infection and Immunity
- LQB562: Advanced Microbial Diagnostics
- LQB594: Microbial Genomics and Immunity
- LSB492: Microbiology
Publications
- Dando, S., Kazanis, R. & McMenamin, P. (2021). Myeloid Cells in the Mouse Retina and Uveal Tract Respond Differently to Systemic Inflammatory Stimuli. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 62(10). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/212550
- Kazanis, R., Chinnery, H., McMenamin, P. & Dando, S. (2019). Regional and functional heterogeneity of antigen presenting cells in the mouse brain and meninges. GLIA, 67(5), 935–949. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124115
- Forrester, J., McMenamin, P. & Dando, S. (2018). CNS infection and immune privilege. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 19(11), 655–671. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124117
- Dando, S., Golborne, C., Chinnery, H., Ruitenberg, M. & McMenamin, P. (2016). A case of mistaken identity: CD11c-eYFP+ cells in the normal mouse brain parenchyma and neural retina display the phenotype of microglia, not dendritic cells. GLIA, 64(8), 1331–1349. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124121
- Dando, S., Mackay-Sim, A., Norton, R., Currie, B., John, J., Ekberg, J., Batzloff, M., Ulett, G. & Beacham, I. (2014). Pathogens penetrating the central nervous system: infection pathways and the cellular and molecular mechanisms of invasion. Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 27(4), 691–726. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/88501
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Samantha, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Supervision
Looking for a postgraduate research supervisor?
I am currently accepting research students for Honours, Masters and PhD study.
You can browse existing student topics offered by QUT or propose your own topic.