Emeritus Professor Jennifer Rolland
Current Position:
Emeritus Professor
Phone:
+ 61 3 9903 0480
Email:
jennifer.rolland@monash.edu
Office:
Level 5, Alfred Centre
Laboratory:
Allergy
Department of Immunology
Level 2, Monash University Building, AMREP
Commercial Road
Melbourne 3004
Biosketch:
Jennifer Rolland completed her BSc in Microbiology and Biochemistry at the University of Melbourne and PhD in Immunology at Monash University. At Monash University she played a key role in developing and delivering undergraduate and postgraduate training in Immunology and Human Pathology and served as Deputy/Acting Head of the Department of Immunology for several years. She has also formed a highly successful translational research collaboration with Professor Robyn O’Hehir, Head, Department of Allergy, Immunology and Respiratory Medicine at the Alfred Hospital, ensuring clinically relevant and targeted projects. Current research projects include characterization of clinically relevant allergens of peanut and shellfish, identification of the fine specificity of allergen-specific T cells and development of hypoallergenic allergen preparations for improved specific immunotherapy. Both clinical trials and in vitro studies are used to investigate mechanisms of allergen immunotherapy and optimal strategies for down-regulation of the adverse T cell response to allergen in allergic individuals. Novel strategies for down-regulating allergic airway inflammation using the activin A antagonist follistatin as well as inert nanoparticles are also being studied. She is Associate Editor of the international journal ‘Clinical and Experimental Allergy’. Major research funding is from NH&MRC, the CRC for Asthma and Airways, the Ilhan Food Allergy Foundation and the CASS Foundation.
Current Research Focus:
Characterisation of the T cell and IgE response to peanut, seafood and grass pollen allergens with a view to refining immunotherapy and diagnostic assays for allergic diseases.
Research Projects:
- Identification of T cell epitopes of peanut allergens and investigation of cross-reactivity with tree nuts - Dr Sara Prickett, Astrid Voskamp, Tracy Phan
- Characterisation of major Bahia grass pollen allergens and identification of T cell-reactive sites - Dr Tamara Etto, Neeru Varese
- Modulation of the allergen-specific T cell response and investigation of optimal strategies for inducing regulatory T cell responses to allergens - Dr Sara Prickett, Astrid Voskamp, Neeru Varese
- Role of activin A in driving inflammation and remodelling in chronic airways disease - Dr Charles Hardy, Hong-An Nguyen, John Yao
- Nanoparticle induction of lung resistance to development of allergen-induced lung inflammation in a mouse model; role for local dendritic cells - Dr Charles Hardy, John Yao, Jeanne Lemasurier, Rohimah Mohamud, in collaboration with Professor Magda Plebanski
- Characterisation of shellfish allergens – Neeru Varese, Astrid Voskamp, Jodie Abramovitch, in collaboration with Dr Andreas Lopata and Sandip Kamath, James Cook University
Selected Publications:
- Glaspole IN, de Leon MP, Prickett SR, O’Hehir RE, Rolland JM. (2011) Clinical allergy to hazelnut and peanut: identification of T cell cross-reactive allergens”. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 155:345-54
- Davies JM, Voskamp A, Thanh DD, Petit B, Loo D, Petersen A, Hill MM, Upham JW, Rolland JM, O’Hehir RE. (2011) The dominant 55 kDa allergen of the subtropical Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum) pollen is a group 13 pollen allergen, Pas n 13. Mol Immunol 48:931-40
- Davies JM, Thanh DD, Voskamp A, Drew AC, Biondo M, Phung M, Upham JW, Rolland JM, O’Hehir RE. (2011) Functional immunoglobulin E cross-reactivity between Pas n 1 of Bahia grass pollen and other group I grass pollen allergens. Clin Exp Allergy 41:281-91
- Prickett SR, Voskamp AL, Dacumos-Hill A, Symons K, Rolland JM, O’Hehir RE. (2011) Ara h 2 peptides comprising dominant CD4+ T-cell epitopes: candidates for a peanut allergy therapeutic. J Allergy Clin Immunol 127:608-15
- Drew A, Davies JM, Dang TD, Rolland JM, O’Hehir RE. (2011) Purification of the major group 1 allergen from Bahia grass pollen, Pas n 1. Int Archiv Allergy Immunol. 154: 295-8
- Rolland JM, Gardner LM, O’Hehir RE. (2010) Functional regulatory T cells and allergen immunotherapy. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol 10: 559-66.
- Walton SF, Pizzutto S, Slender A, Viberg L, Holt D, Belinda J Hales BJ, Kemp DJ, Currie BJ, Rolland JM, O’Hehir RE. (2010) Increased allergic immune response to Sarcoptes scabiei antigens in crusted versus ordinary scabies. Clin Vac Imm 17: 1428-38
- Mittag D, Scholzen A, Varese N, Baxter L, Paukovics G, Harrison L, Rolland JM & O'Hehir RE. (2010) The effector T cell response to ryegrass pollen is counter-regulated by simultaneous induction of regulatory T cells. J Immunol 184: 4708-16
- O'Hehir RE, Gardner LM, de Leon MP, Hales BJ, Biondo M, Douglass JA, Rolland JM, Sandrini A. (2009) House Dust Mite Sublingual Immunotherapy - The Role for TGF-beta and Functional Regulatory T Cells. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 180:936-47
- Hardy CL, LeMasurier JS, Olsson F, Dang T, Yao J, Yang M, Plebanski M, Phillips DJ, Mollard RA, Rolland JM, O’Hehir RE. (2010) IL-13 regulates secretion of the TGF-beta superfamily cytokine Activin-A in allergic airway inflammation. Am J Resp Cell Mol 42:667-75
- Rolland JM, Gardner LM, O’Hehir RE. (2009) Allergen-related approaches to immunotherapy. Pharmacol Ther 121:273-84
- Davies JM, Mittag D, Dang TD, Symons K, Voskamp A, Rolland JM, O’Hehir RE. (2008) Molecular cloning, expression and immunological characterisation of Pas n 1, the major allergen of Bahia grass Paspalum notatum pollen. Mol Immunol 46: 286-93
- Rolland JM, O’Hehir RE. (2008) Latex allergy: a model for therapy. State of the Art Review. Clin Exp Allergy 38:898-912
- de Leon MP, Rolland JM, O’Hehir RE. (2007) The peanut allergy epidemic: allergen molecular characterization and prospects for specific therapy. Expert Rev Mol Med 9:1-18
