The Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research (IFCCIR) is the first dedicated children’s immunotherapy research centre in Australia, led by The University of Queensland in collaboration with Children’s Hospital Foundation, Children’s Health Queensland and QIMR Berghofer. The Centre has been established in August 2022, thanks to funding from Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The Centre is dedicated to the innovation of new immunotherapies and better translation of successful adult treatments for children and adolescents suffering from cancer and other life-threatening immune-related diseases, such as autoimmune and infectious diseases.
Through collaborative research among immunologists, paediatricians and technology experts, the Centre applies cutting-edge technologies to understand the specific features of children's immune system in response to disease and therapy, and rationally design new diagnoses and immunotherapies with high effectiveness and low adverse effects in children.
Visit the Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research website
Professor Di Yu
Director, Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research
Leading immunologist, Professor Di Yu, is the inaugural Director of IFCCIR. He is also a Chair in Paediatric Immunotherapy and Professor of Immunology at The University of Queensland and a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Leadership Fellow.
Professor Yu and his research team investigate the mechanisms that regulate the functions of T cell subsets in human health and disease and design new strategies to monitor personal immune status and modulate immune pathways to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infection. He has published in high-impact journals including Nature, Nature Immunology, Nature Medicine and Immunity and is recognised as a Global Highly Cited Researcher (2019, 2020) by Clarivate and Web of Sciences.
Dr Wayne Nicholls
Interim Clinical Director, Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research
Dr Wayne Nicholls, the Director of Oncology Services Group at Queensland Children’s Hospital, is the interim Clinical Director of IFCCIR and promotes the clinical translation of scientific breakthroughs in the Centre. His interests are in paediatric, adolescent and young adult (AYA) brain tumours and sarcomas. He is the Chair of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) AYA Working Group.
Dr Kelvin Tuong
Senior Research Fellow/Group Leader, Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research
Dr Kelvin Tuong is a Senior Research Fellow/Group Leader at the IFCCIR. He was originally trained as a cell biologist/immunologist and has since developed key expertise in bioinformatics. He is also co-chair of the ASI Systems Immmunology Special Interest Group (2023-2025).
View Dr Tuong's Computational immunology group page