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.
Support research at the Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research
Paediatric Immune Cell Atlas for Children’s Immunotherapy Innovation
Children have unique health challenges compared to adults, and the prognosis of many immune-related paediatric diseases is poor. The design of effective treatments for diseases including childhood cancers is challenging, due to a limited understanding of normal immune system development and function in children.
This project aims to address this issue by establishing the Paediatric Immune Cell Atlas (PICA), a reference database of immune cells from blood samples donated by healthy children and children with immune-related diseases.
PICA will allow us to identify the specific immune cell types, pathways, and interactions that are unique to the paediatric immune system throughout different developmental stages, from birth to adolescence. This information can be used to develop more effective and tailored immunotherapy treatments for life-threatening paediatric diseases.
Earmarked scholarship for PICA
Personal Immunity-guided Cancer Vaccine for Paediatric Cancer
This project aims to design novel mRNA -based vaccines for children with cancer which harness the power of the immune system to fight tumours. The centre uses a novel approach to cancer vaccine design by evaluating the patient's immune repertoire and their cancer genome to design a personal, immunity- guided cancer vaccine that is specific to the patient. This innovative approach is precision medicine at the translational level.
- Professor Di Yu - Director
- Dr Wayne Nicholls - Clinical Director
Wayne Nicholl's research profile
- Dr Joseph Yunis - PICVac
Joseph Yunis's research profile
- Dr Pablo Canete - PICA
Pablo Canete's research profile
- Dr Kelvin Tuong - Commputational Immunology Group Leader
Kelvin Tuong's research profile
Dr Lisa Tom – Research and Operations Manager
Yvonne Un – Research Assistant
Dr Emely Hernandez – Industry Fellow/ Clinical Research Coordinator
Dr Tiffany Yap – Academic Title Holder
News
Events
3rd Australian Paediatric Immunotherapy Conference
We are excited to announce the 3rd Australian Paediatric Immunotherapy Conference (APIC) to be held on Friday 23rd May and Saturday 24th May, 2025, located at The Emporium Hotel, Southbank, Brisbane.
APIC 2025 will bring together local, national and international experts to discuss the potential of immunotherapy for the treatment of childhood diseases. APIC 2025 will provide an opportunity for clinicians, scientists, industry partners, and all with an interest in Paediatric Immunotherapy research to share knowledge and build valuable connections.
The 2025 conference will explore the following themes:
- Advances in Paediatric Immuno-Oncology
- Immunoregulation and Immune Tolerance
- Inborn Errors of Immunity (IEI)
- Precision Immunotherapy
- Clinical Trials and Immunomonitoring
The Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Resarch offers honours, masters, and PhD projects. Students with experience in molecular biology, immunology, genomics and/or bioinformatics are encouraged to apply.
At the Ian Frazer Centre for Children's Immunotherapy Research you will have the opportunity to engage in groundbreaking research using state-of-the-art facilities. IFCCIR is the first centre in Australia dedicated to children's immunotherapy, allowing you to collaborate with leading experts in the field and experienced clinicians at Children’s Health Queensland (CHQ).
IFCCIR has a close collaboration with the Frazer Institute at the University of Queensland, equipped with advanced research tools and with access to a range of core facilities located within the Translational Research Institute (TRI).
Projects are available for the Paediatric Immune Cell Atlas (PICA) and Personal Immunity-guided Cancer Vaccine projects (see Our research tab for more details).
Scholarships
Earmarked scholarship for PICA
For further information, contact di.yu@uq.edu.au or ianfrazercentre@uq.edu.au.
Contact us
Get in touch to learn more about our research.
Dr Lisa Tom
Research and Operations Manager