Women Speakers Database
Photo
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Name
Jana Vukovic -
Email
j.vukovic@uq.edu.au -
Country/Region
Australia -
Institute
University of Queensland -
Career Stage
Tenured Faculty -
Website
https://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/2243 -
Research Interests
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Profile
A/Professor Vukovic heads the Neuroimmunology and Cognition Laboratory that is investigating the interactions between the brain and the immune system in health and disease. Specifically, the Vukovic lab examines the role of brain’s main resident immune cell population (i.e. microglia), as well as various peripheral immune cells, on learning and memory in mice. The lab is interested in defining the contribution of immune cells to such higher cognitive tasks, including for neuroinflammatory conditions where learning and memory deficits can occur, e.g. following traumatic brain injury, cancer treatment, and ageing. The team has established an array of genetic and pharmacological tools alongside robust behavioural assays to directly probe the function of these immune cells in both the healthy and diseased brain. The ultimate goal is to link cellular and molecular events to altered behaviour, and to harness the brain’s intrinsic regenerative potential for stimulating optimal cognitive function.
A/Prof Vukovic is a Viertel Senior Medical Fellow in Faculty of Medicine and the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland, Australia.