Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Lawlor received her PhD in Medical Biology in 2004 at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and The University of Melbourne. After being awarded an NHMRC CJ Martin Overseas Biomedical Fellowship, she completed postdoctoral research at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, UK and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, most recently in the laboratory of Dr James Vince. During this time she established expertise in the molecular and cellular dissection of inflammatory signalling pathways, and the translation of these findings in vivo using models of autoimmune, inflammatory and infectious diseases. In 2018, she was recruited to head the Cell Death and Inflammatory Signalling group within the Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases at the Hudson Institute.
Research interests
The Cell Death and Inflammatory Signalling group aims to identify new molecules that regulate cell death and inflammatory signalling. We also seek to establish whether cell death signalling can be inhibited therapeutically to treat inflammatory disease, or triggered to promote antimicrobial responses.
Dr Lawlor and her team investigate the cross-talk between programmed cell death and inflammatory signalling pathways in disease. In particular, the laboratory studies how cell death induces activation of innate immune cell pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), including the inflammasomes. Inflammasomes are now known to activate pro-inflammatory protein Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) to induce a lytic form of cell death, called pyroptosis. This activity is critical for clearance of microbial organisms by the immune system. However, excess IL-1β activity can exacerbate rare hereditary autoinflammatory syndromes and common diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
External positions
Honorary Fellow, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI)
Research area keywords
- innate immunity
- Inflammasomes
- Cell death
- Inflammatory diseases
- Signalling pathways
- Infection and immunity
- Autoimmune Diseases
Network
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Role of A1 in repressing mitochondrial apoptosis to limit pathogen clearance
1/01/20 → 31/12/22
Project: Research
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Investigating the roles of non-coding RNAs in inflammatory signalling and cancer
Conos, S. & Lawlor, K.
5/08/19 → 28/02/23
Project: Research
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Role of programmed cell death in NLRP3 inflammasome activation and Metabolic Syndrome
1/01/19 → 31/12/21
Project: Research
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Unconventional mechanisms for activating the NLRP3 inflammasome
Vince, J., Murphy, J. M., Lawlor, K. & Lindqvist, L. M.
1/01/18 → 31/12/20
Project: Research
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Discordance in STING-Induced Activation and Cell Death Between Mouse and Human Dendritic Cell Populations
Pang, E. S., Daraj, G., Balka, K. R., De Nardo, D., Macri, C., Hochrein, H., Masterman, K. A., Tan, P. S., Shoppee, A., Magill, Z., Jahan, N., Bafit, M., Zhan, Y., Kile, B. T., Lawlor, K. E., Radford, K. J., Wright, M. D. & O'Keeffe, M., 25 Feb 2022, In: Frontiers in Immunology. 13, 19 p., 794776.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
RIP-roaring inflammation: RIPK1 and RIPK3 driven NLRP3 inflammasome activation and autoinflammatory disease
Speir, M. & Lawlor, K. E., Jan 2021, In: Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology. 109, S1, p. 114-124 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
11 Citations (Scopus) -
Targeting rip kinases in chronic inflammatory disease
Speir, M., Djajawi, T. M., Conos, S. A., Tye, H. & Lawlor, K. E., May 2021, In: Biomolecules. 11, 5, 22 p., 646.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access5 Citations (Scopus) -
The ubiquitylation of IL-1β limits its cleavage by caspase-1 and targets it for proteasomal degradation
Vijayaraj, S. L., Feltham, R., Rashidi, M., Frank, D., Liu, Z., Simpson, D. S., Ebert, G., Vince, A., Herold, M. J., Kueh, A., Pearson, J. S., Dagley, L. F., Murphy, J. M., Webb, A. I., Lawlor, K. E. & Vince, J. E., Dec 2021, In: Nature Communications. 12, 1, 16 p., 2713.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access5 Citations (Scopus) -
Die Another Way: Interplay between Influenza A Virus, Inflammation and Cell Death
Laghlali, G., Lawlor, K. E. & Tate, M. D., 4 Apr 2020, In: Viruses. 12, 4, 23 p., E401.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile15 Citations (Scopus)