After completing his undergraduate studies at the University Vienna, Austria, and a Masters at the University of Nottingham, UK, Thomas Naderer obtained his PhD from the University of Melbourne, Australia in 2004. He worked as a post-doctoral scientist in the laboratory of Prof Malcolm McConville (University of Melbourne) before joining the NHMRC Program on Cellular Microbiology headed by Prof Trevor Lithgow, Monash University. In 2012 he established the macrophage-pathogen interaction group with funding from the NHMRC.

Thomas was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship in 2017, to address how host cell death, as part of the immune defense system, controls invading microbes. In 2020, Thomas joined the Monash Centre to Impact AMR and currently leads the working group on Community Action and Empowerment.

Macrophages are the first line immune cells that destroy invading microbes and thus prevent infectious diseases. Several microbes, however, can hide within macrophages to cause disease. Our recent research, published in Nature Microbiology, has shown that drugs that kill infected macrophages prevent infectious diseases.

Several superbugs secret weapons to kill macrophages and to promote their own survival. In these cases, our research is focused in preventing macrophage death by targeting host factors with existing drugs to restore protective immunity.

We currently work on microbes that cause life-threatening pneumonia, systemic fungal infections and sexually transmitted diseases. We believe that understanding the macrophage-microbe interaction is key for the development of new treatment options.

1. Programmed cell death signalling in infections

2. Bacterial vesicles and toxins that target macrophages

3. Pathogen evasion of macrophage attack

4. Metabolic interactions between macrophages and microbes