Megan Soon
Dr | Research Officer
3845 3736megan.soon@qimrberghofer.edu.au
CAREER HISTORY
Megan arrived in Australia in 2011 from Malaysia and undertook a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Hons) at the University of Queensland. After a year working on immunotherapy against blood cancer at the Translational Research Institute, Megan started her PhD at QIMR Berghofer, exploring the transcriptome dynamics underlying memory CD4+ T cell development in experimental models of malaria. She was recently awarded her PhD from the University of Queensland in 2021, and her research has since been published in Nature Immunology.
Megan currently works as a research officer in the Human Malaria Laboratory at QIMR Berghofer, reporting to Dr Michelle Boyle. She now applies her experience in using single-cell technology to investigate mechanisms for boosting specific subsets of T follicular helper cells to improve outcomes against human malaria.
CURRENT APPOINTMENTS
- Research Officer Human Malaria Immunology Laboratory
PREVIOUS APPOINTMENTS
- 2016-2017 Research Assistant, Translational Research Institute
- 2015-2016 Research Assistant, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
ORCID NUMBER
CURRENT AREA OF RESEARCH
The Human Malaria Immunology Lab’s research is focused on identifying cellular mechanisms that drive the induction of protective humoral responses to human infection. The group primarily focuses on Plasmodium parasite infection, the causative parasite of malaria, using a human cohort of experimental and natural infection to understand immune development.
Some of the key research challenges:
- Identifying and characterising key functional mechanisms of antibodies that mediate protection
- Defining the key cellular mechanisms that promote the generation of functional antibodies
- Quantifying the impact of host age and prior malaria exposure on antibody development
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
- Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology Inc.
- Australian Bioinformatics And Computational Biology Society
- American Association of Immunologists
AWARDS RECOGNITION
- Invited Speaker, Brisbane Immunology Mini Symposium, 2020
- Australian Bioinformatics and Computing Biology Society Conference Travel Support Grant 2019
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute Travel Award, 2019
- American Association of Immunology Trainee Award, 2019
- Australasian Society of Immunology International Travel Award, 2018
- Australian Bioinformatics and Computing Biology Society Conference Travel Support Grant, 2018
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute PhD Top Up Award, 2018
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute International PhD Scholarship, 2016
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute Honours Scholarship Award, 2015
- UQ Undergraduate Summer Research Scholarship, 2014
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
- 2015: Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Hons I)
- 2021: Doctor of Philosophy (Supervisors: Professor Christian Engwerda, Associate Professor Ashraful Haque)