When Professor Graham Le Gros spoke at a packed research update in Taupo recently it was a chance for old and new supporters, and members of the public, to hear the latest on the Malaghan Institute’s immunotherapy research.  It was also an opportunity for the audience to pose their questions about this new therapeutic principle in medical care; as in immunotherapy, it’s not the disease but the immune system that is targeted.

The event, kindly supported by Richard and Patience Izard, the Suncourt Hotel and Taupo Friends of the Malaghan Institute, highlighted the Institute’s evolution in immunotherapy research; with the patent of an asthma vaccine last year, vaccine trial milestones, and a worldwide breakthrough in cell biology earlier this year.  

Graham also shared predictions for the increasing focus on Gut immunotherapies; foods that promote a health immune system especially at the start of life.  The immunological consequence of our own status as host to the approximately 100 trillion microbes which inhabit our bodies has just begun to be investigated.   In March Gut Immunology Team Leader Dr Liz Forbes-Blom was awarded a $400,000 grant to investigate what is known as Functional Foods – foods to support the immune system – by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. More on this can be read about Liz’s contribution to this research in this month’s issue of North & South magazine.

We are incredibly proud of the support we receive throughout New Zealand for our medical research.  To thank our supporters across the country, we’re developing an exciting program of events to illuminate and celebrate the progress we’re making which would be impossible without ongoing support. 

Join us as we reflect on over three decades of medical research and look ahead to the years to come.

If you’d like to register your interest for future events, please contact Jenny Sim, Funding Manager

[email protected] +64 4 499 6914 ext 811