Dr Hannah Boswell
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr Hannah Boswell completed her PhD in Biomedical Science at Te Herenga Waka- Victoria University of Wellington under the supervision of Dr Lisa Connor and Professor Ian Hermans in 2026. Her thesis investigated how a subset of our lung immune cells, called MAIT cells, can be utilised to amplify vaccine immune responses and protect the lung during respiratory infection. Hannah is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Connor Laboratory.
Research interests
"The lung connects the outside world to our own bodies by constantly taking in air to breathe. Our lung tissue is exposed to microbes; these can be harmless or potential threats, such as influenza virus. To combat these threats the lung has a highly specialised and intricate immune system to keep us healthy. My research is focused on an immune cell found enriched in the lung tissue, called MAIT cells. I look at how MAIT cells can be activated in the lung and how these cells interact with the wider lung immune network. The aim is to activate these cells to improve lung specific immune responses, either in vaccination or influenza infection."
