Dr Michelle Linterman
Chief Scientist, Programme Leader - Linterman Laboratory
BBmedSc(Hons) (VUW), MA (Cantab), PhD (ANU)
Michelle Linterman is Chief Scientist, leading the development of the Malaghan Institute’s scientific vision. As Chief Scientist, Michelle is responsible for developing and supporting scientific talent, driving collaboration, and promoting research excellence at the Malaghan.
Michelle also leads the Linterman Lab. Her research focus is on how different cell types collaborate in the germinal centre to generate a robust antibody response following vaccination and infection. Her team’s work combines research in mice, with human studies to enable us to deliver mechanistic insight into the germinal centre response that is of direct relevance to human health.
Related news
NZ-UK research deepens understanding of germinal centres for better vaccine design
27 January 2026
New funding supports cutting-edge research into immune cell metabolism
13 October 2025
New research group taking aim at ageing immunity
23 June 2025
Dr Michelle Linterman: Asking the age-old question
30 April 2025
Kia Niwha Leader Fellowship for Malaghan vaccine researcher
6 May 2024
Malaghan research collaboration: Strengthening the immune system in ageing populations
29 April 2024
Publications
2026
Webb, L. M., Carslaw, H. C., James, J., Watson, E. M., Innocentin, S., Assalaarachchi, J., Fra-Bido, S., San Martin Molina, I., Guillaume, S. M., Wooliscroft, S., Burton, A. R., Kennedy, G. M., Linterman, M. A. Transient disruption of T cell help impairs germinal center dynamics and memory responses. 2026, Jan 23; Science Immunology.
2025
Guillaume SM, Carslaw HA, Innocentin S, Webb LMC, Liston A, Foster WS, Linterman MA. Germinal center formation is resilient to CD69 deletion on T follicular helper cells. Immunol Cell Biol. 2025 Aug 4.
Pankhurst TE, Linterman MA (2025). Highlights of 2024: Advances in Germinal Centers. Immunol Cell Biol. 103(6):492-495.
Guillaume SM, Foster WS, San Martín Molina I, Watson EM, Innocentin S, Kennedy GM, Denton AE*, Linterman MA*. *Joint senior authors (2025). Lung B cells in ectopic germinal centers undergo affinity maturation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Apr 8;122(14):e2416855122.
2023
Lee JL, Innocentin S, Silva-Cayetano A, Guillaume SM, Linterman MA (2023). B Cells from Aged Mice Do Not Have Intrinsic Defects in Affinity Maturation in Response to Immunization. Journal of Immunology. 2023 Nov 15.
Silva-Cayetano A, Fra-Bido S, Robert PA, Innocentin S, Burton AR, Watson EM, Lee JL, Webb LMC, Foster WS, McKenzie RCJ, Bignon A, Vanderleyden I, Alterauge D, Lemos JP, Carr EJ, Hill DL, Cinti I, Balabanian K, Baumjohann D, Espeli M, Meyer-Hermann M, Denton AE, Linterman MA. (2023). Spatial dysregulation of T follicular helper cells impairs vaccine responses in aging. Nature Immunology.
2022
Foster WS, Lee JL, Thakur N, Newman J, Spencer AJ, Davies S, Woods D, Godfrey L, Hay IM, Innocentin S, Yam-Puc JC, Horner EC, Sharpe HJ, Thaventhiran JE, Bailey D, Lambe T*, Linterman MA*. *Joint senior authors. Tfh cells and the germinal center are required for memory B cell formation & humoral immunity after ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination. Cell Reports Medicine. 2022 Dec 20;3(12):100845.
Burton AR, Guillaume SM, Foster WS, Wheatley AK, Hill DL, Carr EJ*, Linterman MA*. *Joint senior authors (2022). The memory B cell response to influenza vaccination is impaired in older persons. Cell Reports. 2022 Nov 8;41(6):111613.
Denton AE, Dooley J, Cinti I, Silva-Cayetano A, Fra-Bido S, Innocentin S, Hill DL, Carr EJ, McKenzie ANJ, Liston A and Linterman MA. (2022). Targeting TLR4 during vaccination boosts MAdCAM-1+ lymphoid stromal cell activation and promotes GC responses in aging. Science Immunology. 2022 May 6;7(71):eabk0018.
2021
Hill DL, Whyte CE, Innocentin S, Lee JL, Dooley J, Wang J, James EA, Lee JC, Kwok WW, Zand M, Liston A, Carr EJ, Linterman MA. Impaired HA-specific T follicular helper cell and antibody responses to influenza vaccination are linked to inflammation in humans. eLife. 2021 Nov 2;10:e70554.
Silva-Cayetano A†, Foster WS†, Innocentin S†, Belij-Rammerstorfer S, Spencer AJ, Burton OT, Fra-Bidó S, Lee JL, Thakur N, Conceicao C, Wright D, Barett J, Evans-Bailey N, Noble C, Bailey D, Liston A, Gilbert SC, Lambe T*, Linterman MA*. *Joint senior authors, †Joint first authors. (2021). A booster dose enhances immunogenicity of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 in aged mice. Med. 2021 Mar 12;2(3):243-262.e8.