Dr Rachel Perret
Team Leader - Perret Laboratory
Designing better, safer CAR T-cell therapies for cancer and other diseases.
The Perret Research Team spearheads the research arm of the Malaghan Institute’s CAR T-cell programme. Working alongside the ENABLE clinical trial, the team seeks to better understand the internal mechanisms behind CAR T-cell technology to make the therapy even safer and more effective. This includes investigating a CAR T-cell safety switch, dual-specificity CAR T-cells targeting multiple myeloma, and new quality control methods for the cellular and genomic analysis of CAR T-cell products.
The team is developing new approaches to improve CAR T-cell fitness and to broaden the therapy’s application to a wider range of disease types, including solid tumours. In addition, they are working on incorporating mātauranga and tikanga Māori into research and clinical practices
Research areas
- CAR T-cell therapy
- Development of new CAR T-cell constructs
- Functional and genetic characterisation of CAR T-cells
Research projects
- Characterisation of transgene number and sites of CAR T-cells
- Development of CAR T-cell safety switches
Annie Bai
Research Officer
Brigitta Mester
R&D Manager
Danielle Sword
PhD Student
Gus Webster
Research Officer
Josie Morrison
Research Officer
Lauren Goodman
Research Officer
Paul Owaci
PhD Student
Puja Paudel
Senior Research Officer
Rosemary Jackson
PhD Student
Tyler Johns
PhD Student
Research highlights
HRC funding to improve CAR T-cell ‘fitness’ and better fight cancer
11 June 2026
Researchers explore 'RENTAL CAR' approach to CAR T-cell therapy
21 May 2026
Momentum is everything: advancing CAR T-cell research for future trials and treatments
25 February 2026
Homegrown Hope - Stuff's series on CAR T-cell therapy
11 February 2026
Marsden funding to drive discovery and innovation in cancer, allergy and infectious disease research
5 November 2025
Developing next generation CAR T-cell therapies for more equitable cancer care
30 October 2025