The van Driel Group's research interests include: 

Immunology and Inflammatory Disease

• Immunological tolerance - How does the immune system learn to tolerate our own tissues while still maintaining the ability to attack foreign invaders?
• Auto-immune diseases - A very common cause of illness. The group examine the molecular and cellular causes of auto-immunity.
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease - The group is discovering new models of IBD and finding the genes responsible.
• Functional genomics of auto-immunity - Discovering genes that predispose to autoimmunity may allow new predictive and therapeutic approaches.

Cell Biology

• Protein trafficking - Understanding the specialised cells found in animals requires knowledge of their behaviour within their normal tissue environment. The van Driel group exploit acid secreting cells of the stomach, which are an ideal model system to address molecular aspects of protein transport in an in vivo setting.

Techniques include: the use of inbred, congenic, mutagenised and genetically manipulated mice in immunology, genetics, cell biology and physiology; a wide range of immunological techniques (flow cytometry, lymphocyte functional assays, ELISAs etc.); histological techniques, light, fluorescence, confocal microscopy; culture of cell lines and primary cells; and cellular and molecular biology.

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Ian van Driel Bio

Associate Prof Ian van Driel is laboratory head in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. His laboratory has made a number of major contributions to the study of gastric biology and disease. Much of his work focuses upon understanding the events associated with immunological tolerance and auto-immune disease, using gastric auto-immunity as a model system. His laboratory also investigates the cell biological events that control the secretion of stomach acid. Recently, he has initiated a project to discover genes that are involved in gastrointestinal disease by screening collections of mutant mice. Throughout his career Assoc Prof van Driel has used approaches drawn from multiple disciplines including biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology, genetics and cell biology.

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van Driel Research Group

• Desmond Ang
• Dorothee Bourges 
• Nhung Nguyen 

Postgraduate Students 

• Stacey Allen 
• Eric Tu 
• Ellen Ross
• Priscilla Gunn

Honours Students

• Lisa Woollard

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