Inflammation expert welcomed as Centre Head

Hudson Institute’s world leading inflammation programs enter a new era with the appointment of Professor Seth Masters to head the Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases (CiiiD).

Inflammation underpins chronic diseases that drive more than 50 per cent of deaths worldwide. Hudson Institute scientists are working to understand and control the complex inflammatory networks of the immune system to combat the rising health burden stemming from overactive inflammation.

Outstanding leadership in inflammatory diseases

An expert in genetic disorders that trigger inflammatory diseases, Prof Masters has spent the past 12 years as Head of the Inflammasomes and Autoinflammatory Disease Laboratory at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI).

Professor Masters said he is delighted to be taking on a leadership position on 5 February 2024 among Australia’s largest collection of researchers dedicated to advancing our understanding of inflammation and developing new treatments for inflammatory diseases.

“The more we look at inflammation generated by the innate immune system, the more apparent it is how many conditions are affected by this process,” he said.

Future research goals

“So I am excited by the opportunity to further expand inflammation research with the team at CiiiD into areas where it can have the greatest effect,” said Professor Masters.

Professor Masters’ achievements and affiliations include a joint appointment at the Guangzhou Women’s and Children’s Hospital (China), as well as being a Fellow of the HHMI-Wellcome Trust, the Viertel Foundation and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Educational and recent roles

He completed his BSc (Hons) and PhD at the University of Melbourne and more recently took on roles as VP of Discovery Biology at NRG Therapeutics and as a Scientific Advisor for Odyssey Therapeutics.

Current projects underway in his Innate Immune and Autoinflammatory Disease lab, include

• Novel innate immune pathways in patients with autoinflammatory disease
• Australian Autoinflammatory Disease Registry
• Physiological roles of the inflammasome during disease.

Exceptional experience and research program

Hudson Institute’s Director and CEO, Professor Elizabeth Hartland welcomed the appointment, saying Professor Masters would bring a wealth of experience in the field, as well as a range of fresh ideas to his work as the new head for the Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases (CiiiD).

“We are thrilled that Prof Masters is bringing his exceptional research program and leadership to Hudson Institute. Prof Masters will bring us a big step closer to the goal of helping patients with unexplained and damaging inflammation,” said Professor Hartland.