Professor Wayne Thomas is a PhD graduate from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Western Australia. He has been a Senior Research Fellow of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council since 1987, and a Senior Principal Research Fellow since 1998, with his research being conducted at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and the University of Western Australia. From 1974 to 1983 he undertook postdoctoral studies into fundamental T cell biology with mouse models at the Clinical Research Centre in London, UK, and at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia. At the latter he was the first to demonstrate the antigen-induced production of interferon gamma from CD4 T cells. His best-known accomplishments, however, have been to introduce recombinant allergens and to characterize the major house dust mite allergens, which were undertakings made to make allergy research amenable to the then modern immunology by using defined allergens in defined doses and exploring epitopes. Professor Thomas has continued to use recombinant allergens to explore allergen formulations required for immunotherapy, the intra- and interspecies variation of house dust mite allergens and the use of peptides representing allergens for immunotherapy. Recent work has been directed toward defining the spectrum of important cat allergens, how individuals respond to different cat allergens and how immune responses to different allergens can interact. He has also maintained a keen interest in the use of allergens modified with recombinant techniques and the interaction of allergens with the innate immune system. Examination of immune responses in allergy, especially for asthma exacerbation in children, has now incorporated the measurement of immune responses to defined bacterial and viral antigens. The use of defined bacterial protein antigens has identified deficiencies in antibacterial responses in early life and other aberrations, uncovering new avenues of research into the development of allergic disease.

2013
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