DrSanjay Swaminathan

Dr Swaminathan is a clinician scientist with a broad range of expertise in the clinical, research and teaching spheres. He is a Senior Staff Specialist and Head of the Department of Immunology and Allergy at Westmead and Blacktown Hospitals. His clinical interests span a range of immunological conditions including autoimmunity (SLE, connective tissue disorders and systemic vasculitis), allergic disorders (including drug and venom allergy) and secondary immune deficiencies such as HIV-1 infection.

His PhD was completed under the guidance of Prof Anthony Kelleher (Director, Kirby Insitute, UNSW), where he explored the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathogenecity of HIV-1 infection. He found a novel link between the expression of a family of highly expressed miRNAs (the let-7 family) and a broadly anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10, that was published in the Journal of Immunology and has been cited >100 times since 2012. He was a Post-doctoral Felow at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research under the guidance of Dr H.Clifford Lane, Deputy Director of NIAID and Dr Tomozumi Imamichi.