After completing a Masters in Life Sciences in India, I then moved to Germany to work in the biotech industry for a few years before moving to Australia. I completed my PhD degree under the supervision of Prof. Tom Kay and Dr. Bala Krishnamurthy at SVI, during which I generated sophisticated transgenic mouse models to investigate the Induction of Antigen-specific tolerance and development of autoreactive T cells in autoimmune diabetes. I am currently a Research Officer in the Immunology and Diabetes laboratory and am utilising several pre-clinical models to gain a deeper understanding of mechanisms and pathways involved in pathogenesis of T1D and to identify antigen-based treatments for prevention of type 1 diabetes.
Selected publications
Jhala G, Chee J, Trivedi PM, Selck C, Gurzov EN, Graham KL, Thomas HE, Kay TWH, Krishnamurthy B Perinatal tolerance to proinsulin is sufficient to prevent autoimmune diabetes. JCI Insight, Jul 7;1(10):e86065 (2016)
Ge T, Jhala G, Fynch S, Akazawa S, Litwak S, Pappas EG, Catterall T, Vakil I, Long AJ, Olson LM, Krishnamurthy B, Kay TWH, Thomas HE. Front. Immunol. 2020 Dec 4; 11:588543. The JAK1 selective inhibitor ABT 317 blocks signalling through interferon-gamma and common gamma-chain cytokine receptors to reverse autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice.
Akazawa S, Mackin L, Jhala G, Fynch S, Catterall T, Selck C, Graham KL, Krishnamurthy B, Pappas EG, Kwong CJ, Sutherland APR, Kay TWH, Brodnicki TC, Thomas HE. Front. Diabetologia. 2021 April 64(4): 878-889. Deficiency of the innate immune adaptor STING promotes autoreactive T cell expansion in NOD mice
Jhala G, Selck C, Chee J, Kwong CJ, Pappas EG, Thomas HE, Kay TWH, Krishnamurthy B. Front. Immunol. 2021 Mar 25; 12:645817. Tolerance to Proinsulin-1 reduces autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice
Jhala G, Krishnamurthy B, Brodnicki TC, Ge T, Akazawa S, Selck C, Trivedi PM, Pappas EG, Mackin L, Principe N, Bremaud E, De George DJ, Boon L, Smyth I, Chee J, Kay TW and Thomas HE. Cell Reports. 2022. April 26, 39 110747 Interferons limit autoantigen-specific CD8+ T cell expansion in the non-obese diabetic mouse
Selck C, Jhala G, De George DJ, Kwong CJ, Christensen MK, Pappas EG, Xin L, Ge T, Trivedi PM, Kallies A, Thomas HE Kay TW and Krishnamurthy B. BioRxiv. 2023.02.12 528226. Extra-islet expression of islet antigen boosts T-cell exhaustion to prevent autoimmune diabetes
Immunology
We study the precise mechanisms by which T cells destroy beta cells – the ultimate cause of type 1 diabetes – and test ways to prevent this from happening.
Lab head: Professor Tom Kay