Dr Mara Zeissig
Group Leader
SAIGENCI
College of Health
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD, but is currently at capacity - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Dr Zeissig runs the T cell Immunotherapy Laboratory in the Tumour Inflammation and Immunotherapy Program at SAiGENCI. Her research focuses on studying immune evasion mechanisms in lung and pancreatic cancers to identify novel ways to increase response to immunotherapy. Her expertise is in genetically engineered mouse models of lung cancer, CRISPR-Cas9 screening technologies and T cell based immunotherapies. Mara has been the recipient of numerous career awards and grants, including a Victorian Cancer Agency ECR Fellowship, Cure Cancer and Tour de Cure Research Grants, and recently named one of South Australia’s 40 under 40.
Mara obtained her PhD at the University of Adelaide in 2020 with Prof Andrew Zannettino, where her research focused on the role of chemokine receptor CCR1 in the dissemination of the hematological malignancy multiple myeloma. She then undertook postdoctoral studies at Monash University with Prof Tony Tiganis, focusing on the role of protein tyrosine phosphotases PTPN2 and PTP1B on anti-tumour immunity in melanoma, breast, colon and liver cancers. In 2022 she joined the lab of Prof Kate Sutherland at WEHI. Here she conducted sophisticated CRISPR-Cas9 in vitro and in vivo screening to identify genetic determinants that influence response to KRAS inhibitors, and to identify novel immunotherapy targets in KRAS-mutant lung cancer.
Summer scholarship and Master of Research projects are available
Immunotherapies such as CAR T-cell therapy or immune checkpoint inhibitors all harness the ability of cytotoxic T cells to recognise and kill tumour cells. However, approximately 80% of solid cancer patients do not respond to immunotherapy. This is due to both tumour intrinsic and extrinsic evasion mechanisms, the most crucial of these being 1) the immunosuppressive microenvironment that leads to T cell exhaustion and 2) loss of antigen and/or checkpoint ligand expression on tumour cells rendering the tumour unrecognisable by T cells. Importantly, there may be additional, undiscovered immune evasion mechanisms that could be exploited for immunotherapy.
Our lab is focused on understanding how cancers evade the immune system to identify new ways to enhance response to immunotherapy. In particular, we work on cancers that are addicted to the oncogene KRAS, in particular lung, colorectal and pancreatic cancers. We utilise a range of tools including genetically engineered preclinical models of cancer, analysis of immune cell subsets, single-cell profiling and molecular biology techniques. We also harness large-scale genetic screening using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to find previously unknown targets and mechanisms that regulate response to immunotherapy.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 - ongoing | Group Head | University of Adelaide |
| 2022 - ongoing | Senior Research Officer | Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research |
| 2020 - 2022 | Research Officer | Monash University |
| Language | Competency |
|---|---|
| German | Can read, speak and understand spoken |
| Spanish - Latin American | Can read, write, speak and understand spoken |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 - 2015 | University of Adelaide | Australia | Bachelor of Science (Advanced) |
| University of Adelaide | Australia | PhD (Medicine) |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Zeissig, M. N., Hewett, D. R., Martin, S., Mrozik, K. M., Cheong, C. M., Diamond, P., . . . Zannettino, A. C. W. (2017). HIF-2α Upregulates CCR1 to Promote Dissemination of Plasma Cells in Multiple Myeloma. In BLOOD Vol. 130 (pp. 2 pages). Atlanta, GA: AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Zeissig, M. N., Hewett, D. R., Mrozik, K. M., Panagopoulos, V., Engelhardt, M., To, L. B., . . . Vandyke, K. (2019). Therapeutic Targeting of CCR1 to Prevent Dissemination of Multiple Myeloma Plasma Cells. Poster session presented at the meeting of BLOOD. FL, Orlando: ELSEVIER. DOI |
2025 - 2026 Tour De Cure Early Career Research Grant
2023 - 2024 Cure Cancer Australia Foundation Early Career Researcher Grant
2023 - 2026 Victorian Cancer Agency Early Career Fellowship
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Principal Supervisor | Investigating the extrinsic regulators of T cell stemness in cancer | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Daniel Hassan |
| 2025 | Principal Supervisor | Enhancing T cell anti-tumour activity | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Wuyu Lin |
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