Professor Kate Schroder

Professor Kate Schroder was appointed as a Director of the SAHMRI Board in August, 2022. She brings invaluable scientific knowledge, integrity and leadership to this position.

Professor Schroder is an NHMRC Leadership Fellow who leads the Inflammasome Laboratory at the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience and is also the Director of the IMB Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research. She has published more than 100 articles in top journals and in 2020 was honoured with the Australian Academy of Science Nancy Millis Medal.

Professor Schroder’s graduate and postgraduate studies defined novel macrophage activation mechanisms and surprising inter-species divergence in macrophage inflammatory programs, taking her to Switzerland where, as an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellow, she trained with Prof Jürg Tschopp, who is a pioneer in the inflammasome and cell death fields.

Returning to Australia in 2013, Professor Schroder established the Inflammasome Laboratory which is defining mechanisms of inflammasome signalling, antimicrobial defence and inflammatory disease.

Professor Schroder’s lab co-invented inflammasome inhibitors entering Phase 2 clinical trials as anti-inflammatory drug candidates. This breakthrough was commercialised by the University of Queensland start-up company, Inflazome, with Professor Schroder serving on its Scientific Advisory Board. Inflazome recently sold to pharmaceutical giant Roche for $620m plus milestones, in the largest ever deal for Australian academic intellectual property.