JCU > Research Portfolio > Dr Roland Ruscher

About

Dr. Roland Ruscher obtained a German Diploma (~MSc) from University of Cologne and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Germany, and a PhD in 2014 in the field of immunology from University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute in Australia. He then joined Prof. Kristin Hogquist’s group at the University of Minnesota (UMN) in the USA as a Postdoctoral Fellow, where he studied the development and ontogeny of specific immune cells in the gut, named intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL). In July 2018 Dr. Ruscher returned to Australia and accepted a position sponsored by the Queensland based biotech company Paragen Bio. In 2020, he became a Research Fellow in Prof. Alex Loukas' group at James Cook University.

Dr. Ruscher's primary interests encompass intestinal and T cell immunology. The immune system and microbial community of the gut have an enormous influence on overall health, yet there are still huge knowledge gaps waiting to be explored. Dr. Ruscher strives to advance our understanding of the gut immune system, and its effects on allergies, and inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

His major scientific achievements include the discovery of a novel precursor cell to a subset of intestinal IEL (Ruscher et al., Nature Immunology 2017), and characterisation of their establishment in the gut in early life (Ruscher et al., Journal of Experimental Medicine 2020). Dr. Ruscher has also been crucially involved in defining developmental pathways of regulatory T cells (Owen et al., Nature Immunology, 2019).

Dr. Ruscher's current research focus comprises immune responses to parasitic helminths. These worms were shaped by millions of years of co-evolution with their mammalian hosts, and efficiently reduce host inflammatory responses in order to avoid expulsion. Dr. Ruscher studies such anti-inflammatory properties to harness them for the development of therapeutics. He is particularly interested in T cell responses to helminths, and how immunity at mucosal surfaces is modulated by molecules secreted by helminths.

At this early career stage, Dr. Ruscher has won multiple awards and prizes for his research (see ‘Honours’ section), gave a number of invited presentations and seminars, is currently supervising 4 PhD, MSc and Honours students, and is holding Chief Investigator (CI) positions on a NHMRC Ideas Grant and a NHMRC Development Grant, respectively (see 'Current Funding').

Interests

Research

Mucosal immunology
Intestinal immunology
Intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes
T cell responses in the gut
Therapeutic capacities of helminth parasite derived molecules
Inflammatory bowel disease

Experience

2020 to present - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, James Cook University (QLD, Australia)
2018 to 2019 - Research Fellow, James Cook University, ParaGen Bio (QLD, Australia)
2014 to 2018 - Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Minnesota, Center for Immunology (MN, USA)
2009 to 2014 - PhD in Immunology, University of QLD, Translational Research Institute (QLD, Australia)
2008 to 2009 - Occupational Trainee, Univ. of QLD, Diamantina Institute (QLD, Australia)
2007 to 2008 - German Diploma (~MSC) Thesis, German Aerospace Center (Cologne, Germany)

Research Disciplines

Socio-Economic Objectives

Honours

Awards

2020 - American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Travel Award for attending the AAI 2020 (*Cancelled due to COVID-19)
2019 - Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology (ASI) International Travel Award – Post Doctorate for attending the German Society for Immunology (DGfI) conference
2019 - Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI) Travel Award for attending the International Congress of Mucosal Immunology (ICMI) 2019
2019 - Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology (ASI) Graham Jackson Memorial Prize (best speaker at mucosal immunology session)
2017 - Kyoto T Cell Conference (KTCC2017) Travel Award
2017 - Best Poster Award at the KTCC2017
2016 - American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Travel Grant
2016 - Univ. of Minnesota Center for Immunology (UMN CFI) International Travel Award
2012 - ASI travel bursary 2012
2012 - UQ Diamantina Institute Student Travel Award
2009 - Univ. of QLD (UQ) Inter-national Research Tuition Award (UQIRTA)

Fellowships

2021 - 10X "Start Single Cell" Fellowship

Memberships

2019 - Australian Society for Parasitology (ASP)
2018 - American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2018 - Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology (ASI)
2017 - Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI)
2016 - American Association of Immunologists (AAI)
2009 to 2016 - Australasian Society for Immunology (ASI)

Other

2021 - Editorial Board of Infectious Diseases – Surveillance, Prevention and Treatment (Review Editor) for Frontiers in Public Health and Frontiers in Medicine
2021 - Review Editor for Frontiers in Immunology, section Cytokines and Soluble Mediators in Immunity
2013 - Winner of an iQ (QLD branch of ASI) immunology competition
2012 - Runner-up, Univ. of QLD Diamantina Institute 3 Minute Thesis competition
2021 - Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology (CTBMB) Single Cell RNA Sequencing access grant
2020 - Center for Molecular Therapeutics Research Funding Scheme grant
2009 to 2013 - Univ. of QLD (UQ) Research Scholarship (UQRS)

Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

Cobos C, Bansal P, Wilson D, Jones L, Zhao G, Field M, Eichenberger R, Pickering D, Ryan R, Ratnatunga C, Miles J, Ruscher R, Giacomin P, Navarro S, Loukas A and Daly N (2022) Peptides derived from hookworm anti-inflammatory proteins suppress inducible colitis in mice and inflammatory cytokine production by human cells. Frontiers in Medicine, 9.
Ritmejeryte E, Ryan R, Byatt B, Peck Y, Yeshi K, Daly N, Zhao G, Crayn D, Loukas A, Pyne S, Ruscher R and Wangchuk P (2022) Anti-inflammatory properties of novel galloyl glucosides isolated from the Australian tropical plant Uromyrtus metrosideros. Chemico-Biological Interactions, 368.
Ryan S, Ruscher R, Johnston W, Pickering D, Kennedy M, Smith B, Jones L, Buitrago G, Field M, Esterman A, McHugh C, Browne D, Cooper M, Ryan R, Doolan D, Engwerda C, Miles K, Mitreva M, Croese J, Rahman T, Alexandrov K, Giacomin P and Loukas A (2022) Novel antiinflammatory biologics shaped by parasite–host coevolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119 (36).
Yeshi K, Ruscher R, Miles K, Crayn D, Liddell M and Wangchuk P (2022) Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Endemic Plants of the Australian Wet Tropics. Plants, 11 (19).
Yeshi K, Ruscher R, Loukas A and Wangchuk P (2022) Immunomodulatory and biological properties of helminth-derived small molecules: Potential applications in diagnostics and therapeutics. Frontiers in Parasitology, 1.
Buitrago G, Pickering D, Ruscher R, Cobos Caceres C, Jones L, Cooper M, Van Waardenberg A, Ryan S, Miles K, Field M, Dredge K, Daly N, Giacomin P and Loukas A (2021) A netrin domain-containing protein secreted by the human hookworm Necator americanus protects against CD4 T cell transfer colitis. Translational Research, 232. pp. 88-102
Lee S, Georgiev H, Breed E, Ruscher R and Hogquist K (2021) MHC Class I on murine hematopoietic APC selects Type A IEL precursors in the thymus. European Journal of Immunology, 51 (5). pp. 1080-1088
Wijeyesinghe1 S, Beura L, Pierson M, Stolley M, Adam O, Ruscher R, Steinert E, Rosato P, Vezys V and Masopust D (2021) Expansible residence decentralizes immune homeostasis. Nature, 592. pp. 457-462
Ruscher R, Lee S, Salgado O, Breed E, Osum S and Hogquist K (2020) Intestinal CD8αα IELs derived from two distinct thymic precursors have staggered ontogeny. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 217 (8).
Ryan S, Eichenberger R, Ruscher R, Giacomin P and Loukas A (2020) Harnessing helminth-driven immunoregulation in the search for novel therapeutic modalities. PLoS Pathogens, 16 (5).
Yeshi K, Ruscher R, Hunter L, Daly N, Loukas A and Wangchuk P (2020) Revisiting inflammatory bowel disease: pathology, treatments, challenges and emerging therapeutics including drug leads from natural products. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9 (5).
Owen D, Mahmud S, Sjaastad L, Williams J, Spanier J, Simeonov D, Ruscher R, Huang W, Miller C, Hekim C, Jeschkle J, Aggarwal P, Broeckel U, LaRue R, Henzler C, Alegre M, Anderson M, August A, Marson A, Zheng Y, Williams C and Farrar M (2019) Thymic regulatory T cells arise via two distinct developmental programs. Nature Immunology, 20. pp. 195-205

More: ResearchOnline@JCU stores 26+ research outputs authored by Dr Roland Ruscher from 2007 onwards.

Current Funding

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

National Health & Medical Research Council - Investigator Grants

Age-associated properties of intraepithelial lymphocytes, and their relation to intestinal diseases

Indicative Funding: $600,740 over 5 years
Summary: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer are a severe burden to those affected. While the peak onset age of IBD lies in early adulthood, colorectal cancer predominantly affects people over 50 years of age. How gut immunity fails in the context of age is poorly understood. This program will establish cornerstones of the intestinal immune system over different stages in life, and thereby help to design better treatment strategies that are adjusted to an individual?s age.
Investigators: Roland Ruscher (Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine)
Keywords: IBD; IEL; T Cells; Colitis; Mucosal Immunology; Colorectal cancer

National Health & Medical Research Council - Ideas Grants

Discovering novel drug lead molecules for inflammatory bowel disease from Australian Aboriginal tropical medicinal plants

Indicative Funding: $1,209,524 over 4 years
Summary: Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a debilitating disease, which has no cure. It costs the Australian Health System billions of dollars in hospitalisation, management and lost productivity, thereby precipitating the need for novel drugs. Building on my extensive preliminary data, we aim to discover novel drug leads from Aboriginal medicinal plants, which are currently used for treating inflammatory conditions by the Mbabaram community of the Atherton Tablelands.
Investigators: Phurpa Wangchuk, Roland Ruscher, Joanne Jamie, Stephen Pyne, Darren Crayn and Gerald Turpin (Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine, Macquarie University, University of Wollongong, College of Science & Engineering and Australian Tropical Herbarium)
Keywords: Aboriginal medicinal plants; Anti-inflammatory activities; Inflammatory Bowel Disease; Biologically active molecules; New drug leads; Metabolomics

Childrens Hospital Foundation - Research Grant

Novel biologics for pediatric inflammatory bowel disease and necrotising enterocolitis, inspired by host-parasite co-evolution.

Indicative Funding: $50,000 over 2 years
Summary: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) pose a major health burden with severe symptoms, and IBD onset in childhood is on the rise. Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) is another inflammatory bowel condition that affects preterm infants, and in which inflamed parts of the gut die. Current treatment methods are insufficient. Intestinal parasites have developed strategies to modulate our immune responses through secreted proteins. We identified seven helminth-secreted proteins that suppress gut inflammation. We now would like to assess which of our preselected proteins are best in the context of early life IBD and NEC.
Investigators: Roland Ruscher in collaboration with Alex Loukas and Paul Giacomin (Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine, College of Public Health and Medical & Vet Sciences)
Keywords: IBD; Pediatric IBD; T Cells; Helminth therapy; Immunology; Necrotising enterocolitis

National Health & Medical Research Council - Development Grant

Hookworm peptide therapeutic for oral treatment of IBD

Indicative Funding: $732,700 over 2 years
Summary: We intend to develop an orally delivered peptide that can modulate the immune system and be developed as a therapeutic for inflammatory bowel disease. We have identified a peptide, derived from a hookworm protein, that alleviates the clinical symptoms of experimental colitis when orally administered to mice. The peptide has bioactivity with human cells ex vivo and displays desirable drug-like properties. The aim of this project is to acquire further data on the mechanism of action and formulation conditions to facilitate formal product development prior to licensing and clinical trials.
Investigators: Alex Loukas, Norelle Daly, Paul Giacomin, John Miles, Roland Ruscher, Keith Dredge, Istvan Toth, Mariusz Skwarczynski, Matthew Moyle, Ashley Waardenberg, John Croese, Matt Field and Tony Rahman (Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine, The University of Queensland and The Prince Charles Hospital)
Keywords: Inflammatory Bowel Disease; Peptide; therapeutic; Hookworm; Oral delivery

Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

Structure and Function of Novel Peptides from Cone Snail Venom (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
Novel type 2 diabetes therapeutics from recombinant human hookworm secretome (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
Ethnobotany and drug discovery of Mbabaram Aboriginal medicinal plants (Masters , Secondary Advisor)
The Role of Intestinal T Cells in Gut Homeostasis and Disease (PhD , Primary Advisor)
Biodiscovery of anti-inflammatory drug lead molecules from Australian wet tropics plants and parasites (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Collaboration

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.