Tirta (Mario) Djajawi Asia-Pacific Vaccine and Immunotherapy Congress 2024

Tirta (Mario) Djajawi

I received my PhD from WEHI in 2020, specializing in targeting intrinsic apoptosis pathway for treatment of various blood cancers using BH3 mimetics. Throughout my PhD, I received extensive training in molecular genetics and biochemistry, with a particular interest on leveraging the cutting-edge CRISPR Cas9 technology as a pivotal tool to uncover pathways underlying tumour intrinsic resistance mechanisms to cancer therapies. I then joined Hudson institute, where I pioneered the implementation of CRISPR screen to identify molecules regulating cell death in the context inflammation. Since 2022, I have joined Dr. Conor Kearney laboratory at ONJCRI, where my research focuses on uncovering how tumour cells evade the immune system and targeted cancer therapies, as well as understanding the suboptimal T cell responses to cancer. I have expanded my expertise in CRISPR platform to perform screens using whole genome or subpool libraries, both at bulk and single-cell levels, and integrate the analysis with multiomic approaches like RNA-seq and CUT&RUN. Additionally, I have been trained to investigate tumour microenvironment in vivo and assess the impact of novel drugs on tumour models. Currently, I hold adjunct research/honorary positions at WEHI and La Trobe University while concurrently holding multiple teaching positions in University of Melbourne.