Sumaira has an interest in chronic inflammatory diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes as well as infectious diseases.
Sumaira was the first globally to demonstrate that immunity can modulate protein production in secretory cells in infection and chronic inflammatory diseases. Her long-term vision is to characterise these novel immune factors and manipulate them therapeutically using pre-clinical models of immune-driven pathologies. She holds a patent for targeted immunotherapy of a specific immune factor in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Sumaira has had a rapid upward trajectory in research, evident by extensive body of high quality publications (over 20 papers) in well recognised scientific journals. She has been awarded around $3 million in competitive funding and has won 17 scientific awards including the Mater Research Strategic Grant for Outstanding Women in 2017. Sumaira is well recognised speaker in the field and has delivered many international conference presentations (including the Gordon Research Conference on Cilia, Mucus & Mucociliary Interactions (USA) & European Association for the Study of Diabetes (UK) in 2017. She currently serves on the Australasian Society for Immunology National Council as the Queensland representative.
“As a naturally curious person, I have a strong passion for research. I have strategically modelled my laboratory to successfully discover, translate and deliver novel therapies for high burden diseases. I strongly believe that successful leaders are also proactive mentors, and I am proud of successfully establishing the Mater Early Career Researcher Committee program in 2011 and am heavily involved in mentoring of junior scientists“.