Scott Byrne, PhD

Professor Byrne is a senior academic based at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research. As co-Director of the Center for Immunology and Allergy Research and Head of The Cellular Photoimmunology Group, Byrne and his team are dedicated to understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which sunlight manipulates the immune response.

Scott has established an international reputation in the field of photoimmunology and made numerous seminal contributions in this area, particularly his discovery that ultraviolet (UV) radiation activates a unique type of regulatory B cell. He uncovered a key role for platelet-activating factors and serotonin in UV-BReg activation. This is allowing him to design novel intervention strategies aimed at altering BReg activation in the context of both skin cancer and a CNS-targeted autoimmune attack.