Rate My Professor Cecilia Prele

Associate Professor Cecilia Prêle is Associate Professor of Pathology in the School of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences at Murdoch University. She also holds positions as Principal Research Fellow in the School of Biomedical Sciences and Adjunct Professor in the UWA Medical School at the University of Western Australia, and serves as Head of the Tissue Repair and Fibrosis Group at the Institute for Respiratory Health. Prêle earned a BSc (Hons) and PhD in Biochemistry from University College London in 2001, followed by postdoctoral training at Guy’s, St Thomas’ Hospital and King’s College London, before relocating to Perth in 2002. Her research investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving fibrosis, with a focus on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), signal transduction pathways in lung cells, fibroblast senescence, immune cell contributions to the fibrotic environment, and processes regulating tissue repair and regeneration. She has demonstrated roles for immune cells in IPF pathogenesis and explored potential immunotherapy approaches.

Prêle’s key publications include 'The role of IL-6 in skin fibrosis and cutaneous wound healing' (Biomedicines, 2020), 'PD-1 up-regulation on CD4+ T cells promotes pulmonary fibrosis through STAT3-mediated IL-17A and TGF-β1 production' (Science Translational Medicine, 2018), 'Mesothelial cells in tissue repair and fibrosis' (Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2015), 'Fibroblast senescence in the pathology of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis' (American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, 2018), and 'Genetic partitioning of interleukin-6 signalling in mice dissociates Stat3 from Smad3-mediated lung fibrosis' (EMBO Molecular Medicine, 2012). She contributes to leadership as a staff-elected Board Member at the Institute for Respiratory Health, Treasurer of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, member of the Steering Committee for the Australian Rare Lung Disease Short Course and the Leadership Committee for the International Colloquium on Lung and Airway Fibrosis, Deputy Editor for Respirology, and Associate Editor for Frontiers in Pharmacology (Respiratory Pharmacology section). Her work has garnered significant citations and advanced understanding of fibrosis mechanisms across lung, skin, and serosal tissues.