Rate My Professor Katie Young

Katie Young serves as Research Laboratory Manager and Compliance Manager in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago. In these roles, she provides essential technical and operational support for research investigating the causes and processes of human disease, with emphasis on cancer and developmental biology. The department maintains a strong research community dedicated to advancing disease diagnosis, patient treatment, and community health while serving as a key teaching unit for Health Sciences students, including medical professionals and medical laboratory scientists.

Young has co-authored 16 peer-reviewed publications, accumulating 303 citations, primarily in immunotherapy, cancer biology, and inflammation. Her contributions include 'Activated CD90/Thy-1 fibroblasts co-express the Δ133p53β isoform and are associated with immune infiltration in rheumatoid arthritis synovium' (Arthritis Research & Therapy, 2023), examining fibroblast-immune interactions in rheumatoid arthritis. She contributed to 'Intronic TP53 Polymorphisms Are Associated with Increased Δ133TP53 Transcript, Immune Infiltration, and Cancer Risk' (Cancers, 2020), linking genetic variants to cancer progression. Other key papers are 'Multi-target chimaeric VLP as a therapeutic vaccine in a model of colorectal cancer' (Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 2017), 'Microparticles produced by human papillomavirus type 16 E7-expressing cells impair antigen presenting cell function and the cytotoxic T cell response' (2018), 'Synthetic TRP2 long-peptide and α-galactosylceramide formulated into cationic liposomes elicit CD8(+) T-cell responses and prevent tumour progression' (2015), 'In vivo investigation of twin-screw extruded lipid implants for vaccine delivery' (2014), and 'Comparative study of liposomes, transfersomes, ethosomes and cubosomes for transcutaneous immunisation: Characterisation and in vitro skin penetration' (2012). Her expertise supports flow cytometry, cell culture, vaccines, infection, immunity, antibodies, innate immunity, viral immunology, and inflammation. In recognition of her efforts, she received the Excellence in Research Support award in Pathology from the Dunedin School of Medicine Departmental Awards in the Health Research Excellence Awards on 30 May 2018.