Maria Liaskos

Associate Professor Maria Kaparakis-Liaskos serves in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology within the Doherty Institute at the University of Melbourne, part of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. She earned her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Melbourne in 2005 and a Bachelor of Science with Honours from the same institution. Her postdoctoral training occurred at Monash University and the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, where she launched her independent research laboratory upon receiving the inaugural veski Inspiring Women Fellowship in 2015. From 2016, she was a teaching and research academic at La Trobe University, heading the Host-Pathogen Interactions and Bacterial Membrane Vesicles Laboratory, and later directing the La Trobe Research Centre for Extracellular Vesicles; she holds an adjunct associate professor position there. In 2024, she joined the University of Melbourne as Associate Professor and Laboratory Head of the Liaskos Group.

Kaparakis-Liaskos's research centers on microbiology, investigating bacterial pathogenesis, particularly how Helicobacter pylori induces disease and the contributions of bacterial outer membrane vesicles to pathogen survival, immune regulation, and virulence. Notable publications include the edited volume Bacterial Membrane Vesicles: Biogenesis, Functions and Applications (2020); Helicobacter pylori Growth Stage Determines the Size, Protein Composition, and Preferential Cargo Packaging of Outer Membrane Vesicles (Proteomics, 2018); Helicobacter pylori Outer Membrane Vesicle Size Determines Their Mobilization into Gastric Epithelial Cells and Transport to the Vacuolar Compartments (Frontiers in Immunology, 2018); The Therapeutic Benefit of Bacterial Membrane Vesicles (International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2017); and Increased Outer Membrane Vesicle Formation in a Helicobacter pylori tolB Mutant (Infection and Immunity, 2015). She has garnered awards such as the Victorian Young Tall Poppy Science Award (2016) and the Australian Society for Microbiology Frank Fenner Award. Her contributions advance knowledge of bacterial-host interactions with implications for therapeutic strategies. Kaparakis-Liaskos coordinates subjects including BIOM30003 Biomedical Science Research Project and supervises students.

Professional Email: maria.liaskos@unimelb.edu.au