Meet Dr Vicki Athanasopoulos
- The CPM
- Sep 2
- 3 min read
Meet Dr Vicki Athanasopoulos - a passionate researcher driving innovation at the Centre for Personalised Medicine. Her work focuses on transforming care for people with autoimmune conditions, with a particular interest in lupus and Indigenous Health research.
"I would describe myself as a molecular biologist who morphed into a molecular immunologist."
Vicki completed her PhD in the Microbiology and Immunology Department at the University of Melbourne, looking at how small RNA molecules regulate plasmid DNA in bacteria. She then undertook her postdoctoral training at the Department of Medical Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Toronto, identifying proteins involved in maintaining the DNA of Epstein Barr Virus in cells.
Her transition into immunology began at the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR), ANU, in the lab of Professor Carola Vinuesa, where she worked on the ROQUIN mouse model of autoimmunity. She continued to explore the genetics of immune-related diseases as a project leader at the Centre for Personalised Immunology, studying gene variants contributing to autoimmunity in patients and in animal models of human disease.
Q: How do you define personalised medicine in your work?
VA: To me, personalised medicine is the future of medicine. It has the advantage of not being a “one size fits all approach” and factors in each individual’s genetic makeup. I am hopeful that it will help the many patients who do not have a diagnosis and those who are not responding to current medicines.
Q: You were recently awarded an NHMRC Ideas Grant for your work on RELB glomerulonephritis in the Tiwi Islands. How do you see this research helping the Tiwi community?
VA: Our research will help us better understand at the genetic level why there are such high rates and such early onset of kidney disease in the Tiwi Community. The animal models of kidney disease that we have established will be used in trialling therapeutic drugs to treat, and potentially prevent, kidney disease. Importantly these treatments are specific for, and should therefore be more effective in treating kidney disease in the Tiwi Islanders.
Q: Can you explain what the discovery of the TLR7 gene means for patients living with lupus?
VA: The discovery of the TLR7 variant, which causes the protein to be overactive, has important implications for patient suffering with autoimmune diseases such as lupus. Over the past 50 years there have only been 2 new drugs approved to treat lupus. Therapeutically, it means that TLR7, along with the network of proteins that work with TLR7, can potentially be targeted by drugs to dampen TLR7 activity. Since the TLR7 gene lies on the X chromosome, and women have two X chromosomes and therefore two active TLR7 genes, the findings also explain why women suffer more from autoimmune disease compared to men.
Q: The students love working with you. What do you enjoy most about mentoring?
VA: I have been fortunate in my scientific career to work in laboratories where I was allowed to have the intellectual freedom to come up with my own scientific questions and to test these ideas. I try to take a similar approach, to guide students so that they grow into curious scientists who are able to think independently. I believe that this will help them in their careers, as well as their lives, regardless of whether they stay in research or not. I enjoy seeing students grow and develop.
Q: What advice can you share with young researchers looking to build a meaningful career in science.
VA: My motto in life is that you get out what you put in. Hard work, dedication, and persistence are key. But most importantly—be curious and stay passionate!
We’re proud to have Vicki as part of the CPM team, leading research, supporting the next generation, and keeping patients at the heart of everything we do.
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