Patrick Bertolino

Associate Professor Patrick Bertolino at the University of Sydney's Central Clinical School leads the Liver Immunology Program at the Centenary Institute. With 20+ years of international recognition in liver immunology, he pioneered discoveries about CD8+ T cell activation and hepatocyte-mediated immune tolerance, including the paradigm-shifting finding that liver-activated T cells are deleted via hepatocyte lysosomes. His work bridges transplantation immunology, chronic hepatitis, and malaria vaccine development using transgenic mouse models.

• Trained by immunology luminaries: Chantal Rabourdin-Combe (ENS-Lyon), Jacques Miller (WEHI), Barbara Fazekas de St Groth (Centenary Institute)
• Continuous NHMRC funding since 2000: 2 Program Grants, 6 Project Grants
• 2010 NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship

Research Themes explore how the liver uniquely regulates immunity:

• Induces transplant tolerance via T cell deletion
• Exploits immune subversion in hepatitis B/C and malaria
• Develops gene therapy and mRNA vaccines for liver-targeted immunity
• Investigates hepatitis C reinfection post-transplant

Article Trends show sustained focus on T cell-liver interactions, with recent work on mRNA vaccines (2023), neuroinflammation in GVHD (2024), and long-lived TRM cells in malaria (2025). Publications span high-impact immunology, hepatology, and transplantation journals.

Awards include:

• 2010 NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship
• 2009 Centenary Institute student paper award
• 1999 Kevin Lafferty Prize for Autoimmunity
• 1997 University of Sydney U2000 Fellowship

Teaching includes 3rd-year Immunology lectures (since 1998). Led liver immunology group since 2011, mentoring students and postdocs. Collaborates with Centenary Institute and National Hepatitis C Elimination Program.