The Distinguished Fellow honour is one of the highest the AAI gives to its members to recognise their distinguished careers and outstanding scientific contributions in the immunology community.
Active, long-term members of the AAI are eligible to be Distinguished Fellows. This year, Michael is one of 20 Fellows announced as the Class of 2025 and received his award at the AAI conference in Hawaii on January 16.
‘Looking at the list of people recognised in both this and in prior years, I’m very honoured to be included as one of the Fellows,’ said Michael.
Michael is renowned for his pioneering research on the immunological synapse - the molecular interface that forms between a T cell and an antigen-presenting cell during an immune response. His work has established the fundamental concepts underlying how T lymphocytes recognise and respond to target cells. He has developed innovative imaging approaches to visualise the dynamics of the immune response in tissues, which has been instrumental in advancing the fields of vaccine development and cancer immunotherapy.
Over his distinguished career, Michael has made numerous groundbreaking discoveries. He was one of the first to develop methods using fluorescently tagged native molecules to study the organisation and signalling within the immunological synapse. This work has continued to reveal the dynamic supramolecular structure of the synapse and how it coordinates and integrates signals to activate T cells. More recently, his lab has shown that T cells send life and death messages to other cells in nanoscale containers including “synaptic ectosomes” and “supramolecular attack particles”.
Director of the Kennedy Institute Professor Dame Fiona Powrie said: ‘Congratulations to Michael on this recognition. This prestigious AAI Distinguished Fellow award recognises Michael's remarkable career and his outstanding scientific contributions that continue to shape the future of immunology and human health.’