Professor Michael Gantier leads the Nucleic Acids and Innate Immunity laboratory at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia. Professor Gantier’s research focuses on harnessing RNA to modulate innate immune responses for therapeutic benefit. The team has uncovered fundamental immunosuppressive mechanisms of RNA therapeutics, culminating in the discovery that RNA cleavage products mimic natural immune checkpoints against autoimmunity. These studies have significant therapeutic applications for autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the development of mRNA-based therapeutics and open novel avenues in the field of cancer immunotherapy.