Prof Claudia Nold is a pharmacist by training and an expert in immunology and molecular medicine. She trained in Germany (Pharmazentrum Frankfurt), Sweden (Karolinska Institute), and in the US at UC-Denver in the laboratory of Professor Charles A. Dinarello. In 2009 she was recruited to The Ritchie Centre at Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne. Inflammation is a key driver of early life diseases. Early diagnosis of the underlying causes is often unreliable and safe and effective treatments are limited. The goal of her research is to generate novel immunological insights in the field of early-life disease, which will assist in the rational design of new diagnostic techniques and underpin the development of innovative anti-inflammatory drugs. Thereby, her team aspires to achieve advances in the care of infants and children that make a real difference to their own and their families’ lives.