Biography

Andrew Harman is the Co-Director of the Centre for Virus Research at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR). He is a Professor of Virology and Immunology in the School of Medical Sciences theme of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation.

Andrew has been working at the Westhead Health Precinct since completing his PhD at the University of Cambridge in 2002. He has extensive collaborations with surgeons at Westmead and other Western Sydney Hospitals who provide his research group with a large range of human tissues with which he conducts all his research. He leads two research groups  investigating sexual transmission of HIV and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, such as Crohn’s Disease.

Andrew’s technological expertise lies in the ability to isolate functionally intact immune cells from human tissue and to visualise immune cells within these tissues. He is an expert in characterising human tissue immune cells using high parameter single cell technologies including flow cytometry, imaging mass cytometry and RNA sequencing. Andrew also has access to clinically relevant HIV transmission strains derived from infected individuals in sub-Saharan Africa and has developed RNAscope technology to visualise these HIV strains interacting with target cells within 30 minutes of exposure.

Research interests

• Mucosal immunology
• Sexual transmission dynamics of HIV
• Anogenital tissue research
• Autoinflammatory Diseases (Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis)

Current grants

Defining the Role of Antigen Presenting Cells in Crohns Disease, Harman A, Byrne S, National Health and Medical Research Council Ideas Grant NHMRC 2024
Human anogenital mononuclear phagocytes in tranmission of HIV, Harman A, National Health and Medical Research Council Ideas Grant NHMRC 2023