Professor Allison Pettit is the Director of Biomedical Research and leads the Bones and Immunology Research Group with a team of researchers, Higher Degree Research candidates and an undergraduate research student. Allison has authored more than 80 scientific publications, with a current research focus on understanding how the immune system influences bone health and healing and how to accelerate bone marrow recovery post-bone marrow transplantation or other high risk cancer therapies. Allison has worked in the complementary fields of immunology, rheumatology, haematology, cancer biology and bone biology for over 15 years, and as a lead investigator has received more than $5 million in competitive funding.

Allison’s research group discovered and continues to characterise osteal macrophages (osteomacs), a specialised tissue resident macrophage population in bone-lining tissues. Her team discovered that osteomacs participate in bone dynamics through promoting anabolic outcomes and, more recently, via supporting bone resorbing osteoclasts. Since her lab’s first landmark publication in this area in 2008, they have published 18 related studies cementing the role of osteomacs in bone biology, pathology and repair. Her team has also shown that osteomacs can be therapeutically targeted to improve bone healing in healthy and osteoporotic bone. Ongoing research in her laboratory is focused on pre-clinical development of novel translatable treatment strategies that enhance or mimic osteomac function, with the ultimate goal to reduce morbidity and costs associated with osteoporosis fragility fracture.

In collaboration with other Mater researchers, Allison’s team made integral contributions to the discovery that tissue resident macrophages in the bone marrow play a vital role in blood stem cell niches. Her lab continues to uncover the functional and molecular contributions of macrophages to these niches, particularly to their recovery post-bone marrow transplantation.

Allison frequently performs manuscript reviews for high quality journals, is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research and has undertaken grant review service for both the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Australian Research Council, and reviews for international granting bodies. Allison is a past Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society (ANZBMS) Research Subcommittee (2013-15) and past member of ANZBMS Council (2015-2021) and currently sits on the Finance Subcommittee. Allison also sits on a number of other management and professional development committees, and gender equity and diversity groups.

‘I undertook a career in medical research because I was fascinated with human biology, physiology and pathology, and thought that research was a way to have impact on improving health outcomes and quality of life.’