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A/Prof. Delia Nelson

Associate Professor
Diagnostic and Therapeutic Sciences

Cancer Immunology Group

Associate Professor Delia Nelson holds a Bachelor of Science (double major in Microbiology and Organic Chemistry), as well as Honours and a PhD completed through the University of Western Australia at the Telethon Kids Institute. She is currently a Research Academic and Associate Professor in the School of Medicine at Curtin University. Associate Professor Nelson has led an independent research program for more than 20 years, overseeing a dedicated team focused on immunology across the lifespan. Her research spans infant and elderly immunology, infection, allergy and cancer immunology. She has extensive experience in developing animal models, including more than two decades working with cancer models.  

About

Associate Professor Nelson’s pioneering work has challenged existing dogma, identified novel anti-cancer treatment strategies, and led to publications in high-impact journals. She has also contributed to the development of advanced research technologies at Curtin University. Among her key achievements is groundbreaking research into respiratory tract dendritic cells in neonates, demonstrating that innate immunity is compromised in both infancy and old age. Her sustained work in cancer immunology has also contributed to the establishment of a start-up company translating her discoveries into potential therapeutic applications.

 
  • Australasian Society for Immunology (ASI) Inc.
  • Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR)
  • Perth Mesothelioma Centre (PMC)
  • The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ)
  • December 2010 Founding Fellow, Faculty of Science, of the Royal College of Pathologists Australasia.
  • April 2009: Awarded the 'Outstanding Merit Award' by the international Editorial Board as the best paper published in 2008 in the journal International Immunology. Jackaman, Lew, Zhan, Allan, Koloska, Graham, Robinson and Nelson; 2008. Deliberately provoking local inflammation drives tumors to become their own protective vaccine site. Featured article in International Immunology, 20(11)1467-1479. Rated as exceptional in the Faculty of 1000 Biology.
  • March 2006: Australian Lung Foundation Mesothelioma Research Award presented at the Thoracic Society for Australia and New Zealand annual scientific meeting in Canberra, 2006.
  • December 1992: Today’s Life Science Young Investigator Award for the best student poster/paper presentation at the National Australasian Society for Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting.
  • June 1989: Foundation Fellowship from the Australian Federation of University Women for work on the postnatal development of the immune component within the respiratory system, performed in Holland.
  • December 1988: Bond Brewing Western Australia Tertiary Award for the best student completing the course for the degree of Bachelor of Science with Honours in Microbiology.

EMAIL: Delia.Nelson@curtin.edu.au
TEL: +61 (08) 9266 9785
Curtin Staff Profile

Research Focus

Associate Professor Nelson’s research focuses on understanding the complex interactions between the innate and adaptive immune systems and how these systems communicate with the vascular network during tumour progression. We also investigate how ageing influences these immune and vascular interactions, shaping disease outcomes and therapeutic responses.

In addition, we study the effects of standard chemotherapy, as well as emerging treatments including immunotherapies, gene therapies, vascular-targeting strategies and metal-based therapies, on these immune and vascular processes.

 

Research Team

Dr Imran Khan

Project Lead

Corina Ionescu

Research Assistant

Clinton Matthysen

Research Assistant

Publications

ABSTRACT:

Western and third world countries alike are experiencing population ageing with people living longer. The World Health Organization website states that ‘between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world's population over 60 years will nearly double from 12% to 22% reaching 2.1 billion’, and that ‘the number of persons aged 80 years or older is expected to triple between 2020 and 2050 to reach 426 million’. However, the elderly (i.e., those aged over 65 years) are 11 times more likely to develop cancer than younger people; this is illustrated by GLOBOCAN 2020 data showing that greater than 50% of people who had cancer were 65 or older in 2018. This age-related cancer emergence may in part be due to increasing dysregulation of the immune system or “immunosenescence”. Macrophages are pivotal immune cells in maintaining homeostasis and in regulating inflammatory responses during immunological insults, such as cancer, where they can perform anti-tumourigenic functions. Yet, tumour-associated macrophages are well known for their ability to promote tumour growth, with numbers often correlating to cancer progression and poorer outcomes. Macrophages contribute to this by secreting growth and angiogenic factors, and they closely interact with endothelial cells and cancer cells to help shape the tumour microenvironment. During ageing, macrophage response to environmental stimuli becomes dysregulated including impaired anti-tumour functions. Furthermore, increased number of macrophages and precursor cells are observed in lymphoid organs that can supply to tumours with ageing. Such age-related changes, including those to endothelial cells, may promote cancer development and lead to poorer cancer outcomes in elderly people. In this review, we discuss recent findings concerning how macrophages are modulated during healthy ageing and in cancer, with a focus on macrophage and endothelial cell interactions.

Duong, L., C. Jackaman, and D. Nelson. 2024. Ageing and its Role in Modulating Healthy and Tumour - Associated Macrophages.Ageing and Cancer Research & Treatment 2 (1)
ABSTRACT:

It is becoming increasingly clear that the tumour microenvironment (TME) adopts a changing and increasingly complex landscape as tumours evolve. Central to the TME, and alongside malignant cells, are tissue resident and recruited macrophages, other immune cells, and endothelial cells, with the latter critical for angiogenesis and tumour development. Tumour vessels provide oxygen and nutrients and are portals for immune cells. Tumour cells, immune cells and endothelial cells engage in multi-directional crosstalk that untimately influence tumour progression and treatment responses. Adding to complexity, the TME often consists of oxygenated, and oxygen deprived or hypoxic regions, with the latter significantly contributing to disease progression and treatment resistance. However, the function of immune cells and endothelial cells change with ageing, and this underexplored area likely influences the aged TME and disease outcomes in the elderly. Solid cancers such as mesothelioma with known carcinogen exposure (asbestos) take decades to reach a diagnosable size, often emerging in people aged 60 years or more. Here, we discuss the influence of ageing on the function of tumour-associated immune cells, focussing on macrophages, and their possible interactions with endothelial cells, and how this might impact the evolving mesothelioma TME in elderly people.

Duong, L., C. Jackaman, and D. Nelson. 2024. Does ageing modulate interactions between mesothelioma cells, macrophages, and tumour endothelial cells?.Ageing and Cancer Research & Treatment 2025:2 (103)

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