Dr Jessica Barnes

Dr Jessica Barnes

Post Doctoral Research Associate

School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy (Human Physiology)

Career Summary

Biography

Dr Jessica Lee Barnes, PhD

Research Fellow
School of Biomedical Science and Pharmacy
College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing
The University of Newcastle
Deputy Theme Leader, Airway Disease and Vaccines Theme, HMRI


Biography

Dr Jessica Barnes is a T cell immunologist and Research Fellow at the University of Newcastle, affiliated with the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI). Her research explores how CD4+ T cells regulate immune responses at mucosal surfaces, with a focus on respiratory infections and chronic inflammatory diseases.

Jessica completed her PhD in Immunology and Microbiology in 2023 under the supervision of Professor Paul Foster, a global authority in immunology. Her doctoral work led to the first definitive identification of Th22 cells as a distinct lineage in the mouse immune system and revealed a novel role for the transcription factor T-bet in their development and function. These findings are now being applied internationally in studies of host defence and inflammation.


Research Interests

  • T-helper cell differentiation and plasticity
  • Host-pathogen interactions at mucosal surfaces
  • Immune regulation in respiratory infection and inflammation
  • Translational immunology and vaccine development

Technical Expertise

  • Flow cytometry and immunophenotyping
  • Primary cell culture
  • Mouse models of infectious and inflammatory disease
  • Functional adoptive T-cell transfer studies
  • Fluorescent reporter and transgenic mouse tools
  • Precision cut tissue slice culture and imaging
  • RNA-sequencing and molecular profiling

Career Highlights

  • 13 peer-reviewed publications, including first-author work in Mucosal Immunology
  • Over 650 citations and an H-index of 11 (Google Scholar)
  • Co-authored high-impact studies in Journal of Immunology and Science Translational Medicine
  • Deputy Theme Leader of the Airway Disease and Vaccines Theme at HMRI
  • Supervision and mentorship of multiple students, including two current PhD candidates

Current Role

Dr Barnes leads preclinical studies investigating host-pathogen interactions in respiratory and gastrointestinal infection. She coordinates collaborative research efforts and contributes to NHMRC-funded projects focused on addressing major gaps in our understanding of T-cell mediated immunity and their dysfunction in chronic inflammatory disease such as severe asthma


Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy (Immunology and Microbiology), University of Newcastle
  • Bachelor of Biotechnology, University of Newcastle
  • Bachelor of Biotechnology (Honours), University of Newcastle

Keywords

  • Acquired Immunity
  • Adoptive transfer
  • CD4 T-cells
  • Flow cytometry
  • Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting
  • Immunophenotyping
  • Infection
  • Inflammation
  • Mouse Models
  • Mucosal Immunology
  • Primary Cell Culture
  • Th22 cells

Languages

  • English (Mother)

Fields of Research

Code Description Percentage
320103 Respiratory diseases 20
320404 Cellular immunology 70
320401 Allergy 10

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title Organisation / Department
Post Doctoral Research Associate University of Newcastle
School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy
Australia

Professional appointment

Dates Title Organisation / Department
15/10/2017 - 14/2/2023 Senior Research Assistant

Asthma, Allergy and Inflammation Research Centre directed by Prof. Paul Foster

School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmcy, The University of Newcastle
Australia
15/10/2012 - 14/10/2017 Research Assistant

Asthma, Allergy and Inflammation Research Centre directed by Prof. Paul Foster

PRC For Healthy Lungs, University of Newcastle
Australia
16/2/2009 - 15/2/2012 Research Assistant

Egg-to-Embryo Research Group directed by Prof. Keith Jones

School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle
Australia
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Publications

For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.


Journal article (14 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2023 Donovan C, Barnes JL, Kim RY, 'Back to the Eosinophil: Resolvin Spatiotemporal Regulation', AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, 69, 608-609 (2023)
DOI 10.1165/rcmb.2023-0261ED
Co-authors Chantal Donovan
2023 Burns GL, Potter M, Mathe A, Bruce J, Minahan K, Barnes JL, Pryor J, Nieva C, Sherwin S, Cuskelly A, Fairlie T, Cameron R, Bollipo S, Irani MZ, Foster R, Gan LT, Shah A, Koloski N, Foster PS, Horvat JC, Walker MM, Powell N, Veysey M, Duncanson K, Holtmann G, Talley NJ, Keely S, 'TRAV26-2 T-Cell Receptor Expression Is Associated With Mucosal Lymphocyte Response to Wheat Proteins in Patients With Functional Dyspepsia', CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL GASTROENTEROLOGY, 14 (2023) [C1]
DOI 10.14309/ctg.0000000000000638
Citations Scopus - 5Web of Science - 1
Co-authors G Burns, Kerith Duncanson, Nicholas Talley, Andrea Johns, Simon Keely, Martin Veysey, Jay Horvat
2022 Foster PS, Barnes JL, Tay HL, Gibson PG, 'Transcriptomic drug-response gene signatures are informative for the stratification of patients for clinical trials', JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY, 149, 55-57 (2022)
DOI 10.1016/j.jaci.2021.09.021
Citations Scopus - 1Web of Science - 1
Co-authors Peter Gibson
2021 Barnes JL, Plank MW, Asquith K, Maltby S, Sabino LR, Kaiko GE, Lochrin A, Horvat JC, Mayall JR, Kim RY, Hansbro PM, Keely S, Belz GT, Tay HL, Foster PS, 'T-helper 22 cells develop as a distinct lineage from Th17 cells during bacterial infection and phenotypic stability is regulated by T-bet', MUCOSAL IMMUNOLOGY, 14, 1077-1087 (2021) [C1]
DOI 10.1038/s41385-021-00414-6
Citations Scopus - 1Web of Science - 13
Co-authors Jay Horvat, Gerard Kaiko, Jemma Mayall, Steven Maltby, Simon Keely, Kelly Asquith
2020 Ali MK, Kim RY, Brown AC, Mayall JR, Karim R, Pinkerton JW, Liu G, Martin KL, Starkey MR, Pillar AL, Donovan C, Pathinayake PS, Carroll OR, Trinder D, Tay HL, Badi YE, Kermani NZ, Guo Y-K, Aryal R, Mumby S, Pavlidis S, Adcock IM, Weaver J, Xenaki D, Oliver BG, Holliday EG, Foster PS, Wark PA, Johnstone DM, Milward EA, Hansbro PM, Horvat JC, 'Crucial role for lung iron level and regulation in the pathogenesis and severity of asthma', EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL, 55 (2020) [C1]
DOI 10.1183/13993003.01340-2019
Citations Scopus - 6Web of Science - 50
Co-authors Liz Holliday, Liz Milward, Prabuddha Pathinayake, Chantal Donovan, Jemma Mayall, Jay Horvat, Peter Wark, Daniel Johnstone, Alexandra Brown
2019 Kaiko GE, Chen F, Lai C-W, Chiang I-L, Perrigoue J, Stojmirovic A, Li K, Muegge BD, Jain U, VanDussen KL, Goggins BJ, Keely S, Weaver J, Foster PS, Lawrence DA, Liu T-C, Stappenbeck TS, 'PAI-1 augments mucosal damage in colitis', SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE, 11 (2019) [C1]
DOI 10.1126/scitranslmed.aat0852
Citations Scopus - 5Web of Science - 51
Co-authors Simon Keely, Gerard Kaiko
2018 Maltby S, Lochrin AJ, Bartlett B, Tay HL, Weaver J, Poulton IJ, Plank MW, Rosenberg HF, Sims NA, Foster PS, 'Osteoblasts Are Rapidly Ablated by Virus-Induced Systemic Inflammation following Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus or Pneumonia Virus of Mice Infection in Mice', JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, 200, 632-642 (2018) [C1]

A link between inflammatory disease and bone loss is now recognized. However, limited data exist on the impact of virus infection on bone loss and regeneration. Bone lo... [more]

A link between inflammatory disease and bone loss is now recognized. However, limited data exist on the impact of virus infection on bone loss and regeneration. Bone loss results from an imbalance in remodeling, the physiological process whereby the skeleton undergoes continual cycles of formation and resorption. The specific molecular and cellular mechanisms linking virus-induced inflammation to bone loss remain unclear. In the current study, we provide evidence that infection of mice with either lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) or pneumonia virus of mice (PVM) resulted in rapid and substantial loss of osteoblasts from the bone surface. Osteoblast ablation was associated with elevated levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-a, IFN-g, IL-6, and CCL2. Both LCMV and PVM infections resulted in reduced osteoblast-specific gene expression in bone, loss of osteoblasts, and reduced serum markers of bone formation, including osteocalcin and procollagen type 1 N propeptide. Infection of Rag-1-deficient mice (which lack adaptive immune cells) or specific depletion of CD8+ T lymphocytes limited osteoblast loss associated with LCMV infection. By contrast, CD8+ T cell depletion had no apparent impact on osteoblast ablation in association with PVM infection. In summary, our data demonstrate dramatic loss of osteoblasts in response to virus infection and associated systemic inflammation. Further, the inflammatory mechanisms mediating viral infection-induced bone loss depend on the specific inflammatory condition.

DOI 10.4049/jimmunol.1700927
Citations Scopus - 7Web of Science - 7
Co-authors Steven Maltby
2017 Plank MW, Kaiko GE, Maltby S, Weaver J, Tay H, Shen W, Wilson M, Durum S, Foster PS, 'Th22 Cells Form a Distinct Th Lineage from Th17 Cells In Vitro with Unique Transcriptional Properties and Tbet-Dependent Th1 Plasticity', Journal of Immunology, 198, 2182-2190 (2017) [C1]
DOI 10.4049/jimmunol.1601480
Citations Scopus - 1Web of Science - 9
Co-authors Gerard Kaiko, Steven Maltby
2015 Plank MW, Maltby S, Tay HL, Stewart J, Eyers F, Hansbro PM, Foster PS, 'MicroRNA expression is altered in an ovalbumin-induced asthma model and targeting miR-155 with antagomirs reveals cellular specificity', PLoS ONE, 10 (2015) [C1]
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0144810
Citations Scopus - 6Web of Science - 1
Co-authors Steven Maltby
2014 Maltby S, Hansbro NG, Tay HL, Stewart J, Plank M, Donges B, Rosenberg HF, Foster PS, 'Production and differentiation of myeloid cells driven by proinflammatory cytokines in response to acute pneumovirus infection in mice', Journal of Immunology, 193, 4072-4082 (2014) [C1]
DOI 10.4049/jimmunol.1400669
Citations Scopus - 2Web of Science - 1
Co-authors Steven Maltby
2014 Holt JE, Pye V, Boon E, Stewart JL, Garcia-Higuera I, Moreno S, Rodriguez R, Jones KT, McLaughlin EA, 'The APC/C activator FZR1 is essential for meiotic prophase I in mice', DEVELOPMENT, 141, 1354-U327 (2014) [C1]
DOI 10.1242/dev.104828
Citations Scopus - 2Web of Science - 3
Co-authors Janet Bristow, Eileen Mclaughlin
2011 Chang H-Y, Jennings PC, Stewart JL, Verrills NM, Jones KT, 'Essential role of protein phosphatase 2A in metaphase II arrest and activation of mouse eggs shown by okadaic acid, dominant negative protein phosphatase 2A, and FTY720', Journal of Biological Chemistry, 286, 14705-14712 (2011) [C1]
DOI 10.1074/jbc.M110.193227
Citations Scopus - 3Web of Science - 1
Co-authors Nikki Verrills
2011 Holt JE, Tran SM-T, Stewart JL, Minahan KL, Garcia-Higuera I, Moreno S, Jones KT, 'The APC/C activator FZR1 coordinates the timing of meiotic resumption during prophase I arrest in mammalian oocytes', Development, 138, 905-913 (2011) [C1]
DOI 10.1242/dev.059022
Citations Scopus - 5Web of Science - 1
Co-authors Janet Bristow
2010 Holt JE, Stewart JL, Jones KT, 'Spatial regulation of APC(Cdh1)-induced cyclin B1 degradation maintains G2 arrest in mouse oocytes', Development, 137, 1297-1304 (2010) [C1]
DOI 10.1242/dev.047555
Citations Scopus - 6Web of Science - 2
Co-authors Janet Bristow
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Research Supervision

Number of supervisions

Completed0
Current2

Current Supervision

Commenced Level of Study Research Title Program Supervisor Type
2025 PhD Defining Vaccine-Induced Adaptive Immunity as Shaped by Different Modalities: Informing Improved Vaccine Design. PhD (Immunology & Microbiol), College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, The University of Newcastle Co-Supervisor
2023 PhD Understanding the Mechanism of Exacerbation of Asthma PhD (Immunology & Microbiol), College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, The University of Newcastle Co-Supervisor
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Dr Jessica Barnes

Position

Post Doctoral Research Associate
Foster Group
School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy
College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing

Focus area

Human Physiology

Contact Details

Email jessica.barnes@newcastle.edu.au
Phone 0240420246

Office

Room HMRI2403
Building Hunter Medical Research Institute
Location John Hunter Hospital Site

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