Sandip Kamath

Dr. Sandip Kamath is an NHMRC Research Fellow at the Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory in the Division of Tropical Health and Medicine at James Cook University, Townsville. He is part of the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine based at James Cook University and the Centre for Food and Allergy Research (CFAR) based at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne.

Dr. Kamath graduated in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Mumbai, India and moved to Australia in 2006 to undertake postgraduate studies at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. After a one year stint as a Research Assistant at Monash University and The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, he moved to James Cook University, Townsville, Australia where he completed his Doctoral degree under the supervision of Prof. Andreas Lopata. His Doctoral thesis focused on the identification and characterisation of major shellfish allergens for development of novel allergy diagnostics. In 2015, Dr. Kamath undertook the position of Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine.

Dr Kamath's research focuses on the characterisation of allergenic proteins from different food and inhalant sources and their interaction with the human immune system through IgE antibodies. His research implements state-of-the-art proteomic and molecular cloning techniques to elucidate specific antigenic regions of allergenic proteins, with an aim to design and generate hypoallergenic constructs for potential therapeutic applications. His broader research interests include paediatric food allergy diagnostics, occupational allergy and development of novel immunotherapeutics for food allergy.

Dr Kamath takes a very keen interest in spreading awareness on the dangers of food allergy in adults and children. He was the national winner of the FameLab - Talking Science platform in 2015 and represented Australia against 26 countries at the Cheltenham Science festival in the UK. In 2017, he was awarded the QLD Tall Poppy Award for his efforts in science communication. In 2018, Dr Kamath contributed to a TedX video called Food Allergy - Playing a Game of Chances, to highlight the dangers of triggering allergic reactions and to showcase his research.

Dr Kamath also plays a role as the Associate Editor of Frontiers in Immunology: Vaccines and Molecular Therapeutics specialty