Dr. Belz is a laboratory head in the Division of Immunology at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia. She received her veterinary degrees in 1990 and 1993 and her Ph.D. in 1997 from the University of Queensland. She did postdoctoral work in the United States in the Immunology Department at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis.

In 2002, she received a Wellcome Trust International Overseas Senior Research Fellowship and the Queen Elizabeth II Fellowship; in 2004, she was awarded the Australian Academy of Sciences European Fellowship and in 2007 the Burnett Award (WEHI). In 2008 she received the Viertel Fellowship (Viertel Foundation) and the Gottschalk Medal (Australian Academy of Sciences) for contributions to our understanding of how dendritic cells drive the developmental program of T cells to generate protective immunity to pathogens.

Gabrielle Belz investigates the processes by which dendritic cells, specialized cells in the body that initiate immunity, induce the body to produce protective CD8⁺ (killer) T lymphocytes. Generation of the correct number and type of these killer cells is crucial to fighting off viral and pathogen infections. This research could have a significant impact on how future vaccines are developed.