Professor Steven Krilis

Professor Steven Krilis, MB BS UNSW, PhD Syd, FRACP, is Director of the Department of Infectious Disease, Immunology and Sexual Health (Consultant in Immunology and Infectious Disease), Conjoint Professor UNSW Australia, St George Hospital. He is a highly productive researcher with over 30 years experience in the investigation of mechanisms contributing to inflammation, including the links between oxidation and complement control proteins. In the last five years this work has been directed to these proteins in relation to their impact on age-related macular degeneration.

in 2015 Professor Krilis was awarded a Macular Disease Foundation Australia Research Grant and Blackmores Macular Disease Foundation Australia Research Grant totalling $400,000 over three years.

Professor Steven Krilis' research project is entitled 'Novel mechanisms of complement control protein dysregulation contributing to age-related macular degeneration pathogenesis and progression: CFH and beta 2-Glycoprotein 1'.

This study will link environmental risk factors such as smoking and a high fat diet with specific molecular and immune system changes that are involved with disease development. This work may help to explain why previous attempts to develop treatments aimed at a malfunctioning complement immune system have proven to be ineffective. The project has the potential to identify a new blood test to detect people at high risk of progression, and test a new antibody treatment targeted at the early stages of disease.