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Dr Rhiannon Grant- MCRI Population Allergy early career postdoctoral researcher
Dr Grant has dedicated her career to allergy research after living with severe food allergies, asthma and eczema since childhood.
Her experiences have profoundly shaped her understanding of the real-world impact of allergy.
She completed her PhD in immunology at Monash University in 2025, examining the molecular mechanisms of an emerging therapy for asthma and eczema using cells in a dish and lab-grown skin.
Dr Grant's current research focuses on systemic changes across the first year of life in babies with food allergy within the VITALITY Trial, with the aim of identifying predictive biomarkers of food allergy and potential targets for early intervention.
She is also a peer mentor for Allergy250K, a support program run by the National Allergy Council.
Professor Kirsten Perrett
Population Allergy Group Leader
Professor Perrett leads MCRI’s Population Allergy Group and is Director of the Federal Government-funded National Allergy Centre of Excellence and the National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC)-funded Centre for Food Allergy Research.
Professor Perrett is also a paediatric allergist and vaccinologist at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne.
Over the past 20 years, she has led more than 30 vaccine and food allergy clinical trials, including the VITALITY Trial, attracted more than $65 million in research funding and published over 155 peer-reviewed papers.
She is also co-author of the Allergy Friendly Family Cookbook, helping families take the stress out of mealtime with more than 100 allergy friendly recipes.
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