Anthony Buzzai
Head, Development Cancer Immunology
PhD
anthony.buzzai@thekids.org.au
Dr Anthony Buzzai is a cancer immunologist and researcher who focuses on tumour-immune interactions, therapy resistance and the development of new immunotherapeutic strategies for cancer. He started his PhD in 2014 at The Kids Research Institute Australia (formerly Telethon Kids Institute), through The University of Western Australia. His PhD investigated how interferon alpha subtypes shape anti-cancer immunity and contributed to a landmark Nature study showing that tissue-resident memory T cells promote melanoma immune control in the skin.
In 2020, he moved to Germany to undertake postdoctoral research with Professor Thomas Tüting at Otto-von-Guericke University. Here, he co-led work published in Nature demonstrating how CD4+ T cell-driven inflammatory cell death can eliminate immune-evasive tumours. In 2026, he returned to Perth to lead the Developmental Cancer Immunology team at The Kids Research Institute Australia.
His team is working to develop better immunotherapies for children by understanding how childhood cancers interact with and evade the developing immune system. His work has been recognised with multiple awards, including the 2024 Lorne Cancer Conference Boomerang Fellowship.