Kate Schroder heads the Inflammasome Laboratory at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, as an ARC Future Fellow. Kate’s PhD studies defined novel macrophage activation mechanisms (awarded 2005). Her subsequent postdoctoral research identified surprising inter-species divergence in the inflammatory programs of human versus mouse macrophages. As an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellow, Kate then trained with the pioneer of inflammasome biology, Jürg Tschopp, in Switzerland. Her current research interests include the molecular mechanisms governing inflammasome activity and caspase activation, the cellular mediators of inflammasome-dependent inflammation, and inflammasome suppression by autophagy and small molecule inhibitors. Kate is Deputy Director of the IMB Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research, and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Inflazome, a start-up company that is developing inflammasome inhibitors as therapeutics for human diseases.