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Dr Alberto Ospina Stella
Adjunct Associate Lecturer

Dr Alberto Ospina Stella

PhD (molecular virology), M.Sc. (molecular medicine), B.Sc. (molecular biotechnology).

Medicine & Health
The Kirby Institute

Alberto obtained a B.Sc in molecular biotechnology (2012) and a M.Sc. in molecular medicine (2014) from top-rated universities in Germany.  He then completed his PhD at UNSW (2019) and continued his work as postdoctoral research scientist at the Kirby Institute, working on HIV host-pathogen interactions and gene therapy cure approaches for HIV infection.  Since March 2020 (first COVID-19 wave in Australia), Alberto was recruited to work full-time on SARS-CoV-2 (novel coronavirus) research, as part of our institute’s rapid response strategy to the pandemic.

E-mail
aospinastella@kirby.unsw.edu.au
  • Journal articles | 2023
    Beaton B; Sasson SC; Rankin K; Raedemaeker J; Wong A; Hastak P; Phetsouphanh C; Warden A; Klemm V; Munier CML; Hoppe AC; Tea F; Pillay A; Stella AO; Aggarwal A; Lavee O; Caterson ID; Turville S; Kelleher AD; Brilot F; Trotman J, 2023, 'Patients with treated indolent lymphomas immunized with BNT162b2 have reduced anti-spike neutralizing IgG to SARS-CoV-2 variants, but preserved antigen-specific T cell responses', American Journal of Hematology, 98, pp. 131 - 139, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajh.26619
    Journal articles | 2023
    Loo L; Waller MA; Moreno CL; Cole AJ; Stella AO; Pop OT; Jochum AK; Ali OH; Denes CE; Hamoudi Z; Chung F; Aggarwal A; Low JKK; Patel K; Siddiquee R; Kang T; Mathivanan S; Mackay JP; Jochum W; Flatz L; Hesselson D; Turville S; Gregory Neely G, 2023, 'Fibroblast-expressed LRRC15 is a receptor for SARS-CoV-2 spike and controls antiviral and antifibrotic transcriptional programs', PLoS Biology, 21, pp. e3001967 - e3001967, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001967
    Journal articles | 2022
    Aggarwal A; Akerman A; Milogiannakis V; Silva MR; Walker G; Stella AO; Kindinger A; Angelovich T; Waring E; Amatayakul-Chantler S; Roth N; Manni S; Hauser T; Barnes T; Condylios A; Yeang M; Wong M; Jean T; Foster CSP; Christ D; Hoppe AC; Munier ML; Darley D; Churchill M; Stark DJ; Matthews G; Rawlinson WD; Kelleher AD; Turville SG, 2022, 'SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5: Evolving tropism and evasion of potent humoral responses and resistance to clinical immunotherapeutics relative to viral variants of concern', eBioMedicine, 84, pp. 104270, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104270
    Journal articles | 2022
    Aggarwal A; Stella AO; Henry CC; Narayan K; Turville SG, 2022, 'Embedding of HIV Egress within Cortical F-Actin', Pathogens, 11, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11010056
    Journal articles | 2022
    Aggarwal A; Stella AO; Walker G; Akerman A; Esneau C; Milogiannakis V; Burnett DL; McAllery S; Silva MR; Lu Y; Foster CSP; Brilot F; Pillay A; Van Hal S; Mathivanan V; Fichter C; Kindinger A; Hoppe AC; Munier ML; Amatayakul-Chantler S; Roth N; Coppola G; Symonds GP; Schofield P; Jackson J; Lenthall H; Henry JY; Mazigi O; Jäck HM; Davenport MP; Darley DR; Matthews GV; Khoury DS; Cromer D; Goodnow CC; Christ D; Robosa R; Starck DJ; Bartlett NW; Rawlinson WD; Kelleher AD; Turville SG, 2022, 'Platform for isolation and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 variants enables rapid characterization of Omicron in Australia', Nature Microbiology, 7, pp. 896 - 908, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41564-022-01135-7
    Journal articles | 2022
    Balachandran H; Phetsouphanh C; Agapiou D; Adhikari A; Rodrigo C; Hammoud M; Shrestha LB; Keoshkerian E; Gupta M; Turville S; Christ D; King C; Sasson SC; Bartlett A; Grubor-Bauk B; Rawlinson W; Aggarwal A; Stella AO; Klemm V; Mina MM; Post JJ; Hudson B; Gilroy N; Konecny P; Ahlenstiel G; Dwyer DE; Sorrell TC; Kelleher A; Tedla N; Lloyd AR; Martinello M; Bull RA, 2022, 'Maintenance of broad neutralizing antibodies and memory B cells 1 year post-infection is predicted by SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T cell responses', Cell Reports, 38, pp. 110345, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110345
    Journal articles | 2022
    Counoupas C; Pino P; Stella AO; Ashley C; Lukeman H; Bhattacharyya ND; Tada T; Anchisi S; Metayer C; Martinis J; Aggarwal A; Dcosta BM; Britton WJ; Kint J; Wurm MJ; Landau NR; Steain M; Turville SG; Wurm FM; David SA; Triccas JA, 2022, 'High-Titer Neutralizing Antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Induced by Alhydroxyquim-II-Adjuvanted Trimeric Spike Antigens', Microbiology Spectrum, 10, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01695-21
    Journal articles | 2022
    Garcia-Valtanen P; Hope CM; Masavuli MG; Yeow AEL; Balachandran H; Mekonnen ZA; Al-Delfi Z; Abayasingam A; Agapiou D; Stella AO; Aggarwal A; Bouras G; Gummow J; Ferguson C; O'Connor S; McCartney EM; Lynn DJ; Maddern G; Gowans EJ; Reddi BAJ; Shaw D; Kok-Lim C; Beard MR; Weiskopf D; Sette A; Turville SG; Bull RA; Barry SC; Grubor-Bauk B, 2022, 'SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant escapes neutralizing antibodies and T cell responses more efficiently than other variants in mild COVID-19 convalescents', Cell Reports Medicine, 3, pp. 100651, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100651
    Journal articles | 2022
    Perkins GB; Tunbridge M; Salehi T; Chai CS; Kireta S; Johnston J; Penko D; Nitschke J; Yeow AEL; Al-Delfi Z; Drogemuller CJ; Garcia-Valtanen P; Masavuli MG; Hope CM; Singer J; Aggarwal A; Ospina Stella A; Turville SG; Hurtado PR; Barry SC; Hissaria P; Grubor-Bauk B; Chadban SJ; Coates PT, 2022, 'Concurrent vaccination of kidney transplant recipients and close household cohabitants against COVID-19', Kidney International, 101, pp. 1077 - 1080, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.kint.2022.02.015
    Journal articles | 2022
    Phetsouphanh C; Khoo WH; Jackson K; Klemm V; Howe A; Aggarwal A; Akerman A; Milogiannakis V; Stella AO; Rouet R; Schofield P; Faulks ML; Law H; Danwilai T; Starr M; Munier CML; Christ D; Singh M; Croucher PI; Brilot-Turville F; Turville S; Phan TG; Dore GJ; Darley D; Cunningham P; Matthews GV; Kelleher AD; Zaunders JJ, 2022, 'High titre neutralizing antibodies in response to SARS–CoV–2 infection require RBD–specific CD4 T cells that include proliferative memory cells', Frontiers in Immunology, 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1032911
    Journal articles | 2021
    Abayasingam A; Balachandran H; Agapiou D; Hammoud M; Rodrigo C; Keoshkerian E; Li H; Brasher NA; Christ D; Rouet R; Burnet D; Grubor-Bauk B; Rawlinson W; Turville S; Aggarwal A; Stella AO; Fichter C; Brilot F; Mina M; Post JJ; Hudson B; Gilroy N; Dwyer D; Sasson SC; Tea F; Pilli D; Kelleher A; Tedla N; Lloyd AR; Martinello M; Bull RA, 2021, 'Long-term persistence of RBD+ memory B cells encoding neutralizing antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 infection', Cell Reports Medicine, 2, pp. 100228, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100228
    Journal articles | 2021
    Beaton B; Sasson SC; Rankin K; Raedemaeker J; Wong A; Hastak P; Warden A; Stella AO; Aggarwal A; Caterson ID; Phetsouphanh C; Turville S; Kelleher AD; Brilot F; Trotman J, 2021, 'Efficacy of Vaccine BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) in Individuals with Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia and Follicular Lymphoma in Australia', BLOOD, 138, http://dx.doi.org/10.1182/blood-2021-149348
    Journal articles | 2021
    Burnett DL; Jackson KJL; Langley DB; Aggrawal A; Stella AO; Johansen MD; Balachandran H; Lenthall H; Rouet R; Walker G; Saunders BM; Singh M; Li H; Henry JY; Jackson J; Stewart AG; Witthauer F; Spence MA; Hansbro NG; Jackson C; Schofield P; Milthorpe C; Martinello M; Schulz SR; Roth E; Kelleher A; Emery S; Britton WJ; Rawlinson WD; Karl R; Schäfer S; Winkler TH; Brink R; Bull RA; Hansbro PM; Jäck HM; Turville S; Christ D; Goodnow CC, 2021, 'Immunizations with diverse sarbecovirus receptor-binding domains elicit SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies against a conserved site of vulnerability', Immunity, 54, pp. 2908 - 2921.e6, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2021.10.019
    Journal articles | 2021
    Counoupas C; Johansen MD; Stella AO; Nguyen DH; Ferguson AL; Aggarwal A; Bhattacharyya ND; Grey A; Hutchings O; Patel K; Siddiquee R; Stewart EL; Feng CG; Hansbro NG; Palendira U; Steain MC; Saunders BM; Low JKK; Mackay JP; Kelleher AD; Britton WJ; Turville SG; Hansbro PM; Triccas JA, 2021, 'A single dose, BCG-adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine provides sterilising immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infection', npj Vaccines, 6, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41541-021-00406-4
    Journal articles | 2021
    Estcourt LJ; Turgeon AF; McQuilten ZK; McVerry BJ; Al-Beidh F; Annane D; Arabi YM; Arnold DM; Beane A; Bégin P; Van Bentum-Puijk W; Berry LR; Bhimani Z; Birchall JE; Bonten MJM; Bradbury CA; Brunkhorst FM; Buxton M; Callum JL; Chassé M; Cheng AC; Cove ME; Daly J; Derde L; Detry MA; De Jong M; Evans A; Fergusson DA; Fish M; Fitzgerald M; Foley C; Goossens H; Gordon AC; Gosbell IB; Green C; Haniffa R; Harvala H; Higgins AM; Hills TE; Hoad VC; Horvat C; Huang DT; Hudson CL; Ichihara N; Laing E; Lamikanra AA; Lamontagne F; Lawler PR; Linstrum K; Litton E; Lorenzi E; Maclennan S; Marshall J; McAuley DF; McDyer JF; McGlothlin A; McGuinness S; Miflin G; Montgomery S; Mouncey PR; Murthy S; Nichol A; Parke R; Parker JC; Priddee N; Purcell DFJ; Reyes LF; Richardson P; Robitaille N; Rowan KM; Rynne J; Saito H; Santos M; Saunders CT; Serpa Neto A; Seymour CW; Silversides JA; Tinmouth AA; Triulzi DJ; Turner AM; Van De Veerdonk F; Walsh TS; Wood EM; Berry S; Lewis RJ; Menon DK; McArthur C; Zarychanski R; Angus DC; Webb SA; Roberts DJ; Shankar-Hari M, 2021, 'Effect of Convalescent Plasma on Organ Support-Free Days in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial', JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association, 326, pp. 1690 - 1702, http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.18178
    Journal articles | 2021
    Li L; Honda-Okubo Y; Huang Y; Jang H; Carlock MA; Baldwin J; Piplani S; Bebin-Blackwell AG; Forgacs D; Sakamoto K; Stella A; Turville S; Chataway T; Colella A; Triccas J; Ross TM; Petrovsky N, 2021, 'Immunisation of ferrets and mice with recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike protein formulated with Advax-SM adjuvant protects against COVID-19 infection', Vaccine, 39, pp. 5940 - 5953, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.07.087
    Journal articles | 2021
    Tea F; Stella AO; Aggarwal A; Darley DR; Pilli D; Vitale D; Merheb V; Lee FXZ; Cunningham P; Walker GJ; Fichter C; Brown DA; Rawlinson WD; Isaacs SR; Mathivanan V; Hoffmann M; Pöhlman S; Mazigi O; Christ D; Rockett RJ; Sintchenko V; Hoad VC; Irving DO; Dore GJ; Gosbell IB; Kelleher AD; Matthews GV; Brilot F; Turville SG, 2021, 'SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies: Longevity, breadth, and evasion by emerging viral variants', PLoS Medicine, 18, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003656
    Journal articles | 2021
    Walker GJ; Naing Z; Stella AO; Yeang M; Caguicla J; Ramachandran V; Isaacs SR; Agapiou D; Bull RA; Stelzer-Braid S; Daly J; Gosbell IB; Hoad VC; Irving DO; Pink JM; Turville S; Kelleher AD; Rawlinson WD, 2021, 'Sars coronavirus-2 microneutralisation and commercial serological assays correlated closely for some but not all enzyme immunoassays', Viruses, 13, pp. 247 - 247, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v13020247
    Journal articles | 2020
    Stelzer-Braid S; Walker GJ; Aggarwal A; Isaacs SR; Yeang M; Naing Z; Ospina Stella A; Turville SG; Rawlinson WD, 2020, 'Virus isolation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) for diagnostic and research purposes', Pathology, 52, pp. 760 - 763, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pathol.2020.09.012
    Journal articles | 2020
    Tea F; Stella AO; Aggarwal A; Darley DR; Pilli D; Vitale D; Merheb V; Lee FXZ; Cunningham P; Walker GJ; Brown DA; Rawlinson WD; Isaacs SR; Mathivanan V; Hoffman M; Pöhlmann S; Dwyer DE; Rockett R; Sintchenko V; Hoad VC; Irving DO; Dore GJ; Gosbell IB; Kelleher AD; Matthews GV; Brilot F; Turville SG, 2020, 'SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies; longevity, breadth, and evasion by emerging viral variants', , http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.19.20248567
    Journal articles | 2020
    Van Bockel D; Munier CML; Turville S; Badman SG; Walker G; Stella AO; Aggarwal A; Yeang M; Condylios A; Kelleher AD; Applegate TL; Vallely A; Whiley D; Rawlinson W; Cunningham P; Kaldor J; Guy R, 2020, 'Evaluation of commercially available viral transport medium (VTM) for SARS-CoV-2 inactivation and use in point-of-care (POC) testing', Viruses, 12, pp. 1208 - 1208, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v12111208
    Journal articles | 2020
    Walker G; Clifford V; Bansal N; Stella AO; Turville S; Stelzer-Braid S; Klein L; Rawlinson W, 2020, 'SARS-CoV-2 in human milk is inactivated by Holder pasteurization but not cold storage', , http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.18.20134395
    Journal articles | 2020
    Walker G; Naing Z; Stella AO; Yeang M; Caguicla J; Ramachandran V; Isaacs S; Agapiou D; Bull R; Stelzer-Braid S; Daly J; Gosbell I; Hoad V; Irving D; Pink J; Turville S; Kelleher A; Rawlinson W, 2020, 'SARS Coronavirus-2 microneutralisation and commercial serological assays correlated closely for some but not all enzyme immunoassays', , http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.07.20245696
    Journal articles | 2020
    Walker GJ; Clifford V; Bansal N; Stella AO; Turville S; Stelzer-Braid S; Klein LD; Rawlinson W, 2020, 'SARS-CoV-2 in human milk is inactivated by Holder pasteurisation but not cold storage', Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 56, pp. 1872 - 1874, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jpc.15065
    Journal articles | 2019
    Aggarwal A; Ospina Stella A; Henry C; Narayan K; Turville S, 2019, 'HIV corruption of the Arp2/3-Cdc42-IQGAP1 axis to hijack cortical F-Actin to promote cell-cell viral spread', , http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2019.12.13.873612
    Journal articles | 2019
    Hu W; Cai Y; Zhu Y; Li F; Stella AO; Tebas P; Mounzer K; Kostman J; Turville S; Montaner L, 2019, 'Cleaving HIV-1 provirus from ART-suppressed patient-derived resting CD4 T Cells using Cpf1/crRNA-array ribonucleotide protein packaged by CD4-targeting lentivirus-like particle', Journal of Virus Eradication, 5, pp. 55 - 56, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s2055-6640(20)30221-1
    Journal articles | 2018
    Stella AO; Turville S, 2018, 'All-round manipulation of the actin cytoskeleton by HIV', Viruses, 10, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v10020063
    Journal articles | 2014
    Kaspar D; Auer F; Schardt J; Schindele F; Ospina A; Held C; Ehrenreich A; Scherer S; Mueller-Herbst S, 2014, 'Temperature- and nitrogen source-dependent regulation of GlnR target genes in Listeria monocytogenes', FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS, 355, pp. 131 - 141, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1574-6968.12458
  • Preprints | 2023
    Moreno C; Castanheira F; Stella AO; Chung F; Aggarwal A; Cole A; Loo L; Dupuy A; Kong Y; Hagimola L; Fenwick J; Coleman P; Willson M; Bui-Marinos M; Hesselson D; Gamble J; Passam F; Turville S; Kubes P; Neely G, 2023, P-Selectin promotes SARS-CoV-2 interactions with platelets and the endothelium, , http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.13.528235
    Preprints | 2022
    Aggarwal A; Stella A; Akerman A; Walker G; Milogiannakis V; McAllery S; Esneau C; Silva MR; Lu Y; Forster C; Hal SV; Mathivanan V; Fitcher C; Hoppe AC; Munier ML; Darley D; Matthews G; Starck D; Robosa R; Bartlett N; Rawlinson W; Kelleher A; Turville S, 2022, Rapid isolation and resolution immune evasion and viral fitness across contemporary SARS-CoV-2 variants, , http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1210846/v1
    Preprints | 2022
    Loo L; Waller M; Cole A; Stella A; Moreno C; Denes C; Hamoudi Z; Chung F; Aggarwal A; Low J; Patel K; Siddiquee R; Mackay J; Turville S; Hesselson D; Neely G, 2022, LRRC15 suppresses SARS-CoV-2 infection and controls collagen production, , http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1172665/v1
    Preprints | 2021
    Aggarwal A; Stella AO; Walker G; Akerman A; Milogiannakis V; Brilot F; Amatayakul-Chantler S; Roth N; Coppola G; Schofield P; Jackson J; Henry J; Mazigi O; Langley D; Lu Y; Forster C; McAllery S; Mathivanan V; Fichter C; Hoppe AC; Munier ML; Jack H-M; Cromer D; Darley D; Matthews G; Christ D; Khoury D; Davenport M; Rawlinson W; Kelleher A; Turville S, 2021, SARS-CoV-2 Omicron: evasion of potent humoral responses and resistance to clinical immunotherapeutics relative to viral variants of concern, , http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.14.21267772
    Preprints | 2021
    Counoupas C; Pino P; Stella A; Ashley C; Lukeman H; Bhattacharyya N; Tada T; Anchisi S; Metayer C; Martinis J; Aggarwal A; Dcosta B; Kint J; Wurm M; Landau N; Steain M; Turville S; Wurm F; David S; Triccas J, 2021, Neutralising antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant induced by Alhydroxyquim-II-adjuvanted trimeric spike antigens, , http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.18.456891
    Preprints | 2021
    Garcia-Valtanen P; Hope C; Masavuli M; Lip Yeow AE; Balachandran H; Mekonnen Z; Al-Delfi Z; Abayasingam A; Agapiou D; Stella AO; Aggarwal A; Gummow J; Ferguson C; O’Connor S; McCartney E; Lynn D; Maddern G; Gowans E; Reddi BAJ; Shaw D; Kok-Lim C; Turville S; Beard M; Weiskopf D; Sette A; Bull R; Barry S; Grubor-Bauk B, 2021, COVID-19 convalescents exhibit deficient humoral and T cell responses to variant of concern Spike antigens at 12 month post-infection, , http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.08.21266035
    Preprints | 2021
    Li L; Honda-Okubo Y; Huang Y; Jang H; Carlock MA; Baldwin J; Piplani S; Bebin-Blackwell AG; Forgacs D; Sakamoto K; Stella A; Turville S; Chataway T; Colella A; Triccas J; Ross TM; Petrovsky N, 2021, Immunisation of ferrets and mice with recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike protein formulated with Advax-SM adjuvant protects against COVID-19 infection, , http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.03.451026
    Preprints | 2021
    Loo L; Waller M; Moreno C; Cole A; Stella AO; Pop O-T; Jochum A-K; Ali OH; Denes C; Hamoudi Z; Chung F; Aggarwal A; Low J; Patel K; Siddiquee R; Kang T; Mathivanan S; Mackay J; Flatz L; Hesselson D; Turville S; Neely G, 2021, Fibroblast-expressed LRRC15 suppresses SARS-CoV-2 infection and controls antiviral and antifibrotic transcriptional programs, , http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.09.467981
    Preprints |
    Balachandran H; Phetsouphanh C; Agapiou D; Adhikari A; Rodrigo C; Hammoud M; Shrestha LB; Keoshkerian E; Gupta M; Turville S; Christ D; King C; Sasson S; Bartlett A; Grubor-Bauk B; Rawlinson W; Aggarwal A; Stella AO; Klemm V; Mina MM; Post JJ; Hudson B; Gilroy N; Konecny P; Ahlenstiel G; Dwyer D; Sorrell TC; Kelleher A; Tedla N; Lloyd AR; Martinello M; Bull RA, Maintenance of Broad Neutralising Antibodies and Memory B Cells 12 Months Post-Infection Is Predicted by SARS-CoV-2 Specific CD4+ T Cell Responses, , http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3920641