Dr Eduardo Albornoz Balmaceda
Research Fellow/Senior Research officer
School of Biomedical Sciences
+61 7 344 38669
Eduardo completed his PhD studies in October 2018 in collaboration with Prof Matthew Cooper at the Institute for Molecular Biosciences (IMB). He is currently extending his research within the Woodruff Lab which studies Neuroinflammation at the School of Biomedical Sciences. His research focuses on the pharmacological targeting of the innate immune response during neurodegeneration.
Researcher biography
Dr Eduardo Albornoz is a neuroimmunologist whose research focuses on how innate immune mechanisms contribute to neurodegenerative disease. His work investigates how inflammasome and complement pathways are activated by environmental, infectious, and disease-related triggers in conditions such as Parkinson's disease and motor neuron disease.
Dr Albornoz has expertise in neuroscience, immunology, pharmacology, translational drug development, and preclinical disease modelling. His research integrates human microglia, brain organoids, viral infection models, and animal models to understand how neuroinflammation contributes to neuronal injury and disease progression.
He completed his PhD at The University of Queensland, where he contributed to the development of next-generation NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors and helped validate NLRP3 as a therapeutic target in Parkinson's disease. This work supported translational drug development programs that progressed towards clinical testing.
His current research program focuses on environmental and infectious drivers of neurodegeneration, including pesticides, microplastics, PFAS, SARS-CoV-2, and other neurotropic viruses. A major focus of his work is understanding how multiple environmental, infectious, and proteopathic "hits" interact to amplify chronic neuroinflammation and accelerate neurodegenerative disease progression. His research aims to identify therapeutic strategies targeting innate immune pathways to slow or prevent neurodegeneration.
Book Chapter
Albornoz, Eduardo A., Woodruff, Trent M. and Gordon, Richard (2018). Inflammasomes in CNS diseases. Inflammasomes: clinical and therapeutic implications. (pp. 41-60) edited by Mario D. Cordero and Elisabet Alcocer-Gómez. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-89390-7_3
Journal Articles
Albornoz, Eduardo A., Mardon, Karine, Bhalla, Rajiv, Kumar, Vinod, Stimson, Damion H. R., Cowin, Gary, Cui, Cedric S., Butler, Mark S., Pelingon, Ruby, Gordon, Richard, Coll, Rebecca C., Schroder, Kate, Halai, Reena, MacLeod, Angus M., Matthews, Kim, Robertson, Avril A. B., Cooper, Matthew A. and Woodruff, Trent M. (2026). PET-MRI biomarkers reveal efficacy of a novel NLRP3 inhibitor in Parkinson’s disease models. Brain, 149 (4) awaf372, 1289-1301. doi: 10.1093/brain/awaf372
Lun (Mike) Wu, Chia, Ju, Lining Arnold, Italiano, Ethan, Jarvis-Child, Rocko, Alwis, Imala, Smythe, Rhyll, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Noonan, Jonathan, Portelli, Marie, Baptista, Marrisa, Maclean, Jessica, Norri, Pashtana, Yang, Jinglu, Lee, John, McFadyen, James D., Sharland, Alexandra, Woodruff, Trent M., Samson, Andre, Rapkiewicz, Amy, Barrett, Tessa, Pham, Alan, Schoenwaelder, Simone, Yuan, Yuping and Jackson, Shaun P. (2025). Complement C9-mediated RBC hemolysis drives microvascular obstruction via endothelial necroptosis and hemolyzed RBC aggregation in COVID-19. Immunobiology, 230 (4) 153045, 53-53. doi: 10.1016/j.imbio.2025.153045
Wu, Mike C. L., Italiano, Ethan, Jarvis-Child, Rocko, Alwis, Imala, Smythe, Rhyll, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Noonan, Jonathan, Portelli, Marie, Baptista, Marissa, Maclean, Jessica, Noori, Pashtana, Yang, Jinglu, Lee, John D., McFadyen, James D., Sharland, Alexandra F., Woodruff, Trent M., Samson, Andre L., Rapkiewicz, Amy, Barrett, Tessa J., Pham, Alan, Schoenwaelder, Simone M., Yuan, Yuping and Jackson, Shaun P. (2025). Ischaemic endothelial necroptosis induces haemolysis and COVID-19 angiopathy. Nature, 643 (8070), 182-191. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09076-x
Aguado, Julio, Amarilla, Alberto A., Taherian Fard, Atefeh, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Tyshkovskiy, Alexander, Schwabenland, Marius, Chaggar, Harman K., Modhiran, Naphak, Gómez-Inclán, Cecilia, Javed, Ibrahim, Baradar, Alireza A., Liang, Benjamin, Peng, Lianli, Dharmaratne, Malindrie, Pietrogrande, Giovanni, Padmanabhan, Pranesh, Freney, Morgan E., Parry, Rhys, Sng, Julian D. J., Isaacs, Ariel, Khromykh, Alexander A., Valenzuela Nieto, Guillermo, Rojas-Fernandez, Alejandro, Davis, Thomas P., Prinz, Marco, Bengsch, Bertram, Gladyshev, Vadim N., Woodruff, Trent M., Mar, Jessica C. ... Wolvetang, Ernst J. (2023). Senolytic therapy alleviates physiological human brain aging and COVID-19 neuropathology. Nature Aging, 3 (12), 1561-1575. doi: 10.1038/s43587-023-00519-6
Albornoz, Eduardo and Woodruff, Trent (2023). 200 Complement drives Parkinson’s disease neuropathology through activation of microglial C5a receptors. Immunobiology, 228 (5) 152650, 1-1. doi: 10.1016/j.imbio.2023.152650
Albornoz, Eduardo A., Gordon, Richard, Kumar, Vinod, Robertson, Avril A. B., Schroder, Kate and Woodruff, Trent M. (2023). Response to comment on “Inflammasome inhibition prevents α-synuclein pathology and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in mice”. Science Translational Medicine, 15 (696) adh0604, 1-4. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adh0604
Albornoz, Eduardo A., Amarilla, Alberto A., Modhiran, Naphak, Parker, Sandra, Li, Xaria X., Wijesundara, Danushka K., Aguado, Julio, Zamora, Adriana Pliego, McMillan, Christopher L. D., Liang, Benjamin, Peng, Nias Y. G., Sng, Julian D. J., Saima, Fatema Tuj, Fung, Jenny N., Lee, John D., Paramitha, Devina, Parry, Rhys, Avumegah, Michael S., Isaacs, Ariel, Lo, Martin W., Miranda-Chacon, Zaray, Bradshaw, Daniella, Salinas-Rebolledo, Constanza, Rajapakse, Niwanthi W., Wolvetang, Ernst J., Munro, Trent P., Rojas-Fernandez, Alejandro, Young, Paul R., Stacey, Katryn J. ... Woodruff, Trent M. (2023). SARS-CoV-2 drives NLRP3 inflammasome activation in human microglia through spike protein. Molecular Psychiatry, 28 (7), 2878-2893. doi: 10.1038/s41380-022-01831-0
Lo, Martin W., Amarilla, Alberto A., Lee, John D., Albornoz, Eduardo A., Modhiran, Naphak, Clark, Richard J., Ferro, Vito, Chhabra, Mohit, Khromykh, Alexander A., Watterson, Daniel and Woodruff, Trent M. (2022). SARS-CoV-2 triggers complement activation through interactions with heparan sulfate. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 11 (8) e1413, e1413. doi: 10.1002/cti2.1413
Isaacs, Ariel, Amarilla, Alberto A., Aguado, Julio, Modhiran, Naphak, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Baradar, Alireza A., McMillan, Christopher L. D., Choo, Jovin J. Y., Idris, Adi, Supramaniam, Aroon, McMillan, Nigel A. J., Muller, David A., Young, Paul R., Woodruff, Trent M., Wolvetang, Ernst J., Chappell, Keith J. and Watterson, Daniel (2022). Nucleocapsid specific diagnostics for the detection of divergent SARS-CoV-2 variants. Frontiers in Immunology, 13 926262, 926262. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.926262
Deora, Vandana, Lee, John D., Albornoz, Eduardo A., McAlary, Luke, Jagaraj, Cyril J., Robertson, Avril A. B., Atkin, Julie D, Cooper, Matthew A., Schroder, Kate, Yerbury, Justin J., Gordon, Richard and Woodruff, Trent M. (2020). The microglial NLRP3 inflammasome is activated by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis proteins. Glia, 68 (2) glia.23728, 407-421. doi: 10.1002/glia.23728
Gordon, Richard, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Christie, Daniel C., Langley, Monica R., Kumar, Vinod, Mantovani, Susanna, Robertson, Avril A. B., Butler, Mark S., Rowe, Dominic B., O'Neill, Luke A., Kanthasamy, Anumantha G., Schroder, Kate, Cooper, Matthew A. and Woodruff, Trent M. (2018). Inflammasome inhibition prevents α-synuclein pathology and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in mice. Science Translational Medicine, 10 (465) aah4066, eaah4066. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aah4066
Haensgen, Henny, Albornoz, Eduardo, Opazo, María C., Bugueño, Katherinne, Jara Fernández, Evelyn Liliana, Binzberger, Rebecca, Rivero-Castillo, Tomás, Venegas Salas, Luis F., Simon, Felipe, Cabello-Verrugio, Claudio, Elorza, Alvaro A., Kalergis, Alexis M., Bueno, Susan M. and Riedel, Claudia A. (2018). Gestational hypothyroxinemia affects its offspring with a reduced suppressive capacity impairing the outcome of the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Frontiers in Immunology, 9 (JUN) 1257. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01257
Opazo, María C., González, Pablo A., Flores, Betsi D., Venegas, Luis F., Albornoz, Eduardo A., Cisternas, Pablo, Bohmwald, Karen, Nieto, Pamela A., Bueno, Susan M., Kalergis, Alexis M. and Riedel, Claudia A. (2018). Gestational hypothyroxinemia imprints a switch in the capacity of astrocytes and microglial cells of the offspring to react in inflammation. Molecular Neurobiology, 55 (5), 4373-4387. doi: 10.1007/s12035-017-0627-y
Giacomin, Paul R., Kraeuter, Ann Katrin, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Jin, Shuting, Bengtsson, Mia, Gordon, Richard, Woodruff, Trent M., Urich, Tim, Sarnyai, Zoltán and Soares Magalhães, Ricardo J. (2018). Chronic helminth infection perturbs the gut-brain axis, promotes neuropathology and alters behaviour. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 218 (9), 1511-1516. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiy092
Deora, Vandana, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Zhu, Kevin, Woodruff, Trent M. and Gordon, Richard (2017). The ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate does not inhibit synuclein mediated inflammasome activation in microglia. Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 12 (4), 1-7. doi: 10.1007/s11481-017-9754-5
Albornoz, E. A., Carreno, L. J., Cortes, C. M., Gonzalez, P. A., Cisternas, P. A., Cautivo, K. M., Catalan, T. P., Opazo, M. C., Eugenin, E. A., Berman, J. W., Bueno, S. M., Kalergis, A. M. and Riedel, C. A. (2015). Gestational hypothyroidism increases the severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in adult offspring (vol 23, pg 1627, 2013). Thyroid, 25 (9), 1068-1068. doi: 10.1089/thy.2012.0401.cxn
Arriagada, Alejandro A., Albornoz, Eduardo, Cecilia Opazo, Ma., Becerra, Alvaro, Vidal, Gonzalo, Fardella, Carlos, Michea, Luis, Carrasco, Nancy, Simon, Felipe, Elorza, Alvaro A., Bueno, Susan M., Kalergis, Alexis M. and Riedel, Claudia A. (2015). Excess iodide induces an acute inhibition of the sodium/iodide symporter in thyroid male rat cells by increasing reactive oxygen species. Endocrinology, 156 (4), 1540-1551. doi: 10.1210/en.2014-1371
Albornoz, Eduardo A., Carreno, Leandro J., Cortes, Claudia M., Gonzalez, Pablo A., Cisternas, Pablo A., Cautivo, Kelly M., Catalan, Tamara P., Cecilia Opazo, M., Eugenin, Eliseo A., Berman, Joan W., Bueno, Susan M., Kalergis, Alexis M. and Riedel, Claudia A. (2013). Gestational hypothyroidism increases the severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in adult offspring. Thyroid, 23 (12), 1627-1637. doi: 10.1089/thy.2012.0401
Conference Papers
Albornoz, Eduardo, Gordon, Richard, Javed, Ibrahim, Bodea, Gabriela, Kumar, Vinod, Cui, Cedric, Aguado, Julio, Mardon, Karine, Bhalla, Rajiv, Cowin, Gary and Woodruff, Trent (2025). Microglial Complement C5aR1 signalling drives inflammasome mediated neuropathology in Parkinson’s disease. 30th International Complement Workshop 2025, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 14-19 September 2025. Muenchen, Germany: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.imbio.2025.152955
Cao, Yuzhihan, Pietrogrande, Giovanni, Pars, Selin, Clark, Richard, Wolvetang, Ernst, Woodruff, Trent and Albornoz, Eduardo (2025). Motor neuron disease C9orf72 dipeptides mediate neurotoxicity in human brain organoids through activation of C5aR1. 30th International Complement Workshop 2025, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 14-19 September 2025. Munich, Germany: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.imbio.2025.153008
Sun, Jinda, Parker, Sandra, Lee, Jonathan, Gorman, Declan, Li, Xaria, Albornoz Balmaceda, Eduardo, Bellingham, Mark, Clark, Richard, Woodruff, Trent and Padmanabhan, Pranesh (2025). Live-cell single-molecule imaging of a new fluorescent C5a receptor antagonist reveals the heterogeneous spatiotemporal dynamics of C5aR1 at the plasma membrane. 30th International Complement Workshop 2025, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 14-19 September 2025. Munich, Germany: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.imbio.2025.152969
Gordon, Richard, Albornoz, Eduardo, Kanthasamy, Anumantha and Woodruff, Trent (2018). C5aR1 is required for a-synuclein mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation. 27th International Complement Workshop (ICW), Santa Fe, NM, United States, Sep 16-20, 2018. Kidlington, Oxford, United Kingdom: Pergamon Press. doi: 10.1016/j.molimm.2018.06.247
Opazo, Maria Cecilia, Bugueño, Katherinne, Jara, Evelyn, Haensgen, Henny, Albornoz, Eduardo, Gomez, Felipe, Binzberger, Rebecca, Toledo, Paola, Blanco, Noelia, Simon, Felipe, Elorza, Alvaro, Kalergis, Alexis, Bueno, Susan and Riedel, Claudia (2017). Gestational hypothyroxinemia increases the immune response of the progeny that suffers experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Immunology 2017™ Meeting, Washington, DC United States, 12-16 May 2017. Rockville, MD United States: American Association of Immunologists. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.198.supp.207.8
Magalhaes, Ricardo J. Soares, Giacomin, Paul, Sarnyay, Zoltan, Kraeuter, Ann, Urich, Tim, Bengtsson, Mia, Jin, Shuting, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Gordon, Richard and Woodruff, Trent (2017). Gut microbiome changes induced by experimental trichuris muris infection are associated with decreased cognitive function in mice. 65th Annual Meeting of the American-Society-of-Tropical-Medicine-and-Hygiene (ASTMH), Atlanta, GA, United States, 13-16 November 2016. Deerfield, United States: American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Gordon, Richard, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Kumar, Vinod, Zhou, Kiane, Garin-Michaud, Ashoka, Mantavani, Susanna, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. and Woodruff, Trent M. (2016). Complement C5a activates microglial NLRP3 inflammasomes and drives neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease through C5aR1. The XXVI International Complement Workshop (ICW), Kanazawa, Japan, 4-8 September 2016. Muenchen, Germany: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.imbio.2016.06.146
Albornoz, E., Deora, V., Robertson, B. A., Cooper, M. A., Schroder, K., Woodruff, T. M. and Gordon, R. (2015). Paraquat activates the NLRP3 Inflammasome in microglia via the NADPH oxidase pathway. International Congress of Immunology (ICI), Melbourne, Australia, Aug 21-26, 2016. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-Blackwell.
Preprint
Cao, Yuzhihan, Deora, Vandana, Khan, Nemat, Robertson, Avril A. B., Schroder, Kate, Cooper, Matthew A., Woodruff, Trent M. and Albornoz, Eduardo A. (2025). Paraquat licences α-Synuclein to trigger NLRP3-dependent pyroptosis in microglia. doi: 10.1101/2025.07.23.666340
Thesis
Albornoz Balmaceda, Eduardo (2019). Pharmacological targeting of the inflammasome: towards novel therapeutics for Parkinson’s disease. PhD Thesis, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/uql.2019.702