Dr Alec Redwood completed a Bachelor of Applied Science with Honours and a PhD researching cytokine responses to fungal infections at Curtin University. He then worked as a Research Assistant for Dr Bruce Robinson in the Department of Medicine before being awarded a Fellowship with the School of Oral Health Sciences at UWA. Dr Redwood became involved in the Pest Animal Control Cooperative Research Centre researching the use of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) as a vaccine vector for virally vectored immunocontraception. Since 2005 he has been studying various aspects of the fundamental biology of MCMV. 

In 2014 he took a position at IIID at Murdoch University assessing the role of T cell responses to small drug molecules.  In 2018 he returned to UWA to use his skills in T cell biology to study responses to neo-epitopes in cancer with NCARD.

Dr Redwood is a supervisor of 1 PhD student and co-supervises 1 other PhD student.

Dr Redwood has had several international (USA DoD and DARPA) and national grants (NHMRC). He currently holds the following grants; National Institutes of Health, ROI, A mathematical theory of transmissible vaccines. NHMRC, Ideas grant, silent mutations; prognostic markers and therapeutic targets. Cancer Research Trust, Australian Centre for RNA therapeutics for cancer. Department of Health (Western Australia) Physical containment level 3 capability for innovative investment opportunities in Western Australia. Perth Children’s Hospital, Identifying immunotherapy targets in childhood cancer – a platform for translating recent successes in adult cancers to children. Insurance & AMP; Care NSW (icare) The Mesothelioma AI Genomics and Immunology Consortium (MAGIC).

Dr. Redwood is a Principal Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia and leads the Vaccine and Viral Immunity Laboratory. His research career has been defined by a deep focus on virology, particularly the complex interplay between viruses and the host immune system. A major emphasis of his work has been understanding how cytomegaloviruses (CMVs) have evolved sophisticated strategies to evade immune responses, including through the use of allelic immune evasion genes. His development of wild-derived murine CMV strains has enabled unique insights into viral evolution, immune manipulation, and the dynamics of natural mixed infections. Dr. Redwood’s work has demonstrated how multiple CMV strains interact within hosts, revealing that natural killer (NK) cell responses and immune pressures can drive viral competition and evolution. These findings have highlighted the adaptive strategies used by large DNA viruses, which cannot rely on rapid mutation like RNA viruses. His research into mixed infections has important implications for understanding viral persistence, transmission, and the development of effective vaccines, and has led to the discovery of novel viral genes critical for tissue tropism and immune escape. Alongside his fundamental virology research, Dr. Redwood has applied his expertise to vaccine development, leading projects on viral vector-based and self-disseminating vaccines for infectious disease control. More recently, he has expanded his focus to cancer immunotherapy, applying traditional vaccine design principles to the development of neoantigen-targeted cancer vaccines. His work continues to bridge basic virology and translational immunology, advancing new strategies for both infectious disease prevention and cancer treatment.