The mechanism of membrane disruption by antimicrobial peptides. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a growing crisis in modern medicine. Antibacterial peptides from Australian frogs represent a new class of potent and selective antibacterial agents. Understanding how these peptides kill bacteria but not vertebrate cells could lead to the design of new drugs for pharmaceutical and/or clinical purposes.
Nicotinic receptor structure and function probed with conotoxins. Nicotinic receptors are intrinsic membrane proteins that play a role in communication in excitable cells, particularly in the nervous system. The primary goals of this project are to define the structural and functional determinants of nicotinic-conotoxin interactions at a molecular level, and develop new selective probes that advance neurophysiological research. The diversity and distribution of nicotinic receptor subtypes being ....Nicotinic receptor structure and function probed with conotoxins. Nicotinic receptors are intrinsic membrane proteins that play a role in communication in excitable cells, particularly in the nervous system. The primary goals of this project are to define the structural and functional determinants of nicotinic-conotoxin interactions at a molecular level, and develop new selective probes that advance neurophysiological research. The diversity and distribution of nicotinic receptor subtypes being uncovered through molecular biology and selective conotoxin probes presents an exciting opportunity for the discovery of new therapeutic agents.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC180100021
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,163,359.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for the Development of Tools for Fragment Based Design. The ARC Training Centre for the Development of Tools for Fragment Based Design aims to inspire the next generation of drug discovery research leaders. It plans to provide direct experience with industry partners, training and master classes in early stage drug-discovery from industry experts. The Centre is expected to accelerate research translation and industry engagement by providing an efficient strategy for the scree ....ARC Training Centre for the Development of Tools for Fragment Based Design. The ARC Training Centre for the Development of Tools for Fragment Based Design aims to inspire the next generation of drug discovery research leaders. It plans to provide direct experience with industry partners, training and master classes in early stage drug-discovery from industry experts. The Centre is expected to accelerate research translation and industry engagement by providing an efficient strategy for the screening of a biological target and early medicinal chemistry for optimisation. The expected outcome of the Centre is to equip the trainees with the skills to make key contributions to the sustainability and growth of the sector and to provide significant capacity to address global challenges for 21st century pharmaceutical innovation.Read moreRead less
Bioactive Peptides as Pharmacological Tools and Novel Drug Leads. Bioactive peptides are produced by all organisms and play numerous critical physiological roles, including in cellular communication, host defence and capture of prey. Peptides have huge potential as tools for studying roles of signalling pathways and as novel drugs due to their high affinity and selectivity for various therapeutically relevant targets. However their use has been limited by poor in vivo stability. This project is ....Bioactive Peptides as Pharmacological Tools and Novel Drug Leads. Bioactive peptides are produced by all organisms and play numerous critical physiological roles, including in cellular communication, host defence and capture of prey. Peptides have huge potential as tools for studying roles of signalling pathways and as novel drugs due to their high affinity and selectivity for various therapeutically relevant targets. However their use has been limited by poor in vivo stability. This project is focused on studying structural features of a range of peptides and their contributions to both activity and to resistance against degradation, with the aim to develop stabilised bioactive peptide sequences for in vivo applications, allowing the full potential of peptides as drugs to be realised.Read moreRead less