Multiscale models in immuno-epidemiology. The spread of a pathogen (for example, a virus or bacteria) through a population is a multi-scale phenomena, influenced by factors acting at both the population and within-host scales. At the population scale, transmission is influenced by how infectious an infected host is. Infectiousness in turn depends on the balance between pathogen replication within the host and immune/drug control mechanisms. This project aims to develop new mathematical framework ....Multiscale models in immuno-epidemiology. The spread of a pathogen (for example, a virus or bacteria) through a population is a multi-scale phenomena, influenced by factors acting at both the population and within-host scales. At the population scale, transmission is influenced by how infectious an infected host is. Infectiousness in turn depends on the balance between pathogen replication within the host and immune/drug control mechanisms. This project aims to develop new mathematical frameworks for simultaneously modelling these two scales. This will provide a platform for the rigorous study of complex biological interactions - such as the emergence and combat of drug-resistance - that shape society's ability to control infectious diseases in human, animal and plant systems.Read moreRead less
Mathematical models of diseases with complex transmission routes. This project aims to model diseases that spread via a mixture of routes including food, water, the environment, and direct spread between individuals. Key diseases include: avian influenza, which causes massive disruption to the poultry industry; gastroenteritis, which costs Australia $1,250 million each year; and leptospirosis, which causes one million severe illnesses each year globally. This project will develop mathematical a ....Mathematical models of diseases with complex transmission routes. This project aims to model diseases that spread via a mixture of routes including food, water, the environment, and direct spread between individuals. Key diseases include: avian influenza, which causes massive disruption to the poultry industry; gastroenteritis, which costs Australia $1,250 million each year; and leptospirosis, which causes one million severe illnesses each year globally. This project will develop mathematical and statistical tools to better estimate risk, analyse outbreak data, and provide guidance for disease control. This research will improve policy and enhance our ability to respond to disease outbreaks.Read moreRead less
New methods for integrating population structure and stochasticity into models of disease dynamics. Epidemics, such as the 2007 equine 'flu outbreak and 2009 swine 'flu pandemic, highlight the need to make informed decisive responses. This project will develop new methods that incorporate two important aspects of disease dynamics---host structure and chance---into mathematical models, and determine their impact in terms of controlling infections.
Creation of a super-resolution map of the bacterial cytokinesis machinery . Cell division is a fundamental process essential for life. Yet our understanding of this process on a molecular level is limited, mostly hampered by the inability to visualize the different components of the division machinery inside these tiny cells with adequate resolution. To overcome this barrier, capitalizing on recent advancements in imaging and molecular technologies combined with innovative engineering, this proj ....Creation of a super-resolution map of the bacterial cytokinesis machinery . Cell division is a fundamental process essential for life. Yet our understanding of this process on a molecular level is limited, mostly hampered by the inability to visualize the different components of the division machinery inside these tiny cells with adequate resolution. To overcome this barrier, capitalizing on recent advancements in imaging and molecular technologies combined with innovative engineering, this project aims to create a spatial and temporal map of the division machinery inside bacterial cells at unprecedented resolution. The expected outcomes are new knowledge on the mechanism of bacterial division and technological advances in biological imaging, informing applications in a wide variety of sectors.Read moreRead less
Anthocyanin Inhibitors to the Influenza Virus. The increasing resistance of circulating influenza strains to current anti-viral inhibitors has prompted an investigation to screen, design, synthesize and evaluate a new class of natural product based inhibitors to the virus employing novel and innovative mass spectrometry, computational and structural approaches. Preliminary studies reveal they offer benefits in terms of a different mode of binding to influenza neuraminidase, remote from many know ....Anthocyanin Inhibitors to the Influenza Virus. The increasing resistance of circulating influenza strains to current anti-viral inhibitors has prompted an investigation to screen, design, synthesize and evaluate a new class of natural product based inhibitors to the virus employing novel and innovative mass spectrometry, computational and structural approaches. Preliminary studies reveal they offer benefits in terms of a different mode of binding to influenza neuraminidase, remote from many known resistance mutations, and may have specific practicality against N1 neuraminidase in H1N1 and H5N1 viruses responsible for all pandemics of the 20th and 21st centuries. The research will enable the potential of these inhibitors to be fully assessed at the molecular level for the first time.Read moreRead less
Mathematical and statistical methods for modelling invivo pathogen dynamics. This project aims to develop mathematical models and Bayesian statistical methods that better capture how natural defence responses and drugs help control infection. When viruses (e.g. influenza) or parasites (e.g. malaria) invade the human body, they begin to replicate. To date, only simple mathematical models have been developed to capture these processes, and these models are not well formulated. This project will im ....Mathematical and statistical methods for modelling invivo pathogen dynamics. This project aims to develop mathematical models and Bayesian statistical methods that better capture how natural defence responses and drugs help control infection. When viruses (e.g. influenza) or parasites (e.g. malaria) invade the human body, they begin to replicate. To date, only simple mathematical models have been developed to capture these processes, and these models are not well formulated. This project will improve biomathematics and biostatistical algorithms for pathogen dynamics and is ultimately expected to benefit public health and clinical research aimed at alleviating the effect of infectious diseases on human health.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100785
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$345,491.00
Summary
Mathematical and statistical modelling of antimalarial drug action. This project aims to develop a mathematical model to optimise global antimalarial treatment policy. Malaria-causing parasites are resistant to the most potent antimalarial drug available. If left unaddressed, a catastrophic rise in global malaria incidence and mortality could occur. Changes to global antimalarial treatment policy increasingly rely on mathematical models, but they do not encompass recent breakthroughs in antimala ....Mathematical and statistical modelling of antimalarial drug action. This project aims to develop a mathematical model to optimise global antimalarial treatment policy. Malaria-causing parasites are resistant to the most potent antimalarial drug available. If left unaddressed, a catastrophic rise in global malaria incidence and mortality could occur. Changes to global antimalarial treatment policy increasingly rely on mathematical models, but they do not encompass recent breakthroughs in antimalarial drug action and the immune response. This project’s model is expected to improve antimalarial drug dosing regimens and control the spread of antimalarial drug resistance.Read moreRead less
Experimental co-evolution of Yeast and E. coli. This project aims to measure the rates and genetic mechanisms of adaptation for individual species within a microbial community. Expected outcomes of this interdisciplinary project include the first genomic and phenotypic dataset of a model microbial community, and novel tools for the analysis of meta-genomic datasets. This project has the potential to transform understanding of microbial adaptation.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100304
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$416,092.00
Summary
Understanding intramolecular regulation of ubiquitin enzymes. This project aims to combine structural, biophysical and functional studies to characterise how ubiquitin enzymes are regulated. Ubiquitination controls essential cellular pathways in all eukaryotes and this project expects to generate new knowledge regarding the vital regulation of this process. This project expects to develop broadly applicable techniques for investigating protein conformation and self-association as a means of cont ....Understanding intramolecular regulation of ubiquitin enzymes. This project aims to combine structural, biophysical and functional studies to characterise how ubiquitin enzymes are regulated. Ubiquitination controls essential cellular pathways in all eukaryotes and this project expects to generate new knowledge regarding the vital regulation of this process. This project expects to develop broadly applicable techniques for investigating protein conformation and self-association as a means of controlling catalytic activity. The project should significantly increase understanding of several modes of regulation of ubiquitin ligase catalytic activity, and how this controls a myriad of cellular processes. The project will lay the foundation for applied research anti-viral compounds, plant anti-fungals and cancer therapies.Read moreRead less
An interdisciplinary approach to host-pathogen interactions in infection. This project aims to understand the molecular and cellular interactions between host and parasite, as well as providing a quantitative framework for analysing infection dynamics in other systems. Infection involves a complex interaction between the host and the parasite, which is very dynamic and therefore difficult to study by traditional sampling and analysis approaches. This project has combined mathematical modelling w ....An interdisciplinary approach to host-pathogen interactions in infection. This project aims to understand the molecular and cellular interactions between host and parasite, as well as providing a quantitative framework for analysing infection dynamics in other systems. Infection involves a complex interaction between the host and the parasite, which is very dynamic and therefore difficult to study by traditional sampling and analysis approaches. This project has combined mathematical modelling with a novel experimental protocol to allow the study of kinetics of parasite replication in vivo. Expected outcomes will provide significant benefits, such as new avenues for vaccination and immune intervention.Read moreRead less