Food allergies have emerged as a major public health concern affecting 1 in 10 Australian infants. Hospitals waiting times are in excess of 12-months for specialist services. Recent changes in the environment are driving up rates of food allergy but the mechanisms are unclear. Epigenetics is the science of how the environment influences gene behaviour. This fellowship will address the important and urgent question of how modern environments are changing our genes, leading to food allergy.
Molecular And Genetic Basis Of Colistin Resistance In Acinetobacter Baumannii
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$526,878.00
Summary
Acinetobacter baumannii is a bacterium that causes hospital acquired infections which have become difficult to treat due to the bacteria developing resistance to most antibiotics in routine use. Colistin is now widely used as 'salvage' therapy in patients with these infections. Colistin resistance is currently low but is an emerging problem. As a first step in combating this problem this project will identify how this bacterium becomes resistant to colistin.
Pathogenomics: New Ways To Exploit Genome Sequence Data From Pathogenic Bacteria.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$547,372.00
Summary
Bacterial pathogens are locked in an evolutionary battle of survival with their eukaryote hosts. The rapidly evolving genes of medically-important pathogens are generally those required for adaptation to the human host. This project aims to exploit the abundance of available bacterial genome sequences to predict rapid evolution in bacterial pathogens using computational methods. The protein products of such genes offer novel targets for therapeutic intervention.
Functional Genomic Analysis Of Multidrug Efflux In The Emerging Pathogen Acinetobacter Baumannii
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,226.00
Summary
Infections due to antimicrobial resistant organisms are a major public health issue. Acinetobacter baumannii is a bacterium that is increasingly being identified as a significant cause of serious antibiotic resistant infections, especially in the intensive care unit setting. Molecular studies in Acinetobacter to identify and characterise drug resistance proteins that pump antibiotics out of the cell will help understand the resistance capabilities and potential of this bacterium.