Signalling pathways for sexual differentiation of apicomplexan parasites. This project aims to study the sexual development of apicomplexan parasites, which cause major diseases in humans, livestock and wildlife, including malaria. Only sexually differentiated cells can survive in the mosquito vector and hence this development is essential for the parasite's life-cycle. This project will employ a new approach that separates female from male parasites, thus enabling new information to be gleaned ....Signalling pathways for sexual differentiation of apicomplexan parasites. This project aims to study the sexual development of apicomplexan parasites, which cause major diseases in humans, livestock and wildlife, including malaria. Only sexually differentiated cells can survive in the mosquito vector and hence this development is essential for the parasite's life-cycle. This project will employ a new approach that separates female from male parasites, thus enabling new information to be gleaned about the development of these parasites. The expected outcomes are an understanding of the mechanisms of sexual differentiation and a functional characterisation of novel sex-specific molecules. This will provide significant benefits, such as pivotal prerequisites for new approaches to parasite intervention.Read moreRead less
New guardians of the mucosa: Molecular characterisation of M cell biology. We aim to completely define the cellular and molecular biology of gut and lung M cells for the first time. We will elucidate how they develop, are regulated and function at a molecular level, and how M cells maintain normal gut and lung tissues and induce immune responses to protect against microbial challenges. In the future, the new insights will be essential pre-requisites for the development of mucosal-based intervent ....New guardians of the mucosa: Molecular characterisation of M cell biology. We aim to completely define the cellular and molecular biology of gut and lung M cells for the first time. We will elucidate how they develop, are regulated and function at a molecular level, and how M cells maintain normal gut and lung tissues and induce immune responses to protect against microbial challenges. In the future, the new insights will be essential pre-requisites for the development of mucosal-based interventions and vaccines that protect the gut and lung from infectious and inflammatory issues. The harnessing of effective immune responses to control such challenges, are of enormous fundamental and long-standing biological interest, and are amongst the most important areas of current scientific research.Read moreRead less
Addressing hepatitis C-related discrimination in a post-cure world. This project aims to address the legal and policy dimensions of hepatitis C discrimination. Hepatitis C is a major public health challenge linked to profound discrimination, including in law and policy. Treatments introduced in 2016 improved cure rates; optimism about disease elimination is high, but questions remain about discrimination faced by those who are cured. This interdisciplinary project’s goal is to generate new knowl ....Addressing hepatitis C-related discrimination in a post-cure world. This project aims to address the legal and policy dimensions of hepatitis C discrimination. Hepatitis C is a major public health challenge linked to profound discrimination, including in law and policy. Treatments introduced in 2016 improved cure rates; optimism about disease elimination is high, but questions remain about discrimination faced by those who are cured. This interdisciplinary project’s goal is to generate new knowledge about hepatitis C discrimination in a post-cure context, and identify opportunities for legal and policy reform. Expected outcomes of the project include better legal, social and policy outcomes for Australians cured of hepatitis C, significantly benefiting these individuals directly and society more broadly.Read moreRead less
Chemo-sensation in Ascaris infection. This project aims to show the role of chemo-sensation as an equally important target for worm control, and explore pathways to prevent infection. Parasitic worms cost global food/textile industry more than $100 billion dollars per year, and cause disease in more than 1 billion people and domesticated animals world-wide. This project will use a combination of imaging, systems biology, chemical biology and microfluidic methods to provide significant benefits, ....Chemo-sensation in Ascaris infection. This project aims to show the role of chemo-sensation as an equally important target for worm control, and explore pathways to prevent infection. Parasitic worms cost global food/textile industry more than $100 billion dollars per year, and cause disease in more than 1 billion people and domesticated animals world-wide. This project will use a combination of imaging, systems biology, chemical biology and microfluidic methods to provide significant benefits, such as exploring Ascaris chemo-sensation during larval migration, identify the key host queues and parasite genes regulating this process, and probe helminth chemosensation as a novel target for anti-parasitic treatments.Read moreRead less
Lived experiences of treatment for hepatitis C in Australia. This project aims to support uptake of new hepatitis C treatments. With the introduction of new treatments in 2016, the Australian Government adopted the WHO’s goal of eliminating the disease by 2030. While early treatment rates were high, they have since plateaued, with stigma and poor information considered key obstacles. This project will generate new knowledge on treatment decisions and experiences, using a proven qualitative metho ....Lived experiences of treatment for hepatitis C in Australia. This project aims to support uptake of new hepatitis C treatments. With the introduction of new treatments in 2016, the Australian Government adopted the WHO’s goal of eliminating the disease by 2030. While early treatment rates were high, they have since plateaued, with stigma and poor information considered key obstacles. This project will generate new knowledge on treatment decisions and experiences, using a proven qualitative methodology. In doing so, it will produce a website covering personal experiences of treatment, issues in treatment decision-making, and advice on enhancing life on treatment and after. It will tackle hepatitis C-related stigma, and inform and benefit potential treatment users, families and relevant professionals.
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Defining the antiviral effects of Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Mosquitoes that carry a bacterium called Wolbachia do not transmit human pathogenic viruses. These mosquitoes are being developed as a biocontrol tool to prevent mosquito-borne diseases. This project aims to define the molecular basis for virus inhibition by Wolbachia. Using unique biological tools including mosquitoes carrying different strains of Wolbachia that do or do not inhibit dengue virus, the project will define ho ....Defining the antiviral effects of Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Mosquitoes that carry a bacterium called Wolbachia do not transmit human pathogenic viruses. These mosquitoes are being developed as a biocontrol tool to prevent mosquito-borne diseases. This project aims to define the molecular basis for virus inhibition by Wolbachia. Using unique biological tools including mosquitoes carrying different strains of Wolbachia that do or do not inhibit dengue virus, the project will define how Wolbachia modifies its host to create an antiviral state. The findings will provide insight into how viral pathogens can be suppressed in insect hosts. This may guide future viral disease intervention strategies for diverse areas afflicted by insect-borne viral disease, including human health and agriculture.Read moreRead less
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
Wolbachia endosymbionts: novel strain dynamics in Australian Drosophila. This project aims to understand Wolbachia infections across Australian Drosophila flies. Wolbachia bacteria that live inside the cells of insects and other invertebrates are widely seen as a promising tool for pest and disease control. This project will assess the population distribution, host phenotypic effects, population dynamics and evolutionary context of multiple Wolbachia infections across Australian Drosophila flies ....Wolbachia endosymbionts: novel strain dynamics in Australian Drosophila. This project aims to understand Wolbachia infections across Australian Drosophila flies. Wolbachia bacteria that live inside the cells of insects and other invertebrates are widely seen as a promising tool for pest and disease control. This project will assess the population distribution, host phenotypic effects, population dynamics and evolutionary context of multiple Wolbachia infections across Australian Drosophila flies. The outcome will include new and novel strains for applied projects, new information on the fate of Wolbachia infections, and new insights into the factors that dictate the fate of Wolbachia infections across populations.Read moreRead less
Bacterial vesicles transport their bioactive cargo to the host nucleus. This project aims to investigate how bacterial membrane vesicles transport their cargo to the nucleus of cells and its impact on host cell functions. Bacteria use membrane vesicles as a means of communication with the host, but the full extent of their effects on host cells has yet to be fully elucidated. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field using cutting-edge imaging and molecular biology approaches. ....Bacterial vesicles transport their bioactive cargo to the host nucleus. This project aims to investigate how bacterial membrane vesicles transport their cargo to the nucleus of cells and its impact on host cell functions. Bacteria use membrane vesicles as a means of communication with the host, but the full extent of their effects on host cells has yet to be fully elucidated. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field using cutting-edge imaging and molecular biology approaches. The work should provide significant benefits, particularly towards the development of membrane vesicles in gene therapy, gene editing and other applications. Read moreRead less
Probing antimicrobial drug resistance by multimodal molecular analysis. This project aims to investigate drug resistance in microbial agents. With the emergence of "super bugs" there is a need to understand the biochemistry of antimicrobial resistance. Combining vibrational spectroscopic approaches and metabolomic techniques, the project will investigate cell populations, single cells and subcellular structures in search of biomarkers for drug resistance. The discovery of such biomarkers could l ....Probing antimicrobial drug resistance by multimodal molecular analysis. This project aims to investigate drug resistance in microbial agents. With the emergence of "super bugs" there is a need to understand the biochemistry of antimicrobial resistance. Combining vibrational spectroscopic approaches and metabolomic techniques, the project will investigate cell populations, single cells and subcellular structures in search of biomarkers for drug resistance. The discovery of such biomarkers could lead to improved disease management and eradication programs through identification and treatment of drug resistant pathogens in individuals that have the potential to re-infect the community.Read moreRead less