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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100316
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$435,431.00
Summary
Population genomic methods for modelling bacterial pathogen evolution. This project aims to develop novel techniques to model bacterial genome evolution and improve our understanding of how major agricultural and human pathogens, including Enterococcus, Salmonella and E. coli, evolve. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how horizontal gene transfer shapes the evolution of bacteria and how these dynamics vary over different temporal scales. Expected outcomes include methodological ....Population genomic methods for modelling bacterial pathogen evolution. This project aims to develop novel techniques to model bacterial genome evolution and improve our understanding of how major agricultural and human pathogens, including Enterococcus, Salmonella and E. coli, evolve. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how horizontal gene transfer shapes the evolution of bacteria and how these dynamics vary over different temporal scales. Expected outcomes include methodological advances that will enable the analysis of massive contemporary datasets. These methods and resulting analyses will provide significant benefits including informing the design of superior long-term interventions to reduce bacterial disease in both agriculture and health that are robust to the evolution of bacteria.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100911
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
The mechanisms driving microbial navigation in marine systems. This project aims to apply advanced video-microscopy to characterise microbial motion at the single cell level, interrogating their navigational responses in precisely controlled physical and chemical conditions. Ocean carbon cycling is driven by the concerted action of marine microbes, but the fine-scale interactions between these microbes and their physical and chemical environments remains elusive. The project findings will unrave ....The mechanisms driving microbial navigation in marine systems. This project aims to apply advanced video-microscopy to characterise microbial motion at the single cell level, interrogating their navigational responses in precisely controlled physical and chemical conditions. Ocean carbon cycling is driven by the concerted action of marine microbes, but the fine-scale interactions between these microbes and their physical and chemical environments remains elusive. The project findings will unravel the fundamental processes governing microbial motion in real environments, and develop the mechanistic modelling tools required to make quantitative ecosystem-level predictions of how soil-atmosphere-water-marine systems respond in the face of environmental change.Read moreRead less
Data-led bioengineering to uncover hidden chemical wealth in bacteria. The soil bacteria Nocardia are an untapped source of industrially prized chemical compounds called natural products. This project aims to develop innovative bioprospecting genomics technologies built from the disciplines of microbiology, biochemistry and computational statistics to discover hundreds of new natural products in Nocardia. This project will unlock the diversity of potent new enzymes and molecules with high econom ....Data-led bioengineering to uncover hidden chemical wealth in bacteria. The soil bacteria Nocardia are an untapped source of industrially prized chemical compounds called natural products. This project aims to develop innovative bioprospecting genomics technologies built from the disciplines of microbiology, biochemistry and computational statistics to discover hundreds of new natural products in Nocardia. This project will unlock the diversity of potent new enzymes and molecules with high economic value that could include insecticides to protect crops, bioactives to fight diseases, or new enzymes for food and biofuel production. This research unlocks enormous hidden chemical potential in soil bacteria, to build sustainable national economic growth through innovative, high-value industrial chemical development.Read moreRead less
A link between antibiotic resistance and bacterial sporulation. This project aims to define the sporulation process in the bacterium Clostridium difficile, and advance our understanding of a link between antibiotic use and sporulation. To survive in hostile environments, some bacteria produce a dormant and resilient cell form called a spore which can survive for many years in unfavourable environments, but our understanding of how this process occurs is limited. This project will provide a deepe ....A link between antibiotic resistance and bacterial sporulation. This project aims to define the sporulation process in the bacterium Clostridium difficile, and advance our understanding of a link between antibiotic use and sporulation. To survive in hostile environments, some bacteria produce a dormant and resilient cell form called a spore which can survive for many years in unfavourable environments, but our understanding of how this process occurs is limited. This project will provide a deeper understanding of the sporulation process and the long-lasting detrimental impact of antibiotic use. The project expects to provide economic benefits, reduce environmental microbial contamination and contribute to better health of animals and humans.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100310
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,533.00
Summary
Atmospheric trace gases: Fuelling the dormant microbial majority. This project aims to determine the physiological roles and ecological significance of hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide scavenging. Bacteria adapt to adverse environmental conditions such as energy-starvation by entering dormant states. The fuel sources that sustain this dormant majority have yet to be resolved. Aerobic soil bacteria survive by scavenging trace gases from the atmosphere; they literally live on thin air. These ....Atmospheric trace gases: Fuelling the dormant microbial majority. This project aims to determine the physiological roles and ecological significance of hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide scavenging. Bacteria adapt to adverse environmental conditions such as energy-starvation by entering dormant states. The fuel sources that sustain this dormant majority have yet to be resolved. Aerobic soil bacteria survive by scavenging trace gases from the atmosphere; they literally live on thin air. These trace gas scavengers are the major biological sinks in the global methane and hydrogen cycles. This project aims to study entire ecosystems of trace gas scavengers, which could enhance understanding of soil microbial ecology and biogeochemical cycling. By studying the regulation and distribution of gas scavenging, we can better model how these sinks respond to global change.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100700
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$429,449.00
Summary
A novel bacterial secretion system for applications in nanobiotechnology. This project aims to characterise a new molecular machine, called the S-Pump. Molecular machines drive the complex biology in all cells and are an exciting area of translational research, with broad potential for industrial applications. This project expects to provide fundamental insights into how bacterial S-Pumps contribute to antimicrobial resistance and enhancing food production. Expected outcomes include new tools fo ....A novel bacterial secretion system for applications in nanobiotechnology. This project aims to characterise a new molecular machine, called the S-Pump. Molecular machines drive the complex biology in all cells and are an exciting area of translational research, with broad potential for industrial applications. This project expects to provide fundamental insights into how bacterial S-Pumps contribute to antimicrobial resistance and enhancing food production. Expected outcomes include new tools for molecular machine discovery and identification of ways to adapt molecular machines for biotechnological applications. This work should enhance Australia-UK ties through collaboration, provide benefits toward nanobiotechnology and economic benefits through more efficient food production.Read moreRead less
The host specificity of bacterial pathogens. The vast majority of microorganisms that cause diseases in animals are host specific. In other words, they cause disease exclusively in a particular animal species, but are harmless for others. Despite considerable recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms used by microorganisms in general to cause disease, in most cases the underlying basis of host-specificity is not known. In this project, we will use two animal pathogens, rabbit-spe ....The host specificity of bacterial pathogens. The vast majority of microorganisms that cause diseases in animals are host specific. In other words, they cause disease exclusively in a particular animal species, but are harmless for others. Despite considerable recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms used by microorganisms in general to cause disease, in most cases the underlying basis of host-specificity is not known. In this project, we will use two animal pathogens, rabbit-specific enteropathogenic E. coli and the closely related bacterium, Citrobacter rodentium, which specifically infect rabbits and mice respectively, to investigate the molecular basis of host specificity.Read moreRead less
Molecular characterisation of hypervirulence and the infectious cycle in Clostridium difficile. Gut diseases caused by the bacterium Clostridium difficile are a significant animal and public health problem in Australia and many other countries. This project will allow us to understand how this bacterium causes disease, leading to the development of much needed preventative and treatment strategies for animals and human patients.
Mechanisms of virus transport in indoor environments. The socio-economic benefits to Australia from the project will include the developed and validated model for quantification of virus spread and survival through aerosolation processes, which will become an important tool for: (i) prediction of the pathways of virus spread in indoor environment, and (ii) developing future directions for management and control for prevention or minimization the likelihood of human infections. The ultimate econo ....Mechanisms of virus transport in indoor environments. The socio-economic benefits to Australia from the project will include the developed and validated model for quantification of virus spread and survival through aerosolation processes, which will become an important tool for: (i) prediction of the pathways of virus spread in indoor environment, and (ii) developing future directions for management and control for prevention or minimization the likelihood of human infections. The ultimate economic benefit of this research will be reduction in health care costs and lost productivity. The research will also place Australia in the forefront of international progress and race towards toward better methods for virus spread prevention. Read moreRead less