Chromatin barriers in Plasmodium falciparum gene regulation. Malaria is a major world disease that kills around 2 million people annually. The genome of the causative agent has now been completely sequenced, but we still know very little of how and why some genes are activated while their neighbours are turned off. I will study the DNA barriers that separate such genes, and the proteins that interact with these regions to better understand how genetic regulation functions in these parasites. A b ....Chromatin barriers in Plasmodium falciparum gene regulation. Malaria is a major world disease that kills around 2 million people annually. The genome of the causative agent has now been completely sequenced, but we still know very little of how and why some genes are activated while their neighbours are turned off. I will study the DNA barriers that separate such genes, and the proteins that interact with these regions to better understand how genetic regulation functions in these parasites. A better understanding of gene regulation in malaria parasites will help us to better combat the tricks utilised by this and other organisms to elude our immune systems.Read moreRead less
Genomic and molecular characterisation of a novel Australian leishmania pathogen. Leishmaniasis is the second most serious protozoal disease after malaria. This project will help characterise the first Leishmania species identified in Australia providing molecular tools to monitor the pathogen and a detailed assessment of any potential risk to human health. Comparative analysis with more pathogenic species will help identify genes and mechanisms that determine the progression of human disease le ....Genomic and molecular characterisation of a novel Australian leishmania pathogen. Leishmaniasis is the second most serious protozoal disease after malaria. This project will help characterise the first Leishmania species identified in Australia providing molecular tools to monitor the pathogen and a detailed assessment of any potential risk to human health. Comparative analysis with more pathogenic species will help identify genes and mechanisms that determine the progression of human disease leading to the potential identification of new drug and vaccine targets. The methodologies and expertise developed will be used will be available to other research groups working on infectious diseases.Read moreRead less
The biology, structure and function of bacterial virulence effectors. This project is closely aligned with the National Research Priority of Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and will establish a research framework to investigate novel virulence processes that allow bacterial pathogens to infect humans and cause disease. This fresh approach to the study of bacterial pathogenesis will sit outside classic genetic methods to investigate infection and immunity which rely heavily on genetic manip ....The biology, structure and function of bacterial virulence effectors. This project is closely aligned with the National Research Priority of Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and will establish a research framework to investigate novel virulence processes that allow bacterial pathogens to infect humans and cause disease. This fresh approach to the study of bacterial pathogenesis will sit outside classic genetic methods to investigate infection and immunity which rely heavily on genetic manipulation of the pathogen. Other than providing fundamental information on host-pathogen interactions, this work may lead to novel disease interventions by inhibition of bacterial virulence factor activity and/or enhancement of host inflammatory and immune responses.Read moreRead less
Identification of the basic elements of Plasmodium transcription. This Discovery Project falls under the NRP for safeguarding Australia. Australian troops stationed in malaria endemic areas face the threat of infection and require medical attention upon return.Any research on malaria will expand our knowledge on prevention and treatment. Australia near malariaendemic locations such as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.These countries do not have the means to support effective basic research into ....Identification of the basic elements of Plasmodium transcription. This Discovery Project falls under the NRP for safeguarding Australia. Australian troops stationed in malaria endemic areas face the threat of infection and require medical attention upon return.Any research on malaria will expand our knowledge on prevention and treatment. Australia near malariaendemic locations such as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.These countries do not have the means to support effective basic research into the disease and wealthier countries such as Australia have the responsibility to fill this void.Furthermore, the aims of this Discovery Project are unique within the Australian malaria research community and the results fully complement other studies on transcription regulation of antigenic genes. Read moreRead less
Discovery of Novel Respiratory Viruses Causing Influenza-Like Illness in Healthy Australian Adults Aged 18 to 64 Years. This work will inform our understanding of the causes of acute respiratory illnesses in Australia at the present time by looking for both known and previously undiscovered respiratory viruses. Increasing the knowledge base regarding causes of disease will have downstream relevance for health policy planners seeking to assess the burden of disease due to different causes. Early ....Discovery of Novel Respiratory Viruses Causing Influenza-Like Illness in Healthy Australian Adults Aged 18 to 64 Years. This work will inform our understanding of the causes of acute respiratory illnesses in Australia at the present time by looking for both known and previously undiscovered respiratory viruses. Increasing the knowledge base regarding causes of disease will have downstream relevance for health policy planners seeking to assess the burden of disease due to different causes. Early identification and description of new diseases will allow pre-emptive evaluation of new public health threats. This information will help to ensure availability and marketability of vaccines to prevent infection.Read moreRead less
Novel target of amiloride analogues - picornaviral RNA polymerase. Picornaviruses cause a range of diseases such as poliomyelitis, meningitis, myocarditis, hepatitis A, neonatal sepsis and common cold. No antiviral treatment is available for these infections. Nearly 50% of antiviral drugs used in medicine are viral polymerase inhibitors; however picornaviral RNA polymerase has been largely overlooked as a drug target. We have discovered a group of compounds that inhibit picornaviral RNA polymera ....Novel target of amiloride analogues - picornaviral RNA polymerase. Picornaviruses cause a range of diseases such as poliomyelitis, meningitis, myocarditis, hepatitis A, neonatal sepsis and common cold. No antiviral treatment is available for these infections. Nearly 50% of antiviral drugs used in medicine are viral polymerase inhibitors; however picornaviral RNA polymerase has been largely overlooked as a drug target. We have discovered a group of compounds that inhibit picornaviral RNA polymerase. This project aims to define the inhibition mechanism and to evaluate a potential use of these compounds for antiviral drug development.Read moreRead less
Transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) synthetases as drug targets in Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is a major worldwide infectious disease. The disease kills around 2 million people every year, and current drugs are increasingly failing due to parasite drug resistance, creating an urgent demand for new drugs, that inhibit different targets. The Fellow will study a new class of parasite drug targets, the transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) synthetase enzymes to find novel inhibitors. Compounds blocking ....Transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) synthetases as drug targets in Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is a major worldwide infectious disease. The disease kills around 2 million people every year, and current drugs are increasingly failing due to parasite drug resistance, creating an urgent demand for new drugs, that inhibit different targets. The Fellow will study a new class of parasite drug targets, the transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) synthetase enzymes to find novel inhibitors. Compounds blocking these enzymes may lead to new drugs to combat malaria.Read moreRead less
Role of the GxxxG domain in the function of mammalian prion proteins. Prion proteins have been associated with a number of diseases of humans and animals (such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans and BSE, or 'mad-cow' disease in cattle) which have had major public health, social and economic consequences in countries where they have been detected. This project will identify mechanisms by which a highly conserved region of the prion protein plays a role in the conversion to the disease associa ....Role of the GxxxG domain in the function of mammalian prion proteins. Prion proteins have been associated with a number of diseases of humans and animals (such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans and BSE, or 'mad-cow' disease in cattle) which have had major public health, social and economic consequences in countries where they have been detected. This project will identify mechanisms by which a highly conserved region of the prion protein plays a role in the conversion to the disease associated form. This will provide avenues for identifying the normal function of the prion protein, and increase our knowledge of prion biology. This will benefit both in terms of healthy ageing and in protecting the agriculture sector from prion diseases in farmed animals.Read moreRead less
A high-through-put method for unlocking the mitochondrial genomes of significant pathogens. The national/community benefits of this research are: (1) to develop a long-term, high quality scientific and technological program contributing to national objectives, including the maintenance of a strong capability in basic research, the development of new scientific concepts and the enhancement of international collaborative links; (2) to strengthen the links between basic and applied research; (3) to ....A high-through-put method for unlocking the mitochondrial genomes of significant pathogens. The national/community benefits of this research are: (1) to develop a long-term, high quality scientific and technological program contributing to national objectives, including the maintenance of a strong capability in basic research, the development of new scientific concepts and the enhancement of international collaborative links; (2) to strengthen the links between basic and applied research; (3) to develop excellence in research by promoting collaborative research, resulting in a more efficient use of resources in a national and international context; (4) to enhance the skills-base in biology and biotechnology; and (5) to substantially increase global visibility through quality research, leading to an increased investment in Australian science.Read moreRead less
Drug targets in malaria parasites. Malaria is rampant throughout our Region and hinders the economies of our neighbours reducing regional prosperity and stability. Australian security and aid personnel deployed in the Region contract malaria infections and global warming could bring malaria-carrying mosquitoes south to Sydney. Australia is pre-eminent in malaria research, making lead discoveries in vaccine and drug development. However, we lack crucial resources to study the parasite in the mo ....Drug targets in malaria parasites. Malaria is rampant throughout our Region and hinders the economies of our neighbours reducing regional prosperity and stability. Australian security and aid personnel deployed in the Region contract malaria infections and global warming could bring malaria-carrying mosquitoes south to Sydney. Australia is pre-eminent in malaria research, making lead discoveries in vaccine and drug development. However, we lack crucial resources to study the parasite in the mosquito phase of its life cycle. The Federation Fellowship will create a malaria mosquito facility to redress this crucial gap in our capability. The Fellowship will double as foreign aid investment by enhancing our capacity to protect ourselves as well as supporting our neighbours.Read moreRead less