Quantitative Metagenomics. This project aims to revolutionize our view of the microbial world once more by transforming microbiome studies from relative counts of organisms to actual numbers of microbes. This project expects to impact all the microbiome studies that are being performed worldwide by unveiling the actual numbers of microbes. Expected outcomes of this project include new techniques to enumerate the number of bacteria in different environments and new approaches to measure gene expr ....Quantitative Metagenomics. This project aims to revolutionize our view of the microbial world once more by transforming microbiome studies from relative counts of organisms to actual numbers of microbes. This project expects to impact all the microbiome studies that are being performed worldwide by unveiling the actual numbers of microbes. Expected outcomes of this project include new techniques to enumerate the number of bacteria in different environments and new approaches to measure gene expression within individual bacteria in any environment that will be demonstrated with complex microbial communities. This should provide significant benefits because microbes affect every aspect of our lives and those effects are driven by how many microbes are present.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101284
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$397,003.00
Summary
Insect-specific virus host restriction. Mosquito-borne viruses are a topic of intense research due to their complex biology, ecology and evolution, and their potential to produce unpredictable outbreaks of disease in both humans and animals. Insect-specific viruses (ISVs) are viruses that replicate solely in mosquito cell and are unable to infect vertebrate tissues. This project aims to assess the biodiversity of ISVs in the Australian mosquito population and identify key factors behind their re ....Insect-specific virus host restriction. Mosquito-borne viruses are a topic of intense research due to their complex biology, ecology and evolution, and their potential to produce unpredictable outbreaks of disease in both humans and animals. Insect-specific viruses (ISVs) are viruses that replicate solely in mosquito cell and are unable to infect vertebrate tissues. This project aims to assess the biodiversity of ISVs in the Australian mosquito population and identify key factors behind their restriction in vertebrates. The objectives of the studies proposed will answer clearly defined important biological questions about ISVs, while also delivering technological advances, novel reagents and potential commercial outcomes for the control and prevention of arboviral disease. 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
Unlocking bacterial shapeshifting and its role in antimicrobial resistance. This project aims to combine advanced imaging with innovative microfluidics to identify how microbial shapeshifting can be exploited as a target for new antimicrobials. Infections that are hard to treat due to increasing antimicrobial resistance not only have an enormous, global impact on mammalian health, including livestock and humans, but also carry a growing economic burden. Advanced understanding of microbial life c ....Unlocking bacterial shapeshifting and its role in antimicrobial resistance. This project aims to combine advanced imaging with innovative microfluidics to identify how microbial shapeshifting can be exploited as a target for new antimicrobials. Infections that are hard to treat due to increasing antimicrobial resistance not only have an enormous, global impact on mammalian health, including livestock and humans, but also carry a growing economic burden. Advanced understanding of microbial life can propel urgently needed progress this area. Specifically, the project outcomes are expected to aid the development of next generation antibiotics. The new fundamental knowledge should also benefit translational prevention, identification and management efforts of a rising national and global health threat.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100111
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,097.00
Summary
Replication and transfer of novel plasmid classes in Acinetobacter. The project aims to reveal basic biology of plasmids found in Acinetobacter baumannii. A. baumannii is a bacterial pathogen that can rapidly acquire resistance to antibiotics, including last-resort antibiotics. In modern strains, acquisition is often mediated by plasmids. On the basis of DNA sequencing data, A. baumannii plasmids are likely to function differently to well-studied plasmids. However, surprisingly little experiment ....Replication and transfer of novel plasmid classes in Acinetobacter. The project aims to reveal basic biology of plasmids found in Acinetobacter baumannii. A. baumannii is a bacterial pathogen that can rapidly acquire resistance to antibiotics, including last-resort antibiotics. In modern strains, acquisition is often mediated by plasmids. On the basis of DNA sequencing data, A. baumannii plasmids are likely to function differently to well-studied plasmids. However, surprisingly little experimental work has been done to evidence this. By combining microbiological and bioinformatics approaches the project expects to generate new knowledge on the mechanisms of replication and transfer of A. baumannii plasmids. This may lead to new targets for strategies to slow and track the spread of antibiotic resistance.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101221
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$453,614.00
Summary
Revealing bat antibody recognition mechanism against bat-borne viruses. Bats act as asymptomic reservoir hosts for numerous zoonotic viruses that are lethal in humans, indicating that the bat immune system can control these viruses. However, little is known about bat immunity including how bat antibodies recognise bat-borne viruses. This project aims to study bat anti-viral antibodies by utilising innovative protein engineering, cutting-edge cryo-EM technology and single-cell isolation and seque ....Revealing bat antibody recognition mechanism against bat-borne viruses. Bats act as asymptomic reservoir hosts for numerous zoonotic viruses that are lethal in humans, indicating that the bat immune system can control these viruses. However, little is known about bat immunity including how bat antibodies recognise bat-borne viruses. This project aims to study bat anti-viral antibodies by utilising innovative protein engineering, cutting-edge cryo-EM technology and single-cell isolation and sequencing. The project seeks to uncover bat-borne zoonotic virus glycoprotein architecture and reveal how bat antibodies function to inhibit viral infection. Expected outcomes will be new insight and tools to combat emerging and yet to emerge pathogens, enabling pandemic preparedness and increasing global biosecurity.
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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
Unlocking the potential of bacterial polymers by defining key determinants. Sugary structures that coat the surface of some bacteria, known as capsules, can be modified by bacterial viruses (bacteriophage) in the environment. For the bacterial genus Acinetobacter, this influences their use as naturally renewable 'green' biopolymers for remediating environments contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. This project aims to characterise crucial capsule polymerase enzymes using a combination of bio ....Unlocking the potential of bacterial polymers by defining key determinants. Sugary structures that coat the surface of some bacteria, known as capsules, can be modified by bacterial viruses (bacteriophage) in the environment. For the bacterial genus Acinetobacter, this influences their use as naturally renewable 'green' biopolymers for remediating environments contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. This project aims to characterise crucial capsule polymerase enzymes using a combination of bioinformatics and experimental methodologies to establish how bacteriophage influence Acinetobacter capsules. Outcomes include the development of an innovative genomics pipeline to detect capsule change, improving the use of living bacteria for bioremediation and sustainable rehabilitation of natural ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100842
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$455,057.00
Summary
Roles of emerging pollutants in spreading antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global challenge, yet the impact of environmental agents on the spread of antimicrobial resistance is poorly understood. Drawing on my recent findings and a tight integration of a model microbial ecology system, this project aims to investigate the impact of environmental pollutants on the colonisation and spread of antimicrobial resistance in situ ecological communities. This project expect ....Roles of emerging pollutants in spreading antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global challenge, yet the impact of environmental agents on the spread of antimicrobial resistance is poorly understood. Drawing on my recent findings and a tight integration of a model microbial ecology system, this project aims to investigate the impact of environmental pollutants on the colonisation and spread of antimicrobial resistance in situ ecological communities. This project expects to generate new knowledge at the forefront of research into antimicrobial resistance in a complex ecosystem. The outcomes should provide a deep mechanistic understanding of environmental factors associated with antimicrobial resistance, with applications to antimicrobial resistance risk management for One Health.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL230100159
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,330,000.00
Summary
From a descriptive to a predictive understanding of the human microbiome. Microorganisms inhabit every imaginable environment on Earth. Despite advances in characterising microbial communities, our understanding is largely descriptive and a detailed appreciation of their complexity eludes us. This Laureate project aims to transform microbial ecology into a predictive science, through intensive investigation of the human gut microbiome as a model ecosystem. Major challenges in microbiology are ex ....From a descriptive to a predictive understanding of the human microbiome. Microorganisms inhabit every imaginable environment on Earth. Despite advances in characterising microbial communities, our understanding is largely descriptive and a detailed appreciation of their complexity eludes us. This Laureate project aims to transform microbial ecology into a predictive science, through intensive investigation of the human gut microbiome as a model ecosystem. Major challenges in microbiology are expected to be overcome, with new knowledge for predicting how microorganisms influence, and are influenced by, their environment. Ultimately this knowledge can help us manipulate microbial communities in diverse ecosystems to our advantage – protecting the planet’s natural assets, and improving agriculture and human health.Read moreRead less