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
Understanding the dynamics of malaria infection. Malaria infection kills around one million patients each year and this project involves an interdisciplinary team who will directly measure how the parasite grows and is killed by the immune system. A better understanding of parasite growth and control will help develop better drugs therapy and vaccination for this important infection.
Chemical proteomics: proteomics with no detection limit. Half of all drugs are derived from natural products, yet little is known about how most achieve their therapeutic action. This project aims to develop a methodology to rapidly uncover drug-protein interactions and pave the way for faster drug development and a better understanding of drug action.
Overcoming antibiotic resistance: rapid discovery of new antibacterial drug targets using chemical proteomics. The prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria in the community is a critical public health issue and there is an urgent and compelling need for new antibiotics with novel modes of action to combat these deadly superbugs. While antibiotics from nature have long been a mainstay of the pharmaceutical industry, their development as drugs can be challenging as their cellular targets and mod ....Overcoming antibiotic resistance: rapid discovery of new antibacterial drug targets using chemical proteomics. The prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria in the community is a critical public health issue and there is an urgent and compelling need for new antibiotics with novel modes of action to combat these deadly superbugs. While antibiotics from nature have long been a mainstay of the pharmaceutical industry, their development as drugs can be challenging as their cellular targets and modes of action are frequently unknown. In this project, innovative chemical proteomics approaches will be used to rapidly identify and characterise the cellular targets and modes of action of both newly discovered and historic antibiotic natural products, thereby overcoming this bottleneck and accelerating the development of next-generation antibiotics.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
Emergence of a virulent strain of West Nile virus causing fatal equine encephalitis in south-eastern Australia. In 2011 a large outbreak of encephalitis in horses occurred in south-eastern Australia that was caused by a new virus that is transmitted by mosquitoes and is related to West Nile virus, known to cause severe disease in humans and horses. This project will study this new virus and develop improved methods for diagnosis and control of this disease.