Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453400
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$110,040.00
Summary
The Roboocyte™: a medium-throughput, secondary functional, screening facility. Changes in ion channel function have been implicated in a wide variety of human diseases. For this reason many researchers are studying ion channels to understand how they work and how they can develop new drug treatments. The slowest step in evaluating the biological activity of compounds is testing them against the ion channels and the current technology requires much tedious manual handling and extensive operator e ....The Roboocyte™: a medium-throughput, secondary functional, screening facility. Changes in ion channel function have been implicated in a wide variety of human diseases. For this reason many researchers are studying ion channels to understand how they work and how they can develop new drug treatments. The slowest step in evaluating the biological activity of compounds is testing them against the ion channels and the current technology requires much tedious manual handling and extensive operator expertise. The Roboocyte facility will triple testing productivity by allowing for the rapid and automated screening of large libraries of compounds. Such a facility will be unique to the Southern Hemisphere.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0883078
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$356,000.00
Summary
Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry Steroid Analysis Facility. This first of a new generation of ultra-sensitive analytical mass spectrometers for small molecules will be established as a national assay facility allowing all Australian researchers open access to a new dimension of highly accurate and simultaneous measurements of multiple bodily chemicals such as steroids, vitamins and hormones. It is crucial to developing new knowledge in basic, developmental and pathological cell bio ....Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry Steroid Analysis Facility. This first of a new generation of ultra-sensitive analytical mass spectrometers for small molecules will be established as a national assay facility allowing all Australian researchers open access to a new dimension of highly accurate and simultaneous measurements of multiple bodily chemicals such as steroids, vitamins and hormones. It is crucial to developing new knowledge in basic, developmental and pathological cell biology and for underpinning commercial developments of new molecular targets for therapeutic drugs for many diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease and reproductive disorders. This facility is pivotal to maintaining international competitiveness in many areas of biological research in national priority areas.Read moreRead less
Defining mechanisms of action of novel alpha-conotoxins at nicotinic receptor-channels. Marine snails from the waters off the Australian coast produce an amazing variety of mini-proteins in their venoms called conotoxins that they use to capture prey. These conotoxins bind very specifically to receptors in our body associated with the transmission of nerve signals. We will use natural and synthetically modified conotoxins to selectively block particular types of neuronal 'receptors' to gain a gr ....Defining mechanisms of action of novel alpha-conotoxins at nicotinic receptor-channels. Marine snails from the waters off the Australian coast produce an amazing variety of mini-proteins in their venoms called conotoxins that they use to capture prey. These conotoxins bind very specifically to receptors in our body associated with the transmission of nerve signals. We will use natural and synthetically modified conotoxins to selectively block particular types of neuronal 'receptors' to gain a greater understanding of how the nervous system functions. This knowledge will help in the design of new drugs to treat a variety of diseases and disorders. Essentially we will use a chemical armoury developed by the cone snail to design state-of-the-art mini-protein drugs.Read moreRead less
Profiling tissue protein, elemental ions and nanoparticle distributions. This project aims to investigate protein-protein interactions that are crucial to homeostatic cell signalling and viability in a changing tissue environment. The central goal is to develop and validate protocols to combine cutting-edge tissue imaging modalities to map and characterise tissue distributions of native and modified proteins, elemental ions and pharmacological agents including nanoparticles and nanovehicles. The ....Profiling tissue protein, elemental ions and nanoparticle distributions. This project aims to investigate protein-protein interactions that are crucial to homeostatic cell signalling and viability in a changing tissue environment. The central goal is to develop and validate protocols to combine cutting-edge tissue imaging modalities to map and characterise tissue distributions of native and modified proteins, elemental ions and pharmacological agents including nanoparticles and nanovehicles. The aim is to use novel tissue scanning mass spectrometry techniques in conjunction with X-ray-based microprobe spectroscopy and advanced multi-parameter cytometry to identify spatial distributions of proteins, ions and drugs in tissues. This approach may provide new information about the maintenance of homeostatic control and the content, distribution and potential metabolism of drugs or nanoparticles within biological tissues.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC200100052
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,789,838.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins for Drug Discovery. This Centre aims to train industry-ready, world class graduates in cryo-electron microscopy of membrane proteins. The Centre’s graduates and research results would enable tomorrow’s industrial expansion in structure-enhanced drug design. Expected outcomes are world-first structural biology knowledge and techniques, and the entrepreneurial and technical skills desired by industry. This should provide signifi ....ARC Training Centre for Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins for Drug Discovery. This Centre aims to train industry-ready, world class graduates in cryo-electron microscopy of membrane proteins. The Centre’s graduates and research results would enable tomorrow’s industrial expansion in structure-enhanced drug design. Expected outcomes are world-first structural biology knowledge and techniques, and the entrepreneurial and technical skills desired by industry. This should provide significant benefits including advancing Australian biotechnological capacity and improved linkages with major pharmaceutical partners. It should also provide a substantive competitive advantage to nascent Australian biotechnology companies that also links into new National investment into drug discovery and development infrastructure.Read moreRead less
The combined use of proteomics and small molecules for target identification and pathway analysis. This project intends to investigate how a series of new small molecules identified from our research to improve the metabolic effects of insulin. This project will integrate medicinal chemistry with proteomics and metabolic biology to identify the cellular targets and their mechanism of action.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100078
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
Establishment of a comprehensive regional biophysical analysis facility. Interactions between molecules are needed for cells to function correctly. This facility will permit comprehensive molecular characterisation as well as research into the fundamentals of how molecules interact.