Activation of invasion in Toxoplasma. Host cell invasion is critical for the establishment and maintenance of infection by the single-celled parasite Toxoplasma gondii, the causative agent of Toxoplasmosis. This project will use the latest molecular techniques to understand how invasion is activated and will define a new set of drug targets to treat Toxoplasmosis and related diseases.
Dynamic regulation of cell signalling scaffolds. This project aims to determine how cells utilise scaffold-type signalling proteins to orchestrate, over time, diverse cellular responses critical for normal development and physiology. The project expects to generate fundamental new knowledge in cell and synthetic biology with broad relevance that will foster establishment of new international linkages and networks. This research should benefit the biotechnology sector by identifying strategies fo ....Dynamic regulation of cell signalling scaffolds. This project aims to determine how cells utilise scaffold-type signalling proteins to orchestrate, over time, diverse cellular responses critical for normal development and physiology. The project expects to generate fundamental new knowledge in cell and synthetic biology with broad relevance that will foster establishment of new international linkages and networks. This research should benefit the biotechnology sector by identifying strategies for engineering scaffolds with desired biological outputs, with applications in areas such as large-scale cell production, immunotherapy, wound healing and regenerative medicine.Read moreRead less
How Do Mutations In Autophagy Receptors Cause FTD And ALS?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$566,966.00
Summary
As cells age the "garbage disposal" process within cells slows down, becoming less functional. In inherited forms of dementia the genes involved often code for damaged proteins that "clog up" the disposal system or directly affect the “garbage men”. These defective garbage men genes include SQSTM1/p62, OPTN, VCP and UBQLN2. We will determine how these defective genes lead to build up of garbage in neuronal cells and how leads to disease.
Skeletal Muscle Signal Transduction Related To Exercise, Metabolic Disease And Human Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$557,298.00
Summary
Exercise is one of the best prevention and treatment strategies for all major human diseases. Despite these well documented advantages, we still do not know exactly how exercise produces these benefits at the molecular level. A comprehensive understanding of this will lead to new avenues to treat many diseases. This project will monitor thousands of molecular changes that occur in human muscle biopsies following exercise and create the world’s first molecular blueprint of exercise.
The cell is the building block of life. This proposal focusses on the surface of the cell, the plasma membrane, and specialised structures called caveolae that are an abundant feature of animal cells. Altered caveolae are a feature of many human disease conditions. In this proposal we will address the function of caveolae. We will test the idea that proteins are released from caveolae into the cell when cells are stressed forming a novel signalling pathway disrupted in disease.
Studies Of Cullin 5 Deficiency For Novel Insights Into SOCS Redundancy And Specificity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$658,571.00
Summary
Cytokines are hormones that regulate blood cell production and function. The research proposed in this application focuses on the biological roles and biochemical mechanisms of action of an important family of proteins that control the actions of cytokines, thereby allowing their beneficial effects in coordinating oxygen transport, blood clotting and responses to infection, while preventing the harmful effects of excess responses, such as myeloproliferative diseases or autoimmunity.
Novel models to advance our understanding of mammalian development. This project aims to add to the understanding of cellular processes underpinning mammalian development. Protein phosphorylation is a dynamic process regulated by both protein kinases and protein phosphatases. While the role of kinases in cellular functions are well defined, the roles of protein phosphatases are not well understood. Using a range of laboratory models this project aims to discover the function of the phosphatase P ....Novel models to advance our understanding of mammalian development. This project aims to add to the understanding of cellular processes underpinning mammalian development. Protein phosphorylation is a dynamic process regulated by both protein kinases and protein phosphatases. While the role of kinases in cellular functions are well defined, the roles of protein phosphatases are not well understood. Using a range of laboratory models this project aims to discover the function of the phosphatase PP2A, in cell proliferation, survival, differentiation and DNA damage repair. The anticipated outcome is an improved understanding of all stages of mammalian development. This will provide significant benefits in the biotechnology, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.Read moreRead less
Tyrosine Kinase Signalling Networks In Pancreatic Cancer: Relevance To Therapeutic Response And Biomarker Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$789,934.00
Summary
Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease characterized by a lack of effective treatments and biomarkers that identify the best way to treat individual patients. By identifying a novel basis for pancreatic cancer subclassification using cutting edge techniques, we aim to identify therapeutic strategies that can be directed to pancreatic cancer patients in a subgroup-selective manner to ultimately lead to reductions in the morbidity and mortality associated with this devastating disease.
Modulating T cell responses with novel Lck activating compounds. Modulating T cell responses with novel Lck activating compounds. This project aims to research T cell receptor (TCR) signal initiation and network plasticity and identify uses for drugs that affect the kinase Lck. The TCR signalling network has considerable plasticity so that modulation of one molecule (here the drug target is Lck) can have non-linear effects on T cell function. This project intends to use novel drugs to understand ....Modulating T cell responses with novel Lck activating compounds. Modulating T cell responses with novel Lck activating compounds. This project aims to research T cell receptor (TCR) signal initiation and network plasticity and identify uses for drugs that affect the kinase Lck. The TCR signalling network has considerable plasticity so that modulation of one molecule (here the drug target is Lck) can have non-linear effects on T cell function. This project intends to use novel drugs to understand how the T cell network can be exploited to control both the magnitude and quality of the T cell responses. This research is expected to aid the design of immune-modulating drugs.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100163
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,000.00
Summary
Single molecule imaging laboratory. Single molecule imaging laboratory: The goal of the project is to establish a single molecule imaging laboratory to close the gap between structural imaging and cellular imaging. Utilising the expertise of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, the aim of the project is to design, build and apply three microscopes that go beyond the current commercial solutions for single molecule localisation microscopy such as Photo-Activation Localisati ....Single molecule imaging laboratory. Single molecule imaging laboratory: The goal of the project is to establish a single molecule imaging laboratory to close the gap between structural imaging and cellular imaging. Utilising the expertise of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, the aim of the project is to design, build and apply three microscopes that go beyond the current commercial solutions for single molecule localisation microscopy such as Photo-Activation Localisation Microscopy (PALM) and Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM) and perform single molecule imaging: deep inside cells and tissue.The facility will have a fast acquisition rate to monitor highly dynamic molecular events, and improved precision to image molecules and complexes in intact cells with less than or equal to one nanometre resolution. There is currently no comparable imaging facility in the world.Read moreRead less