Affinity-based Profiling Of Bacterial Fe(III)-siderophore Receptors: Design Strategies For Antibiotics And Iron Overload
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$275,016.00
Summary
In order to establish an infection, bacteria compete with the host for iron, which is in scarce supply. To access iron, bacteria produce compounds called siderophores which bind iron strongly. The iron-siderophore complex, which is unique to each bacterium, is recognised by specific receptors at the bacterial cell-surface and imported for use. In this project, we are using modified siderophores as platforms for bacteria-specific drug design with the aim of producing new antibiotics.
Improving Muscular Dystrophy By Targeting The ADAMTS5 Metalloproteinase
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$658,571.00
Summary
Muscular dystrophy is a devastating childhood disorder. There is no cure and no effective therapy to stop the disease progressing to early death. Our pilot data show that muscular dystrophy in a mouse model is dramatically improved when the Adamts5 gene is inactivated. ADAMTS5 is an enzyme that remodels the extracellular matrix around cells. This suggests that inhibiting ADAMTS5 may be a new way to treat muscular dystrophy. We will test this idea in mice with muscular dystrophy
Structure And Interactions Of A Disordered Malaria Surface Protein: Implications For Antigenicity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$511,020.00
Summary
Malaria is responsible for around 2 million deaths annually, many in children under 5 years of age. Merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP2) from Plasmodium falciparum is being developed as a vaccine candidate. We will investigate the structure of MSP2 in various environments, including when bound to inhibitory antibodies. Key goals are to understand how the disordered structure of MSP2 affects its interaction with the host immune system and how that information can be used to design better vaccines.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is the most common form of dementia, accounting for between 50-70% of all cases. There is general agreement that current treatments for AD/dementia are inadequate so new treatment strategies are desperately needed. I am addressing these challenges by developing new technologies to generate next generation treatments for AD.
Dynamic Imaging Of The Immune Response In Lymph Nodes By Two-photon Microscopy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$79,514.00
Summary
Despite the enormous contribution of vaccination to the prevention of human disease and suffering, little is known about the laws that govern the selection and survival of B cells during the response to infection or vaccination. Our research projects aim to integrate several cutting-edge technologies, including two-photon microscopy, in order to understand the cellular and molecular basis of immunity.
This Program Grant brings together a world-leading team of experts to elucidate mechanisms that protect most people from infection by making antibodies, and their failure caused by genes or infections like influenza or HIV. The team will determine mechanisms that protect most people from making antibodies against normal parts of our body, whose failure causes numerous autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis. The team will develop ways to engineer better antibodies.
Exploitation Of Bacterial Transcription Initiation As A Target For New Antimicrobials
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$540,356.00
Summary
Antibiotic resistant infections from 'superbugs' are a major health problem. We will exploit information we have gathered on the machinery that copies genetic information into a message to discover chemical compounds that can be used for the development of new antibiotics with a novel mechanism of action.