The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) invites you to participate in a short survey about your
interaction with the ARDC and use of our national research infrastructure and services. The survey will take
approximately 5 minutes and is anonymous. It’s open to anyone who uses our digital research infrastructure
services including Reasearch Link Australia.
We will use the information you provide to improve the national research infrastructure and services we
deliver and to report on user satisfaction to the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research
Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program.
Please take a few minutes to provide your input. The survey closes COB Friday 29 May 2026.
Complete the 5 min survey now by clicking on the link below.
Understanding Cell Signalling As A Basis For New Therapeutics
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$863,910.00
Summary
This fellowship will capitalise on my extensive expertise in determining the three-dimensional atomic structures of proteins to uncover fundamental biological mechanisms in cancer and Alzheimer’s disease as a basis for discovering new drugs to combat these devastating diseases.
Life needs energy. We breathe and eat to make the universal biological fuel adenosine triphosphate (ATP). We turn over our own body weight in ATP every day and imbalances in this process lead to severe disorders such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease as well as to ageing. For any real breakthroughs we need to understand the machinery behind biological energy conversion in molecular detail and this is what my laboratory is aiming to achieve.
My research is aimed at understanding how the structure and dynamics of proteins dictates their function. I use X-ray crystallography to determine the shapes of proteins. Proteins are not static, however - they move in complicated ways, and often their motion is critical to their function (molecular motors, for example). It is very difficult to 'watch' this movement in the lab, so I use computer simulation to try to understand how proteins move.
Peripheral Membrane Proteins In Health And Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$640,210.00
Summary
Peripheral membrane proteins are critical for processes such as cell transport, signaling, neurosecretion and development. As such, their dysfunction can lead to many debilitating diseases including cancer, inflammation and neurodegeneration. This project will establish fundamental new knowledge about how peripheral membrane proteins regulate cell function, how their perturbation or mutation results in human disease, and will inform efforts to target them for future therapeutic outcomes.
Detailed images of protein molecules underpin our understanding of biological function and our attempts to find new medicines to counter biological malfunction. Proteins belonging to the so-called Bcl-2 family determine whether a cell lives or dies and, because failure to die on cue is a hallmark of many cancers, high resolution images of these molecules will reveal new targets for cancer therapies.
Development Of Membrane Protein Structural Biology In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$601,484.00
Summary
Membrane proteins are key components of all living organisms, constituting more than 30% of cellular proteins and representing more than 50% of all drug targets. Despite their medical importance our knowledge of membrane proteins is still extremely limited and requires further technological advances. This work will firmly establish membrane protein crystallography in Australia and provide a basis for training of new researchers in this important field.
Professor Michael Parker from St Vincent’s Institute in Melbourne is one of Australia’s leading structural biologists. He will use his Fellowship to help establish a Cancer Structural Biology Centre to provide early stage drug discovery tools which will aid many of Australia’s leading cancer researchers to translate their basic discoveries into drugs. This work will utilise key major infrastructure investments including the Australian Synchrotron.