Functional Genomic Analysis of Exported DNAJ Molecules in the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is not only a global health problem, but also affects countries surrounding Australia like PNG and Indonesia, reducing the region's stability and prosperity. Environmental changes and increased mobility of people (eg. aid and security personnel) make Australia itself more prone to malaria. The project will translate recent genomic data into functional insights using frontier technology t ....Functional Genomic Analysis of Exported DNAJ Molecules in the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is not only a global health problem, but also affects countries surrounding Australia like PNG and Indonesia, reducing the region's stability and prosperity. Environmental changes and increased mobility of people (eg. aid and security personnel) make Australia itself more prone to malaria. The project will translate recent genomic data into functional insights using frontier technology to identify new intervention targets for P. falciparum infection. Developing novel targets is mandated by humanity, and also to safeguard Australia's region against the social and economical implication of this disease. An Australian developed intervention would increase the global visibility of its science, leading to increased investments.Read moreRead less
The Role of High-Frequency Antigenic Variation in The Pathogenesis of Mycoplasma infection. The main goal of the proposed project is to understand the molecular mechanisms of phase/antigenic variation and its effects on mycoplasma pathogenesis. In this context I will use the well-characterised Mycoplasma synoviae haemagglutinin, MSPA, to establish the role of its phase-variable expression in the type and extent of M. synoviae disease. Additionally, the relationship between MSPA phase variation a ....The Role of High-Frequency Antigenic Variation in The Pathogenesis of Mycoplasma infection. The main goal of the proposed project is to understand the molecular mechanisms of phase/antigenic variation and its effects on mycoplasma pathogenesis. In this context I will use the well-characterised Mycoplasma synoviae haemagglutinin, MSPA, to establish the role of its phase-variable expression in the type and extent of M. synoviae disease. Additionally, the relationship between MSPA phase variation and gene rearrangements in the MSPB-encoding gene will be elucidated. The results will contribute to our understanding of the pathogenesis of bacterial disease and of the evolution of pathogenic mechanisms in bacterial pathogens.Read moreRead less
Red Cell Polymorphisms and Malaria. Certain red blood cell disorders have been associated with innate protection against malaria infection. However many early studies were inconclusive. We intend to carry out a comprehensive study to investigate the effect of red blood cell differences on the invasion and/or growth of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro using improved techniques. Identification of red cell components involved in interaction with P.falciparum would give a better understanding of host ....Red Cell Polymorphisms and Malaria. Certain red blood cell disorders have been associated with innate protection against malaria infection. However many early studies were inconclusive. We intend to carry out a comprehensive study to investigate the effect of red blood cell differences on the invasion and/or growth of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro using improved techniques. Identification of red cell components involved in interaction with P.falciparum would give a better understanding of host parasite interactions which may in turn suggest novel approaches or pathways to persue. This may eventually lead to the development of novel therapeutics.
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Biogenesis of red blood cell membrane modifications by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is not only a major global health problem, but also affects countries neighbouring Australia like Indonesia, reducing the region's stability and prosperity. Environmental changes and increased mobility of people (aid and military personnel) make Australia itself more prone to malaria. The project will translate recent genomic data into functional insights using frontier technology to identi ....Biogenesis of red blood cell membrane modifications by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is not only a major global health problem, but also affects countries neighbouring Australia like Indonesia, reducing the region's stability and prosperity. Environmental changes and increased mobility of people (aid and military personnel) make Australia itself more prone to malaria. The project will translate recent genomic data into functional insights using frontier technology to identify new intervention targets for Plasmodium falciparum infection. Developing novel targets is mandated by humanity, but also to safeguard Australia's region against the social and economic implications of this disease. An Australian developed intervention would increase the global visibility of its science, leading to increased investments.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100165
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$250,000.00
Summary
Electron microscopy cryopreparation facility for biomedical research. The proposed cryopreparation facility will allow cell and molecular biologists and material scientists in the region to prepare samples for ultrastructural research not currently possible due to insufficient local resources, and will thus significantly boost their research. The facility will support a wide range of world class medical and material scientists, including those visiting the Australian Synchrotron, whose research ....Electron microscopy cryopreparation facility for biomedical research. The proposed cryopreparation facility will allow cell and molecular biologists and material scientists in the region to prepare samples for ultrastructural research not currently possible due to insufficient local resources, and will thus significantly boost their research. The facility will support a wide range of world class medical and material scientists, including those visiting the Australian Synchrotron, whose research in health sciences and advanced materials characterisation facilitates the goals of promoting and maintaining good health and frontier technologies. The instrumentation will enhance training capacity in the region and provide young Australian scientists with direct experience of modern electron microscopy techniques.Read moreRead less
Dissecting the Parameters for the Generation of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Immunity. This project aims to identify mechanisms by which antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells, prime CD8+ T cells to generate effector and memory populations at the molecular level. The specific intention is to identify reagents capable of licensing dendritic cells, and examine the down-stream gene products/pathways generated by these signals using microarray analyses. Such knowledge will provide new insight i ....Dissecting the Parameters for the Generation of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Immunity. This project aims to identify mechanisms by which antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells, prime CD8+ T cells to generate effector and memory populations at the molecular level. The specific intention is to identify reagents capable of licensing dendritic cells, and examine the down-stream gene products/pathways generated by these signals using microarray analyses. Such knowledge will provide new insight into CTL generation by providing greater understanding of how multicellular systems function both at the cellular and molecular level.Read moreRead less
Imaging of immune responses to pathogens in vivo. This proposal represents an excellent opportunity for Australian science to participate in state-of-the-art research into the immune system and to be internationally competitive with the best researchers in the field. By combining advanced microscopy techniques with well developed biological models used by researchers at the University of Melbourne, this project will greatly improve our understanding of the dynamic interactions that occur betwee ....Imaging of immune responses to pathogens in vivo. This proposal represents an excellent opportunity for Australian science to participate in state-of-the-art research into the immune system and to be internationally competitive with the best researchers in the field. By combining advanced microscopy techniques with well developed biological models used by researchers at the University of Melbourne, this project will greatly improve our understanding of the dynamic interactions that occur between cells of the immune system during infectious diseases. The insight provided by this project will facilitate the design of better vaccines for protection against diseases, including influenza.Read moreRead less
Studies on peripheral T cell memory. Success in vaccination depends on the ability of the immune system to remember prior encounter with an infectious agent. This immune memory appears to work well for certain infections but not others, essentially meaning that for these diseases, effective vaccines remain unavailable. This application describes experiments based on a new leukocyte or white blood cell population that has been overlooked in studies of immune memory. The work involves identifyin ....Studies on peripheral T cell memory. Success in vaccination depends on the ability of the immune system to remember prior encounter with an infectious agent. This immune memory appears to work well for certain infections but not others, essentially meaning that for these diseases, effective vaccines remain unavailable. This application describes experiments based on a new leukocyte or white blood cell population that has been overlooked in studies of immune memory. The work involves identifying how they are formed and how they behave within the body. This work will therefore contribute to the development and production of new-generation vaccines to these so far uncontrollable infectious diseases.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989226
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,000.00
Summary
Multi-photon imaging for infection, immunity, and self recognition. This proposal will address a gap in our imaging capabilities, allowing us to visualise the movement of immune cells and infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses within living tissues. This will immensely improve our capacity to understand interactions between the immune system, invading organisms and the rest of our body. The intravital imaging system will provide novel insights into how the immune system works, which will ....Multi-photon imaging for infection, immunity, and self recognition. This proposal will address a gap in our imaging capabilities, allowing us to visualise the movement of immune cells and infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses within living tissues. This will immensely improve our capacity to understand interactions between the immune system, invading organisms and the rest of our body. The intravital imaging system will provide novel insights into how the immune system works, which will benefit the design of vaccines, the treatment of cancer, and our understanding of allergy. This state-of-the-art facility will also provide vital training in an emerging technology that will have application in many areas of biology.
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Understanding the T cell repertoire in health and disease. Immune recognition of viruses usually involves a large number of different 'killer T cells' that kill cells infected by virus. However, during prolonged infection or in the elderly the number of different killer T cells that recognise the virus is greatly reduced. This reduction in the diversity of the immune response allows the virus to avoid immune recognition, and leads to more severe infection. We aim to understand how diversity is ....Understanding the T cell repertoire in health and disease. Immune recognition of viruses usually involves a large number of different 'killer T cells' that kill cells infected by virus. However, during prolonged infection or in the elderly the number of different killer T cells that recognise the virus is greatly reduced. This reduction in the diversity of the immune response allows the virus to avoid immune recognition, and leads to more severe infection. We aim to understand how diversity is generated in the immune response, and how it becomes narrowed with age or prolonged infection. This information can be used to design vaccines for persistent infections such as HIV, and to improve immune control of infection in the elderly.Read moreRead less