Detection and viability of waterborne pathogens using a gut-on-chip. This project aims to resolve a significant problem for water utilities. Microbial pathogens Cryptosporidium, norovirus and adenovirus are the main public health concern for drinking water in developed nations. Water monitoring is limited by the lack of fast, reliable detection methods and viability assays for these pathogens. This project will use a novel gut-on-a-chip to develop for the first time rapid infectivity assays for ....Detection and viability of waterborne pathogens using a gut-on-chip. This project aims to resolve a significant problem for water utilities. Microbial pathogens Cryptosporidium, norovirus and adenovirus are the main public health concern for drinking water in developed nations. Water monitoring is limited by the lack of fast, reliable detection methods and viability assays for these pathogens. This project will use a novel gut-on-a-chip to develop for the first time rapid infectivity assays for Cryptosporidium, norovirus and adenovirus. Significant benefits include improved diagnostics and water disinfection assays, improved water treatment and reduced costs with global impact.Read moreRead less
Transport and innate immune properties of DNA in bacterial nano-sized vesicles. All types of living organisms release nano-sized membrane vesicles or “blebs” which they use for intercellular communication and transport of molecules. This project will determine how bacteria package DNA within these vesicles, how this DNA is transported into host cells and how it triggers immune responses in these cells.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100025
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,000.00
Summary
A high-throughput screening and sequencing facility for single cell genomics. Genomics has revolutionised biology, but for most microorganisms this revolution has not arrived because very few can be grown in pure culture. The single cell genomics facility will address this major bottleneck by allowing as little as a single cell in a clinical or environmental setting to be sequenced thereby accelerating new discoveries and outcomes.
Mosquito-borne viruses - how they cause disease and novel approaches to prevention. In Australia, Ross River virus (RRV) is the most common insect borne virus that affects human health. There were more than 60,000 confirmed cases of RRV between 1993 and 2008. While not fatal, the disease is responsible for significant morbidity that has both social and economic costs for the individual, their family and the community. This project has several national benefits. It will elucidate whether there is ....Mosquito-borne viruses - how they cause disease and novel approaches to prevention. In Australia, Ross River virus (RRV) is the most common insect borne virus that affects human health. There were more than 60,000 confirmed cases of RRV between 1993 and 2008. While not fatal, the disease is responsible for significant morbidity that has both social and economic costs for the individual, their family and the community. This project has several national benefits. It will elucidate whether there is an association between RRV strain and the severity of disease and if there are human factors that affect the seriousness of symptoms. Knowledge of both of these could provide new avenues for the design of prevention and treatment strategies.Read moreRead less
An interdisciplinary approach to host-pathogen interactions in infection. This project aims to understand the molecular and cellular interactions between host and parasite, as well as providing a quantitative framework for analysing infection dynamics in other systems. Infection involves a complex interaction between the host and the parasite, which is very dynamic and therefore difficult to study by traditional sampling and analysis approaches. This project has combined mathematical modelling w ....An interdisciplinary approach to host-pathogen interactions in infection. This project aims to understand the molecular and cellular interactions between host and parasite, as well as providing a quantitative framework for analysing infection dynamics in other systems. Infection involves a complex interaction between the host and the parasite, which is very dynamic and therefore difficult to study by traditional sampling and analysis approaches. This project has combined mathematical modelling with a novel experimental protocol to allow the study of kinetics of parasite replication in vivo. Expected outcomes will provide significant benefits, such as new avenues for vaccination and immune intervention.Read moreRead less
Translating pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data to better design new drugs for the treatment of Trypanosoma cruzi infection. New drugs to treat T. cruzi infection are urgently needed, however their design has been hampered by an incomplete understanding of complex host-parasite interactions, inadequate in vitro and in vivo tools to rigorously define activity during drug discovery, and a poor appreciation of concentration/effect relationships. This project aims to develop new and much needed ....Translating pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data to better design new drugs for the treatment of Trypanosoma cruzi infection. New drugs to treat T. cruzi infection are urgently needed, however their design has been hampered by an incomplete understanding of complex host-parasite interactions, inadequate in vitro and in vivo tools to rigorously define activity during drug discovery, and a poor appreciation of concentration/effect relationships. This project aims to develop new and much needed in vitro methods to better define the kinetic and dynamic activity of new drug candidates, and will provide a rational basis for translating this information into lengthy animal models of T. cruzi infection. The outcome aims to be rationally designed drug candidates that are available in a shorter period of time and are suitable for further development.Read moreRead less
New guardians of the mucosa: Molecular characterisation of M cell biology. We aim to completely define the cellular and molecular biology of gut and lung M cells for the first time. We will elucidate how they develop, are regulated and function at a molecular level, and how M cells maintain normal gut and lung tissues and induce immune responses to protect against microbial challenges. In the future, the new insights will be essential pre-requisites for the development of mucosal-based intervent ....New guardians of the mucosa: Molecular characterisation of M cell biology. We aim to completely define the cellular and molecular biology of gut and lung M cells for the first time. We will elucidate how they develop, are regulated and function at a molecular level, and how M cells maintain normal gut and lung tissues and induce immune responses to protect against microbial challenges. In the future, the new insights will be essential pre-requisites for the development of mucosal-based interventions and vaccines that protect the gut and lung from infectious and inflammatory issues. The harnessing of effective immune responses to control such challenges, are of enormous fundamental and long-standing biological interest, and are amongst the most important areas of current scientific research.Read moreRead less