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
Signalling pathways for sexual differentiation of apicomplexan parasites. This project aims to study the sexual development of apicomplexan parasites, which cause major diseases in humans, livestock and wildlife, including malaria. Only sexually differentiated cells can survive in the mosquito vector and hence this development is essential for the parasite's life-cycle. This project will employ a new approach that separates female from male parasites, thus enabling new information to be gleaned ....Signalling pathways for sexual differentiation of apicomplexan parasites. This project aims to study the sexual development of apicomplexan parasites, which cause major diseases in humans, livestock and wildlife, including malaria. Only sexually differentiated cells can survive in the mosquito vector and hence this development is essential for the parasite's life-cycle. This project will employ a new approach that separates female from male parasites, thus enabling new information to be gleaned about the development of these parasites. The expected outcomes are an understanding of the mechanisms of sexual differentiation and a functional characterisation of novel sex-specific molecules. This will provide significant benefits, such as pivotal prerequisites for new approaches to parasite intervention.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
The cellular basis of sex-specific responses to virus infection. This project aims to explore how the sex of cells impacts virus infections in culture. To date, the sex of cells in culture has been overlooked as an important source of biological variability, but may be found to affect basic science through to anti-viral drug discovery. Using a model in which a virus can be adapted to grow better in cells of a single sex, this project expects to generate new knowledge about how sex differences im ....The cellular basis of sex-specific responses to virus infection. This project aims to explore how the sex of cells impacts virus infections in culture. To date, the sex of cells in culture has been overlooked as an important source of biological variability, but may be found to affect basic science through to anti-viral drug discovery. Using a model in which a virus can be adapted to grow better in cells of a single sex, this project expects to generate new knowledge about how sex differences impact virus-host interactions. This project expects to provide new insights into sex-based differences in how cells detect and respond to virus infection, and the extent to which the sex of cells impacts viruses in general.Read moreRead less
Aerosol glassy states promote global warming, airborne toxins and pathogens. This project will improve our understanding of the role played by airborne particles in global climate, pollution and the transmission of influenza, corona virus and the common cold. It will do so by revealing the wider importance of "glassy states" of matter recently revealed in atmospheric aerosols. Glassy states are highly unpredictable quasi solids that abruptly form, interrupting the transition of a liquid to a sol ....Aerosol glassy states promote global warming, airborne toxins and pathogens. This project will improve our understanding of the role played by airborne particles in global climate, pollution and the transmission of influenza, corona virus and the common cold. It will do so by revealing the wider importance of "glassy states" of matter recently revealed in atmospheric aerosols. Glassy states are highly unpredictable quasi solids that abruptly form, interrupting the transition of a liquid to a solid. This interruption invalidates equilibrium assumptions of models of droplets as cloud nuclei and infection vectors. We will develop and validate a numerical tool for predicting glassy state formation and its impact in broad classes of aerosol that include particles critical to cloud formation and infection transmission.Read moreRead less
Chemo-sensation in Ascaris infection. This project aims to show the role of chemo-sensation as an equally important target for worm control, and explore pathways to prevent infection. Parasitic worms cost global food/textile industry more than $100 billion dollars per year, and cause disease in more than 1 billion people and domesticated animals world-wide. This project will use a combination of imaging, systems biology, chemical biology and microfluidic methods to provide significant benefits, ....Chemo-sensation in Ascaris infection. This project aims to show the role of chemo-sensation as an equally important target for worm control, and explore pathways to prevent infection. Parasitic worms cost global food/textile industry more than $100 billion dollars per year, and cause disease in more than 1 billion people and domesticated animals world-wide. This project will use a combination of imaging, systems biology, chemical biology and microfluidic methods to provide significant benefits, such as exploring Ascaris chemo-sensation during larval migration, identify the key host queues and parasite genes regulating this process, and probe helminth chemosensation as a novel target for anti-parasitic treatments.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL210100258
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,331,707.00
Summary
Understanding how bacteria adapt and function in the complex gut ecosystem. This project aims to investigate the role of the gut ecosystem in defining the structure and function of microbes. Given that one of the current challenges in microbiology is our inability to study individual microbes directly from complex, multi-microbial niches, this project aims to develop multidisciplinary methods to study microbes in their native state, to understand how they adapt to live in the gut. This understan ....Understanding how bacteria adapt and function in the complex gut ecosystem. This project aims to investigate the role of the gut ecosystem in defining the structure and function of microbes. Given that one of the current challenges in microbiology is our inability to study individual microbes directly from complex, multi-microbial niches, this project aims to develop multidisciplinary methods to study microbes in their native state, to understand how they adapt to live in the gut. This understanding should provide fundamental insights into adaptation mechanisms that lead to bacterial proliferation, disease and antibiotic resistance. As well as enhancing interdisciplinary collaborations, this work should provide economic benefits by contributing to improved gut health of animals, and more efficient food production.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101832
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$425,941.00
Summary
Mechanisms of immune protection for infectious laryngotracheitis virus. This project aims to investigate the mechanisms of immune protection against infectious laryngotracheitis virus. This will be achieved by investigating the role of local and systemic immunity and the immune cells associated with long-term protection against disease. The mechanisms of protection against this virus remain unknown which impairs the development of efficacious vaccines. Expected outcomes of this project are a mor ....Mechanisms of immune protection for infectious laryngotracheitis virus. This project aims to investigate the mechanisms of immune protection against infectious laryngotracheitis virus. This will be achieved by investigating the role of local and systemic immunity and the immune cells associated with long-term protection against disease. The mechanisms of protection against this virus remain unknown which impairs the development of efficacious vaccines. Expected outcomes of this project are a more rational approach to vaccination resulting in the generation of more effective and safer vaccination strategies that should benefit our important poultry industry. Additionally, the new methodologies and knowledge on mucosal immune markers could be utilised for the study of other pathogens.Read moreRead less
Creation of a super-resolution map of the bacterial cytokinesis machinery . Cell division is a fundamental process essential for life. Yet our understanding of this process on a molecular level is limited, mostly hampered by the inability to visualize the different components of the division machinery inside these tiny cells with adequate resolution. To overcome this barrier, capitalizing on recent advancements in imaging and molecular technologies combined with innovative engineering, this proj ....Creation of a super-resolution map of the bacterial cytokinesis machinery . Cell division is a fundamental process essential for life. Yet our understanding of this process on a molecular level is limited, mostly hampered by the inability to visualize the different components of the division machinery inside these tiny cells with adequate resolution. To overcome this barrier, capitalizing on recent advancements in imaging and molecular technologies combined with innovative engineering, this project aims to create a spatial and temporal map of the division machinery inside bacterial cells at unprecedented resolution. The expected outcomes are new knowledge on the mechanism of bacterial division and technological advances in biological imaging, informing applications in a wide variety of sectors.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101300
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$423,711.00
Summary
Lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophage extracellular traps in host defence. The innate immune system is the first line of defence against invading microbes. Macrophages are key innate immune cells that deploy antimicrobial responses to clear infection and restore health. There are many critical unanswered questions on the molecular mechanisms that drive macrophage inflammatory and antimicrobial pathways. This project aims to elucidate a novel inflammatory mechanism that immobilises and kills inva ....Lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophage extracellular traps in host defence. The innate immune system is the first line of defence against invading microbes. Macrophages are key innate immune cells that deploy antimicrobial responses to clear infection and restore health. There are many critical unanswered questions on the molecular mechanisms that drive macrophage inflammatory and antimicrobial pathways. This project aims to elucidate a novel inflammatory mechanism that immobilises and kills invading bacteria via newly discovered structures made by dying macrophages called extracellular traps. Insight we gain by interrogating this immune cell signalling pathway, called the non-canonical inflammasome, will add valuable knowledge to our fundamental understanding of mammalian inflammation and anti-microbial responses
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