Investigating Post-transcriptional Gene Regulation In Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$645,205.00
Summary
In this program, I will enhance our understanding of cancer gene regulation and provide novel avenues for the treatment of aggressive tumours. Using own data and that from collaborators, I will determine patterns of gene regulation in blood cancers and identify markers that predict disease outcome. I aim to understand how gene regulation can transform healthy cells into tumour cells and whether personalised treatment can kill tumour cells more effectively and prevent relapse and metastasis.
Protecting cereal grain development at high temperatures. This project aims to investigate new temperature-responsive factors that regulate cereal grain development to protect grain production under heat stress. The new research will leverage international collaborations with access to cutting-edge genetic and technological resources, and refine novel X-ray imaging techniques in Australia, to observe how temperature affects flower structure and function in barley and rice. Favourable mutations t ....Protecting cereal grain development at high temperatures. This project aims to investigate new temperature-responsive factors that regulate cereal grain development to protect grain production under heat stress. The new research will leverage international collaborations with access to cutting-edge genetic and technological resources, and refine novel X-ray imaging techniques in Australia, to observe how temperature affects flower structure and function in barley and rice. Favourable mutations that optimise plant yield and fitness will be defined and explored in other, more complex, cereals such as wheat. Expected outcomes will be fundamental breakthroughs in understanding how plants respond to, and buffer, the effects of heat to lead to translational breeding strategies that bolster grain yield.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Wall Biology. The ARC Centre for Plant Cell Wall Biology will define the regulatory mechanisms that control molecular, enzymic and cellular processes involved in the synthesis, deposition, re-modelling and depolymerisation of cell wall polysaccharides of cereals and grasses. Plant cell walls represent the world's largest renewable carbon resource, but the regulatory mechanisms responsible for their synthesis and assembly are not understood. Key distinguishi ....ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Wall Biology. The ARC Centre for Plant Cell Wall Biology will define the regulatory mechanisms that control molecular, enzymic and cellular processes involved in the synthesis, deposition, re-modelling and depolymerisation of cell wall polysaccharides of cereals and grasses. Plant cell walls represent the world's largest renewable carbon resource, but the regulatory mechanisms responsible for their synthesis and assembly are not understood. Key distinguishing features of the Centre will be the international, integrative, and multidisciplinary approach towards addressing major questions in plant biology, its strategy to leverage ARC funding, and its linkages with potential national and international end-users of the fundamental scientific discoveries.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL180100139
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,973,547.00
Summary
Processes of plant growth that impact agriculture and horticulture. The project aims to discover the genes and processes that control plant shoot architecture, which is a major driver of yield in field, horticultural and forestry crops. Shoot branching is the result of the complex interplay of genes, environment and crop management. By investigating cellular processes governing growth and development, as well as physiology and molecular genetics, this project will enhance Australian capacity and ....Processes of plant growth that impact agriculture and horticulture. The project aims to discover the genes and processes that control plant shoot architecture, which is a major driver of yield in field, horticultural and forestry crops. Shoot branching is the result of the complex interplay of genes, environment and crop management. By investigating cellular processes governing growth and development, as well as physiology and molecular genetics, this project will enhance Australian capacity and multidisciplinary innovation. An improved understanding of shoot branching and how it may be manipulated will improve our knowledge of plant sciences that could contribute to agricultural expansion and food security in Australia and internationally.Read moreRead less
Discovering the activity of novel CLE peptide hormones that regulate legume nodulation. This project aims to functionally characterise novel peptide hormones that regulate the number of nitrogen-fixing root nodules that legumes form. Findings will enhance the current nodulation model and could help to alleviate our reliance on expensive, often polluting, nitrogen-fertilisers by helping to optimise the nodulation process in agriculture.
Discovery of the systemic regulator of legume nodulation. This project aims to discover the novel, shoot-derived factor that legumes produce to regulate the number of nitrogen-fixing root nodules they form. Outcomes will enhance the current nodulation model and could help optimise the process in agriculture, which would help alleviate current reliance on nitrogen-fertilisers that are expensive and pollute.
Monolayer crystallization of membrane proteins. Membrane proteins comprise 25-40% of all proteins and conduct a myriad of finely tuned reactions in every cell. Despite their importance and diversity only ~40 membrane protein structures have been solved, due to the difficulty of producing high quality 2D and 3D crystals. We propose to develop and use the new monolayer crystallization technique, which employs a lipid monolayer as a crystallization template for 2D crystal production. A number of ....Monolayer crystallization of membrane proteins. Membrane proteins comprise 25-40% of all proteins and conduct a myriad of finely tuned reactions in every cell. Despite their importance and diversity only ~40 membrane protein structures have been solved, due to the difficulty of producing high quality 2D and 3D crystals. We propose to develop and use the new monolayer crystallization technique, which employs a lipid monolayer as a crystallization template for 2D crystal production. A number of important membrane proteins are available for these structural studies including ABC transporters, Caveolin-3 and the NS1 protein of Dengue virus, all of which are difficult to crystallize using conventional techniques.Read moreRead less
Structure of the essential Commander protein trafficking complex. This project aims to provide a fundamental understanding of the structure and function of Commander, a large protein complex that controls export and recycling of internalised receptors. Commander is highly conserved throughout evolution and is essential for maintaining the homeostasis of hundreds of transmembrane receptors required for cell function and survival, regulating processes as diverse as lipid metabolism and cell adhesi ....Structure of the essential Commander protein trafficking complex. This project aims to provide a fundamental understanding of the structure and function of Commander, a large protein complex that controls export and recycling of internalised receptors. Commander is highly conserved throughout evolution and is essential for maintaining the homeostasis of hundreds of transmembrane receptors required for cell function and survival, regulating processes as diverse as lipid metabolism and cell adhesion. Despite advances in the understanding of Commander function, little is known about how Commander is assembled and interacts with other essential proteins. This project will use multidisciplinary cellular and structural biology approaches to reveal the architecture of Commander at an atomic level.Read moreRead less
Lipid droplet membrane tethers at atomic resolution. Eukaryotic cells are distinguished by the presence of membrane-bound compartments called organelles. This project will use structural biology to determine how essential proteins called sorting nexins (SNXs) regulate membrane interactions required for lipid droplet formation. These interactions are essential for life, controlling protein and lipid homeostasis needed for cell survival. The major outcome of this proposal will be a fundamental und ....Lipid droplet membrane tethers at atomic resolution. Eukaryotic cells are distinguished by the presence of membrane-bound compartments called organelles. This project will use structural biology to determine how essential proteins called sorting nexins (SNXs) regulate membrane interactions required for lipid droplet formation. These interactions are essential for life, controlling protein and lipid homeostasis needed for cell survival. The major outcome of this proposal will be a fundamental understanding of how SNXs control this process, and the work will significantly strengthen our international collaboration in this emerging area. The knowledge has potential future translation in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders where dysregulation of these proteins is known to cause disease.Read moreRead less
Control of selective microRNA release via exosomes and microvesicles. This project aims to improve our understanding of cell-to-cell communication. Cells release genetic material including microRNAs in lipid membrane-enclosed vesicles (called exosomes and microvesicles) to alter neighbouring and distant cells. Recent research shows that the contents of these vesicles are regulated by cell state, however, the molecular mechanisms are not yet known. This project will investigate the hypothesis tha ....Control of selective microRNA release via exosomes and microvesicles. This project aims to improve our understanding of cell-to-cell communication. Cells release genetic material including microRNAs in lipid membrane-enclosed vesicles (called exosomes and microvesicles) to alter neighbouring and distant cells. Recent research shows that the contents of these vesicles are regulated by cell state, however, the molecular mechanisms are not yet known. This project will investigate the hypothesis that changes in the RNA-binding protein composition of cholesterol-rich membranes mediate the selection of miRNA loaded in the vesicles. This knowledge may increase our understanding of mechanisms of disease because this mode of cell-to-cell communication is disrupted or hijacked in pathologies. Future translation in diverse applications may improve human, animal and plant health.Read moreRead less