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The structural biology of trace metal trafficking across membranes. This project aims to investigate how essential trace element nutrients are recognised and specifically acquired and expelled by bacterial cells. Cells are surrounded by biomembranes that separate and protect them from their environments. Embedded within these membranes are proteins that perform essential functions. In bacteria, membrane proteins are responsible for the uptake and elimination of trace elements that are required f ....The structural biology of trace metal trafficking across membranes. This project aims to investigate how essential trace element nutrients are recognised and specifically acquired and expelled by bacterial cells. Cells are surrounded by biomembranes that separate and protect them from their environments. Embedded within these membranes are proteins that perform essential functions. In bacteria, membrane proteins are responsible for the uptake and elimination of trace elements that are required for survival. This project will investigate the features of integral membrane proteins that allow discrimination between cargo, by defining their three dimensional architectures using X-ray crystallography. This will contribute to the field of membrane protein structural biology and fundamental discoveries in the area of cellular trace element homeostasis and toxicity.Read moreRead less
Understanding the biogenesis of exosomes. This project aims to understand how exosomes are made in human cells. Exosomes are small packages that are released by cells, which mediate communication between cells. Currently, very little is known about how exosomes are made within a cell. This project expects to identify key proteins that are involved in the production of exosomes and to understand exosomes synthesis, thereby expanding our knowledge on how cells regulate communication signals. Disse ....Understanding the biogenesis of exosomes. This project aims to understand how exosomes are made in human cells. Exosomes are small packages that are released by cells, which mediate communication between cells. Currently, very little is known about how exosomes are made within a cell. This project expects to identify key proteins that are involved in the production of exosomes and to understand exosomes synthesis, thereby expanding our knowledge on how cells regulate communication signals. Dissecting how exosomes are produced at the fundamental level will provide significant benefits such as a deeper understanding of how cells maintain normal cellular functions.Read moreRead less
Purinergic signalling in placentation and vascular adaptation in pregnancy. Our traditional understanding of purinergic signalling in the placenta is significantly outdated and incomplete. The placenta is critical for reproduction in all eutherian mammals, delivering critical nutrition and oxygen to the developing fetus. This project aims to define the role of purinergic signalling as a critical mechanism driving placentation and angiogenesis. This is the first study of its kind and will use sop ....Purinergic signalling in placentation and vascular adaptation in pregnancy. Our traditional understanding of purinergic signalling in the placenta is significantly outdated and incomplete. The placenta is critical for reproduction in all eutherian mammals, delivering critical nutrition and oxygen to the developing fetus. This project aims to define the role of purinergic signalling as a critical mechanism driving placentation and angiogenesis. This is the first study of its kind and will use sophisticated models to improve our fundamental understanding and ability to manipulate mammalian reproduction via the purinoreceptors. This proposal builds on my skills and expertise; improving our knowledge of the processes driving placental and vascular morphogenesis and offers important discoveries for reproductive science.Read moreRead less
Exploring protease inhibitors in placental development and maturation. The placenta is essential for reproduction in many diverse species. This project aims to elucidate fundamental contributions of protease inhibitors and the proteases they target to placental development and maturation. It is expected to generate new knowledge around whether SPINTS play a fundamental role in disparate animals that independently derived a placenta, suggesting convergent genetic evolution. The project is expect ....Exploring protease inhibitors in placental development and maturation. The placenta is essential for reproduction in many diverse species. This project aims to elucidate fundamental contributions of protease inhibitors and the proteases they target to placental development and maturation. It is expected to generate new knowledge around whether SPINTS play a fundamental role in disparate animals that independently derived a placenta, suggesting convergent genetic evolution. The project is expected to result in disciplinary collaboration, produce novel models, and promote future projects in many species. The project should result in significant benefits toward advancing knowledge in reproductive biology, have economic and commercial benefits, and further enhance Australia's outstanding reputation in the field.Read moreRead less
Unifying the mechanisms that drive spatial patterns in biological traits. The project aims to resolve the mechanisms that generate spatial variation in biological traits. This project expects to overcome several significant shortcomings of previous investigations by using mechanistic modelling, field-based ecophysiological studies, and macroecological analyses to develop a single, integrated approach to investigating geographic variation in size, colour, life history and reproduction. The expect ....Unifying the mechanisms that drive spatial patterns in biological traits. The project aims to resolve the mechanisms that generate spatial variation in biological traits. This project expects to overcome several significant shortcomings of previous investigations by using mechanistic modelling, field-based ecophysiological studies, and macroecological analyses to develop a single, integrated approach to investigating geographic variation in size, colour, life history and reproduction. The expected outcomes are a comprehensive empirical test of a unified mechanism for spatial trait variation, using a diverse terrestrial vertebrate lineage as a model system. The results of this study should provide a powerful framework for predicting future patterns of biological trait variation under anthropogenic climate change.Read moreRead less
Discovery of new metabolic functions in Plasmodium parasites. This research will provide new understanding about the metabolism of parasites, such as those that cause malaria. These parasites have evolved bespoke metabolic networks to survive in diverse host environments including mosquitos and humans. Previous studies have revealed many unique genes and metabolites in these organisms, but their biochemical function is not known. This project will use state-of-the-art metabolomics and proteomics ....Discovery of new metabolic functions in Plasmodium parasites. This research will provide new understanding about the metabolism of parasites, such as those that cause malaria. These parasites have evolved bespoke metabolic networks to survive in diverse host environments including mosquitos and humans. Previous studies have revealed many unique genes and metabolites in these organisms, but their biochemical function is not known. This project will use state-of-the-art metabolomics and proteomics technology to accurately identify novel metabolites produced by the parasites, and discover the enzymes that are responsible for their synthesis. This work will not only advance our understanding of cellular metabolism, but will provide new opportunities for future biotechnology applications.Read moreRead less
Linking sex-specific adaptation to the evolution of infectious disease. This project aims to examine how differences in the response of males and females to pathogen attack can influence the evolution of infectious disease. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of host-pathogen co-evolution, by integrating approaches from the fields of evolutionary genetics, sexual selection, and epidemiology. Expected outcomes include an enhanced capacity to build interdisciplinary collabor ....Linking sex-specific adaptation to the evolution of infectious disease. This project aims to examine how differences in the response of males and females to pathogen attack can influence the evolution of infectious disease. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of host-pathogen co-evolution, by integrating approaches from the fields of evolutionary genetics, sexual selection, and epidemiology. Expected outcomes include an enhanced capacity to build interdisciplinary collaborations and development of theory that predicts infection dynamics in any species with separate sexes. This is expected to provide significant benefits, such as improving our knowledge of why the sexes differ and potentially providing new avenues for understanding disease outbreaks and preventing population declines or extinctions.Read moreRead less
Discovering nature's photonic devices to control light and heat. This project aims to discover how and why beetles and butterflies reflect near-infrared light. Reflection of near-infrared radiation may be critical to prevent overheating, yet its role in thermal protection remains largely unexplored. The project will integrate evolutionary biology, optical physics and biophysics to reveal the diversity, mechanism, function and evolution of near-infrared signatures. Expected outcomes include the d ....Discovering nature's photonic devices to control light and heat. This project aims to discover how and why beetles and butterflies reflect near-infrared light. Reflection of near-infrared radiation may be critical to prevent overheating, yet its role in thermal protection remains largely unexplored. The project will integrate evolutionary biology, optical physics and biophysics to reveal the diversity, mechanism, function and evolution of near-infrared signatures. Expected outcomes include the discovery of nature’s solutions to selection for both optical (camouflage, communication) and thermal functions. The project will have significant benefits such as creating opportunities to develop biomimetic and bioinspired materials to enhance energy efficiency, which will have significant economic and environmental benefits.Read moreRead less
How does glycosylation shape protein function within Burkholderia? Protein glycosylation, the chemical addition of sugars to proteins, is an important but poorly understood aspect of bacterial physiology. This project aims to build on our recent discovery of the conservation of O-linked glycosylation across the Burkholderia genus to understand the function of this modification. Using cutting-edge proteomics, novel expression systems and molecular approaches this project will reveal the role of g ....How does glycosylation shape protein function within Burkholderia? Protein glycosylation, the chemical addition of sugars to proteins, is an important but poorly understood aspect of bacterial physiology. This project aims to build on our recent discovery of the conservation of O-linked glycosylation across the Burkholderia genus to understand the function of this modification. Using cutting-edge proteomics, novel expression systems and molecular approaches this project will reveal the role of glycosylation in Burkholderia species. This innovative project will provide a comprehensive understanding of how glycosylation contributes to Burkholderia protein function and how these systems can be harnessed for the creation of bespoke glycoconjugatesRead moreRead less
The molecular basis for efficacy at G protein coupled receptors. This project aims to investigate the molecular steps underlying the relationship between sensing by signal-transmitting proteins on the cell surface called G protein-coupled receptors and cellular response. The project aims to build on studies that have sought to understand the primary, molecular basis for this cellular volume control. This project seeks to use these novel approaches to fill this knowledge gap, providing a deeper u ....The molecular basis for efficacy at G protein coupled receptors. This project aims to investigate the molecular steps underlying the relationship between sensing by signal-transmitting proteins on the cell surface called G protein-coupled receptors and cellular response. The project aims to build on studies that have sought to understand the primary, molecular basis for this cellular volume control. This project seeks to use these novel approaches to fill this knowledge gap, providing a deeper understanding of how physiology and medicines work. The project expects to expand fundamental understanding of signal transmission at this receptor class. This project will deliver benefits including expanded basic knowledge and a contribution to future improvements in drug development.Read moreRead less