Breaking through the Gram-negative cell barrier. This project aims to develop fundamental knowledge of the cell envelope in Gram-negative bacteria, which functions as a permeability barrier to small molecules. Combining innovative functional genomics with biochemistry, this project will determine how small molecules can pass across the cell envelope, and the chemical properties that they need to do so. Some Gram-negative bacteria are human pathogens and cause serious infections, whereas others a ....Breaking through the Gram-negative cell barrier. This project aims to develop fundamental knowledge of the cell envelope in Gram-negative bacteria, which functions as a permeability barrier to small molecules. Combining innovative functional genomics with biochemistry, this project will determine how small molecules can pass across the cell envelope, and the chemical properties that they need to do so. Some Gram-negative bacteria are human pathogens and cause serious infections, whereas others are used in biotechnology for biosynthetic chemical production or bioremediation. This project expects to help the future development of new antibiotics and assist in the design of strains to be used in biotechnological applications.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100097
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$675,000.00
Summary
An Automated Protein Nano-Crystallisation Facility. An automated protein nano-crystallisation facility:
The project aims to establish a high throughput protein nanocrystallisation and imaging facility for protein crystallography. Protein crystallography is an important field of biological research, however there are many proteins, such as integral membrane proteins and transient molecular complexes that are more challenging to crystallise. The facility aims to use state-of-the-art imaging and c ....An Automated Protein Nano-Crystallisation Facility. An automated protein nano-crystallisation facility:
The project aims to establish a high throughput protein nanocrystallisation and imaging facility for protein crystallography. Protein crystallography is an important field of biological research, however there are many proteins, such as integral membrane proteins and transient molecular complexes that are more challenging to crystallise. The facility aims to use state-of-the-art imaging and crystallisation techniques, including second order nonlinear imaging of chiral crystals (SONICC) imaging and lipid cubic phase approaches, to enable structural studies to be undertaken on challenging proteins. This information is often used for the rational development of therapeutics. The facility would support cutting-edge biological research In Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120102321
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Exploiting pathogen-host interactions to dissect the mammalian endocytic pathway. Salmonella manipulates the cells of the human body to cause disease. Understanding the molecular machinery that controls this process will provide profound insight into how the bacteria orchestrates this manipulation as well as provide possible avenues for intervention and even cures for diseases like typhoid fever.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101035
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$369,500.00
Summary
Ion regulation in Apicomplexan parasites. This project aims to determine how Apicomplexan parasites regulate their sodium and chloride levels to support the development of new parasite control measures. Apicomplexan parasites cause devastating animal and human diseases. Little is known about the physiology of these parasites, and options for controlling them are few. Apicomplexan parasites must precisely control their internal ion compositions in order to survive, but how they do so is not under ....Ion regulation in Apicomplexan parasites. This project aims to determine how Apicomplexan parasites regulate their sodium and chloride levels to support the development of new parasite control measures. Apicomplexan parasites cause devastating animal and human diseases. Little is known about the physiology of these parasites, and options for controlling them are few. Apicomplexan parasites must precisely control their internal ion compositions in order to survive, but how they do so is not understood. Recent work has identified a unique Apicomplexan sodium transporter and revealed a number of chloride transporter candidates. Using a combination of molecular biology and physiological techniques, this project aims to characterise the Apicomplexan sodium transporter in detail and elucidate the molecular mechanisms of chloride transport.Read moreRead less
Regulating nutrient uptake in intracellular parasites. Parasites impose a major economic and medical burden on human societies. In order to grow and reproduce, parasites scavenge nutrients from their animal or human hosts. As they move within and between hosts they encounter different levels of nutrients; how they adapt to these differences is poorly understood. This project aims to investigate the mechanisms by which the model parasite Toxoplasma senses and responds to the nutrients in its envi ....Regulating nutrient uptake in intracellular parasites. Parasites impose a major economic and medical burden on human societies. In order to grow and reproduce, parasites scavenge nutrients from their animal or human hosts. As they move within and between hosts they encounter different levels of nutrients; how they adapt to these differences is poorly understood. This project aims to investigate the mechanisms by which the model parasite Toxoplasma senses and responds to the nutrients in its environment, thereby shedding light on how they adapt to the different environments that they inhabit and, in the longer term, informing novel treatment strategies that aim to limit the parasites’ nutrient supply.Read moreRead less
The natural function and evolution of an essential parasite transporter. This project aims to resolve the natural function and evolution of a transporter essential to the survival of malaria and other parasites. Malaria and its sibling Apicomplexan parasites cause devastating diseases in humans and livestock across the world. Much remains to be understood about these parasites, and options for controlling them are diminishing. The project will interrogate the functions of the transporter protein ....The natural function and evolution of an essential parasite transporter. This project aims to resolve the natural function and evolution of a transporter essential to the survival of malaria and other parasites. Malaria and its sibling Apicomplexan parasites cause devastating diseases in humans and livestock across the world. Much remains to be understood about these parasites, and options for controlling them are diminishing. The project will interrogate the functions of the transporter proteins. The knowledge gained might help to combat Apicomplexan parasites by targeting these transporters’ native functions.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100149
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$590,000.00
Summary
Reaching new heights in high-resolution electron microscopy . High-resolution electron microscopy (EM): Direct electron detection cameras are a recent technological breakthrough delivering one of the greatest single advancements to the field of molecular cryo-EM. The aim of this project is to enable a 'first of a kind' cryo-EM platform in Australia enabling high-throughput atomic resolution protein structure determination. This will be achieved by integrating a state-of-the-art Gatan K2 Summit D ....Reaching new heights in high-resolution electron microscopy . High-resolution electron microscopy (EM): Direct electron detection cameras are a recent technological breakthrough delivering one of the greatest single advancements to the field of molecular cryo-EM. The aim of this project is to enable a 'first of a kind' cryo-EM platform in Australia enabling high-throughput atomic resolution protein structure determination. This will be achieved by integrating a state-of-the-art Gatan K2 Summit Direct Electron Detection camera system into the established cryo-EM facility managed by the University of Queensland node of the Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility. This will offer unique and significantly improved capabilities for atomic resolution protein structure analysis, and will support a broad range of projects across the biological sciences.Read moreRead less
Understanding endogenous allosteric modulators of G protein-coupled receptors. Major life science challenges include how chemicals outside cells signal to proteins inside, how this results in physiological responses, and how dysfunction of these processes leads to pathophysiology. Despite the critical importance of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), much remains to be learned about their regulation by endogenous and synthetic molecules. This project aims to address this gap, by building on rec ....Understanding endogenous allosteric modulators of G protein-coupled receptors. Major life science challenges include how chemicals outside cells signal to proteins inside, how this results in physiological responses, and how dysfunction of these processes leads to pathophysiology. Despite the critical importance of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), much remains to be learned about their regulation by endogenous and synthetic molecules. This project aims to address this gap, by building on recent ground-breaking studies that have been performed, by focusing on alternative binding sites of GPCRs called allosteric sites. The major hypothesis is that these allosteric sites are widespread across GPCRs because the body produces endogenous allosteric ligands that remain largely unidentified, but which can play vital roles in biology.Read moreRead less
A novel family of amino acid transporters in Apicomplexan parasites. Apicomplexan parasites are single celled organisms that are the causative agents of major diseases in livestock and humans. However, the basic biochemistry of these intracellular parasites is poorly understood, and there are limited treatments available for the diseases these parasites cause. The project hypothesis is that a novel family of proteins that are unique to apicomplexan parasites play a key role in the uptake of esse ....A novel family of amino acid transporters in Apicomplexan parasites. Apicomplexan parasites are single celled organisms that are the causative agents of major diseases in livestock and humans. However, the basic biochemistry of these intracellular parasites is poorly understood, and there are limited treatments available for the diseases these parasites cause. The project hypothesis is that a novel family of proteins that are unique to apicomplexan parasites play a key role in the uptake of essential nutrients (amino acids) into these organisms. This project aims to use a combination of genetic, biochemical and physiological methods to understand the function of these proteins, the role(s) that they play in apicomplexan biology, and their importance for parasite survival.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100037
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,000.00
Summary
A cellular nano-imaging facility: Probing cellular complexity. Answering the major medical and biotechnology questions of the 21st century will be heavily reliant on the use of advanced imaging techniques. This facility will establish a new and revolutionary microscope which is capable of producing images of living cells in action at high magnification and with the greatest clarity.