Unraveling The Dynamic Munc18a:Syntaxin1 Interaction Required For Neurotransmission
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$674,591.00
Summary
Membrane trafficking, the topic of the 2013 Nobel prize in Medicine, is required for delivery of cellular cargo. This research will investigate the interactions and structures of proteins from the neuronal membrane trafficking system. Understanding how this system operates will expand our knowledge of processes fundamental to learning and memory and may ultimately lead to development of selective therapeutics for treating a range of diseases.
My research is aimed at understanding how the structure and dynamics of proteins dictates their function. I use X-ray crystallography to determine the shapes of proteins. Proteins are not static, however - they move in complicated ways, and often their motion is critical to their function (molecular motors, for example). It is very difficult to 'watch' this movement in the lab, so I use computer simulation to try to understand how proteins move.
How Do TRIM21 And TRIM5α Execute Dual Antiviral Effector And Signalling Functions?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$344,724.00
Summary
We encounter millions of potential pathogens each day that must be detected and disarmed by the immune system. Recently, two antiviral proteins, present inside cells, were shown to both detect viruses, alerting neighbouring cells to the infection, and target the viruses for destruction. These two functions provide important protection against viral infection and this research aims to understand at a molecular level, how these dual antiviral functions are coordinated.
Structural Investigation Into The Regulation Of The Colony Stimulating Factor Receptor, C-FMS.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$287,321.00
Summary
The colony stimulating factor receptor, c-FMS is a member of a family of protein signalling molecules expressed on the cell surface that are implicated in the development of serious diseases in humans, such as inflammatory diseases and cancer. A number of important proteins bind to and regulate c-FMS in different ways. I intend to visualise these interactions to further understand how c-FMS activity is controlled by alternative means.
Coupling The Cell Cortex To Membranes: Structural Basis For The Activation And Control Of Ezrin
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$587,548.00
Summary
Cells are dynamic: they change shape, communicate with each other and import/export signalling molecules. These dynamic processes are controlled via the interaction of the cell membrane with the underlying actin cytoskeleton and they are important for health, for example, they are critical for proper immune cell function. The goal of this project in to unravel the control of membrane dynamics by defining the interactions between the cell membrane and the proteins: ezrin and RhoA.
The Mechanism Of Conjugative Transfer Of Antibiotic Resistance Genes In Gram Positive Pathogens
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$628,459.00
Summary
Antibiotic resistant bacteria pose a serious threat to the health of Australians. We will determine how antibiotic resistance genes spread from one bacterium to another. Using a disease-causing bacterium as model we will determine the mechanism by which this gene transfer process occurs and the structure and function of the key components. The result will be major advances in our understanding of the evolution of the antibiotic resistant bacteria that are major causes of human disease.
Structure, Transport And Assembly Of PorB, A Key Invasion Molecule Of Meningococcal Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$292,639.00
Summary
When the bacteria that cause meningococcal disease invade cells, they use specialized cell surface pore proteins to hijack the human cell and maintain infection. This research will study the structure of these bacterial pore proteins to help understand how they function to subvert normal cellular processes, and this insight will be important in the development of new treatments for meningococcal disease.