Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100157
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,000.00
Summary
Confocal and single molecule microscopes for systems microscopy. This project aims to establish Australia’s first system microscopy facility with dedicated live-cell confocal and single-molecule fluorescence microscopes. In systems microscopy, the imaging workflow is automated so that large and unbiased data sets of the spatiotemporal organisation of molecules and cells can be generated. Combined with statistical and bioinformatics analyses, image-derived data provides system-wide information th ....Confocal and single molecule microscopes for systems microscopy. This project aims to establish Australia’s first system microscopy facility with dedicated live-cell confocal and single-molecule fluorescence microscopes. In systems microscopy, the imaging workflow is automated so that large and unbiased data sets of the spatiotemporal organisation of molecules and cells can be generated. Combined with statistical and bioinformatics analyses, image-derived data provides system-wide information that is not easily obtainable with other approaches. The project will enable Australian researchers to image and analyse the full complexity of biological systems, potentially transforming cell biology, drug development and understanding the molecular basis of disease. It will also demonstrate how the capacity of microscopy facilities can be enhanced and bias in imaging data reduced by automating data acquisition and mining of image-based data.Read moreRead less
New targets for antiviral therapies. The ability of dangerous viruses to cause lethal disease depends on their capacity to evade the immune system of infected hosts. This project will uncover at the molecular level the strategies used by viruses to disable immune responses; this will identify new ways to treat incurable diseases, by disabling the virus' defences against the immune system.
Phosphoinositide regulation of lysosome reformation during autophagy. This project aims to investigate a new critical step in the autophagy pathway, autophagic lysosome reformation, a fundamental, evolutionarily conserved mechanism for cellular homeostasis. By combining gene function studies with advanced cellular imaging techniques, this project will investigate the dynamic membrane changes that drive this lysosome recycling pathway and how it is regulated by a hierarchical succession of specif ....Phosphoinositide regulation of lysosome reformation during autophagy. This project aims to investigate a new critical step in the autophagy pathway, autophagic lysosome reformation, a fundamental, evolutionarily conserved mechanism for cellular homeostasis. By combining gene function studies with advanced cellular imaging techniques, this project will investigate the dynamic membrane changes that drive this lysosome recycling pathway and how it is regulated by a hierarchical succession of specific enzymes. The expected outcome will be to re-define the archetypical autophagy pathway and characterise novel mechanisms by which it is controlled. This project will reveal new fundamental biological processes, and act as a framework for developing new imaging modalities and tools for studying autophagy.Read moreRead less
Interrogating a novel protein scaffold that coordinates signal transduction and molecular motor function. The inside of a cell is an extremely crowded environment and the precise location of each component is carefully controlled. This project will unravel the protein machinery involved in transporting cargos in cells as they divide and identify new protein targets for the development of next generation anti-cancer drugs.
Nuclear architecture in a living cell facilitates navigation of the genome. This project aims to investigate the role of nuclear architecture in regulating genome function by development of a new microscopy method to quantify the diffusive route of fluorescent proteins in live cells. The anticipated outcomes of this project include an insight into how chromatin dynamics facilitate DNA target search and an analytical tool for cell biologists to probe how genomes work in their natural environment ....Nuclear architecture in a living cell facilitates navigation of the genome. This project aims to investigate the role of nuclear architecture in regulating genome function by development of a new microscopy method to quantify the diffusive route of fluorescent proteins in live cells. The anticipated outcomes of this project include an insight into how chromatin dynamics facilitate DNA target search and an analytical tool for cell biologists to probe how genomes work in their natural environment (the cell nucleus).Read moreRead less
Protein Kinase Regulatory Switches: Decision-Making in the Nucleus. This project plans to examine new regulatory mechanisms for an important signalling enzyme in the cell nucleus. It aims to define how this enzyme enters the nucleus, to characterise new modifications that affect its actions, and to establish how a conserved nuclear protein may provide an unexpected regulatory platform to send nucleus-initiated signals back to the cell cytoplasm. This reverse signalling is a novel mechanism for i ....Protein Kinase Regulatory Switches: Decision-Making in the Nucleus. This project plans to examine new regulatory mechanisms for an important signalling enzyme in the cell nucleus. It aims to define how this enzyme enters the nucleus, to characterise new modifications that affect its actions, and to establish how a conserved nuclear protein may provide an unexpected regulatory platform to send nucleus-initiated signals back to the cell cytoplasm. This reverse signalling is a novel mechanism for integrating nuclear actions that has the potential to create a signal transduction circuit triggered by environmental or genetic factors. This information is crucial in defining the molecular logic of signalling events that may be ultimately targeted to control cell growth, differentiation and 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.
Regulation of neurite outgrowth by an inhibitor of PI3K signalling. PIPP is an enzyme which inhibits important cellular functions such as cell maturation. We have shown the amount of PIPP is increased in Alzheimer's disease brains. This project will characterise the mechanisms by which PIPP regulates brain cell function to identify how PIPP may be acting to exacerbate Alzheimer's disease development/progression.
Transcription factor nuclear residency as a driver of gene expression. Persistently active proteins can stay in the nucleus to drive cell growth and prevent cell death. This project will define how one specific active protein can remain in the nucleus and regulate gene expression through the action of unique ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules. The results will enable persistent gene activation to be manipulated in cancer.