Structural Analysis Of Poxvirus Immature Particles And Spheroids
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$387,489.00
Summary
Despite the eradication of smallpox by vaccination, poxviruses remain a threat to public health because of bioterrorist scares from kept variola stocks and because of the possible emergence of other poxvirus pathogens from the extensive animal reservoir. The structural analysis of the assembly of poxvirus will not only improve our knowledge of fundamental processes, highly conserved in DNA viruses, but could also provide valuable targets for the rational design of antiviral drugs.
The Complementary Effects Of Matrilins And WARP On Chondrogenesis Through TGF-beta Signaling
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$327,428.00
Summary
Osteoarthritis (OA), characterized by degeneration of articular cartilage matrix structure, is one of the most common types of arthritis. Although it is known that aging is a leading factor, the exact cause of degeneration of articular cartilage is not well understood. In order to aid the discovery of treatments and diagnostic tools for this joint disease, understanding functional and mechanistic properties of cartilage specific proteins, namely matrilins and WARP, is essential.
Assembly Of Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain Complexes And Their Defects Associated With Disease.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$413,431.00
Summary
Mitochondrial “respiratory chain complexes are multi-subunit assemblies that function to produce most of our cellular energy. Defects in the assembly of these complexes can result in mitochondrial disease, including infant death. The assembly of the respiratory complexes is a complicated procedure and the mechanisms involved in disease remain elusive. This work will aid in our understanding of how these protein complexes are built and how defects in their assembly can cause disease.
Understanding The Assembly Of Poxvirus Immature Particles
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$315,854.00
Summary
Smallpox is an ancient and dreadful disease that enormously influenced human history causing over 300 millions of deaths in the 20th century only. Human cases of monkeypox virus in the US and the potential use of smallpox as a bioterrorism weapon have called for an urgent improvement in Australia's preparedness against poxviruses. We investigate the assembly of these viruses to advance our fundamental understanding of poxvirus biology and provide rationally designed drugs to fight them off.
Flaviviruses Must Come Of Age: Design Of Stable, Mature Particles By Structural Vaccinology
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,149,487.00
Summary
We have established a powerful toolset combining advanced structural biology and rapid virus engineering that allows us investigate the assembly of flaviviruses in novel ways. This project will integrate these approaches to investigate the role of new ligands that we have identified in the structure of medically-relevant flaviviruses including dengue virus and delineate a novel maturation path for flaviviruses, which will be used to design safer and more effective flavivirus vaccines.