Cross-disciplinary approaches to biomedical research
Researchers from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) have be hugely successful in the 2018 Faculty of Science and Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (MNHS) Interdisciplinary Research Seed Funding Scheme.
Of the 12 applications, six projects were selected for funding, and five of these six involve a researcher from the Monash BDI.
The objective of this scheme is to support the development of new collaborative research initiatives across the Faculties of Science and MNHS.
Associate Professor Ana Traven (Monash BDI) and Dr Mike McDonald (Science) Understanding how bacterial-fungal interactions evolve to modulate antimicrobial drug resistance ($29,859)
A point that is often overlooked is that microbes don’t live or cause infections in isolation – they live in microbial communities (the microbiome being a great example). Within in these communities they influence each other, sometimes in antagonistic ways and other times in beneficial ways. Associate Professor Traven’s lab will join forces with Dr McDonald’s lab, who are experts in molecular evolution, to tackle the problem of polymicrobial infections in a new way. Together, they will undertake the first ever co-evolution experiment in the lab between two important human pathogens, Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus.
“Our idea is that this will lead us to genes that promote or antagonise co-existence. We aim to identify factors that have an impact on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) features of polymicrobial infections and/or factors that module the infection potential of these bugs,” Associate Professor Traven said,
“The exciting part of this project is that our labs truly come to the problem from different perspectives – we often talk about the need for new, out of the box thinking to solve the AMR crisis, and this project really is it. The work has potential to both reveal brand new fundamental biology, and have some practical applications in the sense of finding new ways to treat infections,” she said.
Dr Adam Rose (Monash BDI) and Dr Matthew Piper (Science) Redefining nutritional requirements based upon modern public health needs ($30,000)
The current classification of amino acids (AA) as essential is based on the nutritional requirements for growth and vitality under nil dietary supply of an AA. However, humans rarely face dramatic AA insufficiency, and for the first time in human history, nutritional excesses mean the amount of overweight people outnumber the amount of underweight people on a global scale. This calls for a reconsideration of AA functions in nutrition, now based upon health-related criteria.
This seed grant will enable Dr Rose’s team to synergise with Dr Piper’s team to establish the molecular toolkit tin order to ask fundamental questions about the role of amino acid nutrition and metabolism on the biology of ageing, age-related disease, and even the evolution of metabolioc pathways.
“We aim to initially do our studies in flies in Dr Piper’s lab, which will then provide a great platform to extend to mouse and human cells in my lab,” Dr Rose said.
Associate Professor Ashley Buckle (Monash BDI) and Dr Joel Hooper (Science) Novel synthetic and chemical approaches to improving the properties of protein biologics ($30,000)
The research collaborators will tackle two important problems in drug designs:
- Designing robust protein molecules that target specific molecules involved in human disease
- Chemically modifying them in order to improve their properties and potential as drugs.
“This collaborative ‘synthetic biology’ project integrates cutting-edge protein engineering and polymer chemistry technologies,” Associate Professor Buckle said.
Dr Kelly Walton (Monash BDI) and Professor Moira O'Bryan (Science) and Associate Professor Craig Harrison (Monash BDI) Characterising the physiological roles of inhibins in males ($30,000)
This study seeks to characterise the role of an age-old hormone, inhibin B, on male reproductive function – the Holy Grail of reproductive biology. First isolated at Monash University, the reproductive hormones inhibin A and inhibin B regulate fertility and have been implicated in the maintenance of bone and muscle health. Thus far, a lack of precise models and recombinant protein have prevented the full exploration of inhibin’s physiological roles.
“Using our newly-developed model of inhibin loss-of-function, we will team up with Professor O’Bryan’s lab to demonstrate that inhibin B is a fundamental regulator of male reproductive health,” Dr Walton said.
“Moreover, by detailed examination of non-reproductive tissues, we aim to demonstrate that inhibins are integral to lifetime male health,” she said.
Associate Professor Max Cryle (Monash BDI and EMBL) and Professor David Lupton (Science) Characterisation of vancomycin/teicoplanin biosynthesis by novel chemical probes ($30,000)
The team will use novel chemical probes to trap large enzymatic assembly lines in specific states, in order to observe them with cutting-edge structural techniques, such as Cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography. Understanding the structure and function of megaenzyme machineries that produce antibiotics, such as vancomycin, is a vital step in efforts to reengineer them to produce new antibiotics that can tackle antimicrobial resistance.
“Our specific study will focus on trapping the key steps involved in selection and incorporation of building blocks into the peptide backbone of vancomycin type compounds through the actions of the natural biosynthetic machinery,” Associate Professor Cryle said.
“This funding will help support the development of the probes, as well as structural efforts to understand the trapped complexes that we will then produce through their use,” he said.
Tackling the big questions in biomedical research is no longer the domain of the individual scientific disciplines – it demands a cross-disciplinary approach.
Congratulations to all researchers involved in this seed funding.
View the full list of results here (intranet).
Associate Professor Max Cryle.
About the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute
Committed to making the discoveries that will relieve the future burden of disease, the newly established Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University brings together more than 120 internationally-renowned research teams. Our researchers are supported by world-class technology and infrastructure, and partner with industry, clinicians and researchers internationally to enhance lives through discovery.