Our research
By improving our understanding of metabolic networks and mechanisms of drug action, we hope to facilitate the discovery and development of new medicines for infectious diseases. Our laboratory is at the forefront of the development and application of metabolomics and proteomics technologies. Our high-resolution mass spectrometry capabilities allow us to investigate the impact of drugs on metabolites, lipids and proteins in a holistic, system-wide manner. The power of modern mass spectrometry and data analysis tools, combined with established biochemical and molecular techniques, allows us to investigate molecular mechanisms of parasite growth and drug action on an unprecedented scale.
Most projects in the Creek lab involve laboratory-based investigations of the interactions between new drug candidates and parasite biochemistry. Revealing the impact of novel compounds on parasite development helps to prioritise candidates for further development, and identification of the drug targets responsible for antimalarial activity can guide further medicinal chemistry efforts to discover new antimalarials. Our work is highly collaborative, and we are a founding member of the NHMRC-funded Antimalarial Synergy Team, a highly multi-disciplinary team of parasitologists, medicinal chemists and drug candidate optimisation experts from Australia and abroad.
Other projects in the Creek lab investigate novel aspects of metabolism in malaria parasites, and how malaria infection can alter metabolism in the human host. These studies range from fundamental parasite biochemistry and molecular biology, through to large clinical metabolomics studies in collaboration with clinicians in malaria-endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia.