Scholarships

Chief Investigator

Project title

Project description

Preferred educational background

Professor Di Yu

di.yu@uq.edu.au

Differentiation and function of novel cytotoxic T-cell subsets

Cytotoxic CD8+ T (Tc) cells constitute the major immune cell type that is responsible for eliminating infected or cancerous cells. Tc cells differentiate into specialised subsets that localise to specific tissues and organs to perform their cell killing functions but may also mediate immunopathology. Professor Di Yu's laboratory poineers in discovering new T cell subsets and unveiling mechanisms underlying their differentiation and function. This project will utilise both pre-clinical animal models and bioinformatic approaches to characterise novel Tc subsets, including ‘follicular cytotoxic T cells’ (Tfc cells). The gained new knowledge will help to design new strategies to treat cancers and infectious diseases such as caused by HIV, EBV and SARS-CoV-2.

• A working knowledge of Immunology, Cell Biology and Bioinformatics would be of benefit to someone working on this project.
• Applications will be judged on a competitive basis taking into account the applicant’s previous academic record, publication record, honours and awards, and employment history.
• The applicant will demonstrate academic achievement in the field(s) of biomedical sciences and the potential for scholastic success.

*The successful candidate must commence by Research Quarter 1, 2021. You should apply at least 3 months prior to the research quarter commencement date. International applicants may need to apply much earlier for visa reasons.

Dr John Kemp

j.kemp2@uq.edu.au

Identifying pharmacological targets for osteoporosis intervention using whole-genome and exome sequencing of bone related phenotypes

Osteoporosis (OP) is an often asymptomatic multi-factorial condition that is characterized by a progressive loss of bone mass resulting in increased fracture (FX) risk and reduced lifespan(1). It represents a significant public health burden that affects an estimated 2.2 million Australians and results in 20,000 hip fractures annually, with direct and indirect disease-related costs estimated at $7.4 billion per year(2). Due to the insidious nature of this disease, individuals who are most at risk of OP are often only identified once they present with low trauma FX. The situation is further exacerbated as most pharmacological treatments function as anti-resorptives that halt further bone loss, but fail to fully restore bone quality. Only one osteoanabolic drug is presently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, however this compound is far from ideal as it requires daily administration via injection to ensure adequate bone formation(3). Consequently, there is considerable scope for identifying novel osteoanabolic pathways that could in principle be targeted by new and existing pharmacotherapies to build bone mass before clinical sequelae develop.

The goal of this PhD is to combine statistical and molecular genetics approaches to identify and assess the therapeutic potential of OP drug targets.

AI & Machine Learning, Bioinformatics, Computer Science & IT, Endocrinology, Genetics, Information Science, Molecular Biology, Public Health & Epidemiology, Software, Engineering, Statistics

*The successful candidate must commence by Research Quarter 4, 2022. You should apply at least 3 months prior to the research quarter commencement date. International applicants may need to apply much earlier for visa reasons.

Professor Gabrielle Belz

g.belz@uq.edu.au

Our work aims to understand how the immune system responds to (infections (including viruses, bacteria and parasites) and tumour cells. We are investigating how different types of immune cells develop, and what factors influences their decision to become one type of immune cell or another to mediate long term immune protection. Understanding how the body deals with pathogens will give clues about how to enhance protective immunity. Our goal is to discover new therapies that boost our immune system to protect against infection. We aim to: · Identify novel functions of innate lymphoid cells and NK cells in immune protection · Unravel the microbome-epithelial-immune interface protecting mucosal surfaces · Elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the generation of protective immunity in response to lung and gastrointestinal pathogens Combining cellular, molecular biology, and high throughput technologies the candidate will investigate the role of novel transcription factors in governing innate cell fate using a number of approaches including flow cytometry, imaging and molecular approaches.

Immunity and Inflammation, Cancer

This project is suitable for PhD students.

Dr Mathew Jones

mathew.jones@uq.edu.au

Targeting DNA replication and repair in human cancer cells

DNA replication is the fundamental mechanism of genetic inheritance and an essential process for all cellular life. In cancer cells, replication is corrupted and replication forks frequently stall and collapse causing DNA damage and copying errors that drive tumorigenesis. As a result, cancer cells are heavily dependent on the pathways that protect and repair stalled replication forks. Disrupting these mechanisms can be selectively toxic to cancer cells. A key player in the regulation of DNA replication and repair is DDK (Dbf4-dependent kinase also known as Cdc7). DDK is frequently overexpressed in cancer, but its role during DNA replication and the repair of stalled replication forks has not been well characterised. Our research uses chemical genetic approaches to selectively target DDK and gain valuable insights into its requirements and molecular targets. This project aims to understand how DDK coordinates DNA replication and repair to help develop new therapeutic strategies to target these processes in cancer cells. This project is suitable for a PhD student and provides an excellent opportunity to learn molecular and cell biology techniques and gain experience with long-read genome sequencing tools and genome engineering methods (CRISPR/Cas9).

Genomic Medicine, Cancer

This project is suitable for PhD students.

BSc Hons or MSc in biological or biomedical science

Associate Professor Emma Hamilton Williams

e.hamiltonwilliams@uq.edu.au

Islet specific T cell responses in type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is the most common chronic disease of childhood. It is triggered by an immune dysregulation causing T cells to attack the insulin-producing islet beta cells in the pancreas. This results in elevated blood-glucose and severe life-long complications. Our laboratory aims to develop a T cell targeted immunotherapy to prevent or treat T1D. For this goal to be successful, better tools are needed to detect and characterise islet-specific T cells in patient blood as a way to monitor responses to immunotherapy. An understanding is needed of how these T cell responses vary between different patient groups. This project aims to develop an approach to personalised immunomonitoring of islet specific T cells using state-of-the-art high-parameter immune profiling, single cell sequencing and clonotype analysis of islet-specific T cells in patient blood. This approach will later be used to characterise how these T cells respond to immunotherapy. The ideal candidate will have prior knowledge and academic achievement in the field of immunology. Practical experience in T cell biology, autoimmunity or sequencing analysis would be desirable. This project is aligned with a National Health and Medical Research Council funded grant and will be co-supervised by A/Prof Emma Hamilton-Williams, Prof Ranjeny Thomas and Dr Mark Harris. The supervisor team are highly experienced and provide broad expertise and experience in immunology, translational and clinical research.

Immunity and Inflammation, Immunotherapy

This project is suitable for PhD students

BSc Hons or MSc in biological or biomedical science

Associate Professor Fiona Simpson

f.simpson@uq.edu.au

Cancer therapy endocytosis

This is a project which aims to investigate how tumours and normal tissue internalise drugs such as cancer therapy antibodies in real in vivo models and in patients. My laboratory has recently shown that changing this internalisation can alter therapy mechansims. The uptake of drugs by both target cells and normal cells in humans, a process called endocytosis, is critical for many medicines including antibody therapies, nano-medicines and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Our understanding of cellular uptake mechanisms has developed significantly in the last 5 years. However, these advances in cell biology have not fully translated to the drug delivery, design and immunological fields. The role of endocytosis is also important for naturally occurring nanoparticles, such as viruses and exosomes and CAR-T therapy has been shown to be antigen clustering dependent. An example of this is the recent advance in cancer therapy using anti-PDL1 and anti PD-1 antibodies, known as checkpoint inhibitors. Recent data has shown that in cases of poor outcome the pharmacokinetic properties of anti-PDL1 antibody is an issue, with tumour degradation of the antibody occurring very quickly. Another example is the drive to understand CoV-virus entry into human cells to inform to inform potential anti-viral therapies. Findings from our program may be applied to multiple clinical settings (e.g. antibody therapy in multiple sclerosis or anti-HIV antibody therapy). This project crosses the fields of cell biology, immunology, cancer, drug targeting and clinical trials. Techniques include (but are not limited to) imaging, electron microscopy, fluorescence activated cell sorting and in vivo work in murine models and patient samples.

Immunotherapy, Cancer, Skin and Skin Cancer

This project is suitable for PhD students.

BSc Hons or MSc in biological or biomedical science

Professor Mark Morrison

This PhD project aims to provide a deep functional understanding of recently discovered microbes from the Domain Archaea that inhabit the digestive tracts of native Australian herbivores, humans, and other animals. In consultation with the supervisory team, the successful applicant will develop a research plan that brings novel Archaeal taxa to life via metagenomics. The person will also use our globally unique collection of bioresources and innovations in molecular microbiology research, to help define the roles of Archaea in the low methane carbon economy of native Australian herbivores. Very little is known about the genetics and biology of methanogen x host specificity in all these animals. This project will help address the knowledge gaps and support the development of new strategies relevant to the health, population dispersal, and conservation of these iconic animal species. The knowledge gains from this project are also expected to provide new opportunities relevant to medicine and agriculture. As such, the project's national benefits are both timely and broad, and should be of interest to applicants with interests in natural sciences, medicine, or agriculture.

None Of The Above