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25.02.10

Australian parasitology researchers have been awarded funding by the NHMRC to run OzEMalaR, the Australia - Europe Malaria Research Cooperation, commencing in 2010 »

Congratulations to Geoff McFadden (University of Melbourne), Kevin Saliba (ANU) and colleagues who were successful in their project grant application for Australia - Europe Malaria Research Cooperation - OzEMalaR and were awarded $830,000 over 5 years. Malaria is a global problem with no single solution. A large, but sometimes disjointed, research community is addressing the problem, but more collaboration is vital. OzEMalaR will link 34 Australian labs with 47 European, African & Indian malaria researchers. Funding will enable exchange of modern technologies by supporting early career researchers (PhD and postdocs) from Australia to work and be trained in top European labs. European trainees will work and be trained by Australian malariologists using reciprocal EU support.

04.02.10

WEHI researchers have identified a key protein used by the malaria parasite to transform human red blood cells »

Congratulations to Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers who have identified a key protein used by the malaria parasite to transform human red blood cells, ensuring the parasite's survival. Their discovery means researchers have a clear target against which to develop a new class of anti-malarial drugs that destroy the parasite. Dr Justin Boddey, Dr Tony Hodder, Dr Svenja Gunther, Dr Andrew Pearce and Professor Cowman from the institute, in collaboration with Professor Richard Simpson, Dr Heather Patsiouras and Dr Eugene Kapp of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Professor Brendan Crabb and Paul Gilson at the Burnet Institute and Dr Tania de Koning-Ward at Deakin University, have identified a protein called Plasmepsin V as being essential for effector proteins to be exported into the red blood cell. Their research has been published 4 February 2010 in the international journal Nature.

Story sourced from WEHI website

19.01.10

Promising candidates for malaria vaccine revealed »

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have also uncovered a group of proteins that could form the basis of an effective vaccine against malaria. Dr James Beeson, Dr Freya Fowkes and Dr Jack Richards from the institute’s Infection and Immunity division, along with Dr Julie Simpson from the University of Melbourne, have identified proteins produced by malaria parasites during the blood-stage that are effective at promoting immune responses that protect people from malaria illness. Their findings are published in the international journal PLoS Medicine.

25.09.09

Science publication for Australian National University researchers »

Congratulations to Rowena Martin and Kiaran Kirk, Australian National University, who published their paper "Chloroquine Transport via the Malaria Parasite's Chloroquine Resistance Transporter" Rowena E. Martin, Rosa V. Marchetti, Anna I. Cowan, Susan M. Howitt, Stefan Bröer, Kiaran Kirk, 25 September 2009, Vol 325, Science. An interview with Rowena by Wendy Zukerman appeared in The Australian, Higher Education October 7, 2009

18.08.09

Michael Good wins 2009 CSIRO Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science »

Professor Michael Good, Director of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) has been awarded the 2009 CSIRO Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science.

18.06.09

Nature publication for Burnet Institute researchers »

Tania de Koning-Ward, Brendan Crabb and their research teams at Burnet have published their newly discovered protein export machine in malaria parasites in the prestigious international journal, Nature.

08.06.09

Congratulations to Dr Peter Holdsworth who was awarded member of the Order of Australia for "service to the animal health industry, particularly as a contributor to the development of international standards for the veterinary pharmaceutical sector."

11.07.08

Cell publication for WEHI researchers »

Alan Cowman, Ross Coppel, James Beeson and Brendan Crabb and their research teams have published their discovery identifying and disrupting key elements of malaria's "sticky sack" adhesion strategy in the prestigious international journal, Cell.

09.07.08

Congratulations to Prof Michael Good who was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia for "service to medical research, particularly in the fields of infectious disease immunology and vaccine technology, through leadership roles at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and contributions to education."

01.06.08

Congratulations to Prof. Kiaran Kirk, in the School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Australian National University who has been awarded the ANU Vice-Chancellor's award for excellence in research supervision. The University makes just one such award each year. Kiaran is a most deserving winner; he is an outstanding and innovative mentor to a number of students and early career researchers.

01.06.08

Congratulations to Professor Robin Gasser, of the University of Melbourne, has been made a 2008 Australian Fulbright Senior Scholar. Robin will conduct research on "parasite genomics, working towards developing novel intervention strategies for destructive parasites using cutting-edge advances in genomics and bioinformatics at Caltech, Washington University and the National Human Genome Research Institute."

01.0408

Congratulations to Brendan Crabb who has been appointed the new Director of the Burnet Institute in Melbourne after an "extensive national and international search which secured an outstanding medical research scientist with significant experience and expertise in infectious diseases of global significance" ( quote from the Burnet's Chairman, Alastair Lucas).

21.02.08

Nature publication for Network researcher, Jan Slapeta »

Jan Slapeta, Network researcher at The University of Sydney, was part of an international team that recently published an article in Nature that documents a highly unusual and intriguing organism (Moore et al., 2008 A photosynthetic alveolate closely related to apicomplexan parasites. Nature 451: 959-963).

26.01.08

Congratulations to Dave Kemp of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research who was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia on January 26, 2008 for "service to medical research as a molecular biologist, particularly in the areas of tropical health and infectious diseases, through contributions to Indigenous health and to professional organizations".

12.12.07

Congratulations to Terry Speed of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research who received an NHMRC Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to bioinformatics and statistical genetics at the inaugural ceremony for the NHMRC Awards for Excellence in Health and Medical Research, held in Canberra.

At the same ceremony, Brian Cooke, of Monash University, received the NHMRC Science to Art Award in recognition of his research into malaria, one of the results of which was a stunning image of the surface of an infected red blood cell.

01.02.07

Network scientists help to map parasite genome responsible for the sexually transmitted human infection, trichomoniasis. »

Dr Jacqui Upcroft and Prof. Peter Upcroft, parasitologists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR), and their PhD student, Rebecca Dunne, are part of a group of 64 researchers worldwide who have recently published “Draft Genome Sequence of the Sexually Transmitted Pathogen Trichomonas vaginalis” in Science (Vol 315 12 January 2007 www.sciencemag.org).

06.10.06

Network scientists solve one of the biochemical mysteries of malaria »

Prof Kiaran Kirk, Head of the School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BaMBi) at the Australian National University (ANU) and Prof Geoff McFadden, at the University of Melbourne won a Network travel award for Researcher Exchanges between their labs for their work on the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Their collaborative research has resulted in a Nature paper published 6 October 2006 and Roselani Henry, Megan Downie and Dr Kylie Mullin, three of the young researchers from their labs who all took part in this Researcher Exchange are profiled here.

30.05.06

Geoff Mcfadden awarded a 2006 ARC Federation Fellowship »

Congratulations to Howard Hughes International Scholar, Professor Geoff McFadden, based at the Botany School, at the University of Melbourne who was recently awarded an ARC Federation Fellowship. These awards are highly prestigious and designed to develop and retain the skills of Australian researchers.

Geoff is the first parasitologist to win a Federation Fellowship and he talked to Lisa Jones about the award on 30 May 2006.

27.02.06

A vaccine for malaria »

Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) scientists have found that that, in animal studies, an immune response can protect against infections of different strains of the malaria parasite. Malaria vaccine trials in humans are expected to start in Brisbane later this year.

Professor Michael Good from QIMR talks to Carly Johnson about the malaria vaccine trials.