Congrats to Erica on the award of her National Science Week grant

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Support for National Science Week celebrations

A Dark Matter Road trip, sharing First Nations science and drone coding are just some of the projects receiving a share of close to $500,000 in grants to support National Science Week.

With Australia’s national celebration of science and technology just around the corner, thirty-two grant recipients are gearing up to deliver a diverse range of events right across the country.

The National Science Week Grants provide funding of between $2,000 and $20,000 to support individuals and organisations to deliver community science events.

Many of the projects funded this year will support diversity and inclusion in science, with several grants supporting events featuring First Nations science and scientists, and a range of activities in remote and regional communities.

Among the grant recipients are:

  • University of Melbourne will present The National Quantum and Dark Matter Road Trip, an interactive travelling science and art show bringing quantum physics, mysterious dark matter particle physics, and creative expression to capital cities, regional and remote areas.
  • Macquarie University’s (NSW) Indigenous Science Experience @ Redfern will showcase the significance of scientific knowledge held by Indigenous Australians.
  • Two of Australia’s oldest science institutions, the Australian Museum and the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, will come together to present the Sydney Science Trail Community Days, bringing science alive in meaningful and accessible ways through hands-on activities, talks, shows and a STEM Expo.
  • Monash University will host stage two multisensory science exhibitions for primary and secondary students with low vision, blindness, and diverse needs.  [see below]
  • Mount Burnett Observatory (Victoria) volunteers will take over a football oval to present Footy Oval Astronomy, a free event for the local community and emergency services volunteers.
  • The MicroToons (WA) microbiology animation project showcase will empower people with autism and their peers to engage in science, technology and art.
  • Charles Darwin University (NT) will host drone coding and programming workshops in Katherine and Darwin with young Australians from top-end, remote communities.

National Science Week 2023 runs from 12 to 20 August and will feature a combination of online and in-person events across Australia.

The 2023 school theme for National Science Week is ‘Innovation: Powering Future Industries’. The theme is based on the advancement of technology in all industries, especially using artificial intelligence.

The full list of 2023 National Science Week Grant recipients is available at www.scienceweek.net.au/national-grant-round-recipients-for-2023/

Quotes attributable to the Hon Ed Husic, Minister for Industry and Science:

“National Science Week is one of my favourite events of the year, an opportunity to celebrate the staggering amount of great science happening all over Australia.

“Last year 1.9 million Australians – the highest number ever – joined in National Science Week celebrations around the country.

“These grants play an important role in inspiring young Australians to pursue a STEM career.

“This year’s celebrations will help promote diversity and inclusion in Australian science and technology, with exciting and engaging events planned in a number of regional and remote communities.

“Indigenous Australians are our first scientists, and they bring tens of thousands of years of expertise. I am so pleased to see many of this year’s grants supporting events involving First Nations scientists.

“Over the coming months, I encourage you to keep an eye out for more information on National Science Week celebrations in your community.”

Original article

See also National Grant Round Recipients for 2023

Erica’s project summary:

This Project seeks funding to stage two multisensory science exhibitions for 2023 National Science Week. The Exhibitions are aimed at late primary through to secondary students with low vision, blindness, and diverse needs.
Exhibition content will focus on the importance of human immunity, infection, cancer, nutrition and gut health, created by preeminent Australian scientists and researchers. Works will include interactive multisensory books, tactile art, posters, sculptures and data sonification. The exhibitions will be hosted by project partners and leaders supporting blind and low vision children with special needs including; the Victorian Statewide Vision Resource Centre (Melbourne) and NextSense (Macquarie University Sydney).

Please check back shortly for further information on these exhibitions and how to register.

Can’t wait? Come along to our Monash Sensory Science Exhibition on Autoimmunity this June – see here for further info.

 

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Near-universal T cell immunity towards a broad range of bacteria

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Typically, T cells of the immune system respond to a specific feature (antigen) of a microbe, thereby generating protective immunity. As reported in the journal Immunity, an international team of scientists have discovered an exception to this rule. Namely, a group of divergent bacterial pathogens, including pneumococci, all share a small highly conserved protein sequence, which is both presented and recognized by human T cells in a conserved population-wide manner.

The study set out to understand immune mechanisms that protect against pneumococcus, a bacterial pathobiont that can reside harmlessly in the upper respiratory mucosae but can also cause infectious disease, especially in infants and older adults, which can range from middle ear and sinus infections to pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive bloodstream infections.

Most currently used pneumococcal polysaccharide-based conjugate vaccines (PCVs) are effective against 10–13 serotypes, but growing serotype replacement becomes a problem.

WHO estimates that 1.6 million people die of pneumococcal disease every year, including 0.7–1 million children aged under 5, most of whom live in developing countries.

The Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute-co-led study, in collaboration with the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and Utrecht University in the Netherlands and Cardiff University in the UK, identified a crucial fragment of the pneumococcal toxin pneumolysin that was commonly presented by a particular class of human antigen presenting molecules and recognized by T cells from most people who naturally develop specific immunity to pneumococcal proteins.

The study further found that the uniformly presented and broadly recognized bacterial protein fragment was not unique for the pneumococcal pneumolysin but was shared by a large family of bacterial so-called cholesterol dependent cytolysins (CDCs). These are produced by divergent bacterial pathogens mostly affecting humans and cause a range of respiratory, gastro-intestinal, or vaginal infectious diseases.

Neutralizing the bacterially derived cytotoxic bomb: the pneumococci lie in the background, an array of macrophages and dendritic cells are arranged around the central image of a T cell. Rows of TCRs interacting with the identified pneumolysin epitope bound to HLA (white) cross the length and breadth of the artwork, emphasising their centrality in the immune response. Artwork by Dr. Erica Tandori.

First author Dr Lisa Ciacchi said “The use of the National synchrotron was key to provide molecular insight into how the T cell receptors see these conserved antigens when presented by common Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) molecules”.

Shared first author Dr Martijn van de Garde said “We have not yet identified the exact function of the near-ubiquitous T cell populations to this commonly presented conserved protein fragment during ongoing colonizations or infections with CDC producing bacteria. Whether the T cells have a cross-protective mode of action or have an anti-inflammatory tolerizing function, remains to be investigated”.

Shared first author Dr Kristin Ladell said “The identification of T cells that recognize a ubiquitous bacterial motif using T cell receptors that are shared between individuals with prevalent HLAs is very exciting. Reagents generated for this study can now be used to study patient groups to examine how prevalent these shared TCRs are and how they are related to immune protection”.

Continuing investigations could instruct the development of interventions for people to more efficiently resist or clear CDC-related bacterial diseases.

Read the full Immunity paper: CD4+ T cell-mediated recognition of a conserved cholesterol-dependent cytolysin epitope generates broad antibacterial immunity

DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2023.03.020

Artwork: Surveying the bacterial horizon and Fighting against the bacteria we breathe, by Dr Erica Tandori.

Captions:  
Surveying the bacterial horizon: a scientist surveys a landscape of pneumococci, under a blue sky with a T cell sun and macrophage clouds. The flying machine is buoyed by dendritic cell balloons and fans of private and public TCRs bound to pneumolysin epitope-HLA complex, which recognise the bacterial threat. Artwork by Dr. Erica Tandori.

Fighting against the bacteria we breathe: our immune machinery; T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells combat a pneumococcal infection and other bacteria (top left and bottom right), within the lungs. The artwork also features an overlay of public and private TCRs binding pneumolysin epitope-HLA complex, emphasising their importance in detecting this harmful cytotoxin. Artwork by Dr. Erica Tandori.

Original article

Celebrating International Women’s Day

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March 8th marks International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. This year’s theme is “Choose to Challenge,” which encourages everyone to challenge gender bias and inequality and create a more inclusive world.

In the field of Science, women have made significant contributions, from Marie Curie’s groundbreaking research on radioactivity to Rosalind Franklin’s crucial role in the discovery of the structure of DNA.  Today, women continue to make important contributions to scientific fields, including immunology, which is the focus of the Rossjohn Lab.

Women in the Rossjohn lab are driving forward our understanding of the immune system, and their work is essential to the advancement of scientific knowledge. We commend the efforts of our women from undergraduate and graduate students, exchange and scholarship students, research assistants, research fellows, group leaders, administrative staff, managers and artist in residence.

We acknowledge that women still face significant challenges in the Sciences, such as the gender pay gap, fellowship and grant successes, lack of representation in leadership positions, and bias and discrimination. To address these challenges, we sat down over some coffee and snacks, interacting and networking.  We hope it will help to foster a supportive lab community where we can look to each other for help and guidance and increase the visibility of women in Science.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it’s important to remember that there is still much work to be done to ensure gender equality in Science and beyond. By supporting and championing women in Science, we can help create a more diverse and inclusive scientific community that benefits us all. Let us continue to celebrate the achievements of women in Science and work together to break down the barriers that still exist. By doing so, we can create a more equitable and just world for everyone. Happy International Women’s Day.

 

 

Congrats to our newly appointed BDI Group Leaders: Wael, Jan and Adam

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Monash BDI announce new Group Leaders

Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) is excited to announce 13 newly selected Group Leaders. These Group Leaders are part of a program created by Monash BDI to help early career researchers (ECRs) bridge the gap between senior postdoctoral fellow and independent lab head.

Professor Dena Lyras, Deputy Director at the Monash BDI, said that this program provides recognition and additional career momentum for researchers who are leading novel, cutting-edge research programs and developing their independence.

“Congratulations to all of the newly selected Group Leaders. This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of these researchers, and we look forward to seeing their next steps and achievements,” said Professor Lyras.

Congratulations to the newly selected Monash BDI Group Leaders:

Dr Wael Awad seeks to elucidate the mechanistic basis underpinning metabolite capture and loading of the MHC class I-related molecule “MR1” by cellular chaperones, by using cutting-edge molecular, immunological and biochemical approaches. He also explores the scope of environmental and microbial metabolites that can modulate human T cell immunity. Such studies pave the way for the development of innovative therapeutics based on selective modulation of T cell immunity.

Dr Jan Petersen’s research focuses on antimicrobial immunity and natural killer (NK) cell immunity. He investigates how T cells and NK cells recognise microbial peptide antigens presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, and aims to decipher the molecular mechanisms that define the ability of the adaptive immune system to distinguish between self and foreign. Focused on events central to infection and immunity, his work is aimed at understanding outcomes in various diseases and transplantation.

Dr Adam Shahine is focused on the molecular roles of lipids in the regulation and dysregulation of human adaptive immunity. Using structural biology, he seeks to investigate the mechanisms of lipid antigen recycling, and the presentation of lipid antigens by CD1 antigen presenting molecule family T cells.

Dr Deepak Adhikari aims to gain a better understanding of how mitochondria are formed and how they regulate the development of eggs and offspring.

Dr Asolina Braun aims to understand what initially causes psoriasis and hence to discover new treatments for this skin disease. Her research is focused on finding peptides that trigger and set off the detrimental immune response in psoriasis.

Dr Luke Formosa investigates how mitochondrial enzymes are built from their individual subunits, and how this process is disrupted in mitochondrial disease. One in 5,000 children will develop a mitochondrial disease, but about one-third of patients won’t have a genetic diagnosis. By discovering new genes that play a role in this process, the diagnosis of patients can be improved, paving the way for new treatments for this disease.

Dr Meiling Han’s research targets antibiotic resistance, focusing on the mechanism(s) underpinning the extensive membrane remodelling that occurs in Gram-negative bacteria and the interactions between remodelled bacterial membranes and membrane-targeting antimicrobials (e.g. lipopeptides). The fundamental mechanistic information that she generates will greatly inform the future design of much-needed antibiotics against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Dr Anja Knaupp’s research centres on characterising cell-type-specific sets of proteins and determining how they operate. Insight into these molecular mechanisms and drivers is key for our understanding of cellular identity and changes that, for example, occur during cancer development.

Dr Rachael Lappan aims to understand the nature and basis of microbial life in the atmosphere, the largest but most unexplored potential ecosystem on Earth. Using cutting-edge molecular and biogeochemical approaches, she aims to identify true microbial residents of the atmosphere, understand their mechanisms for survival in this environment and explore their role in seeding newly formed environments.

Dr Kate McArthur’s research uses a variety of microscopy and cell biology techniques to understand the mechanisms behind, and immune responses to, mitochondrial changes and aberrant cell death during disease.

Dr Nitin Patil is investigating peptide- and oligonucleotide-based antimicrobial drug development and delivery.

Dr Francesca Short combines genomic and molecular microbiology approaches to understand bacterial behaviour and adaptation. Her current research focuses on how bacteria control the production of virulence factors during infection and on how common disinfectants can compromise antibiotic efficacy.

Dr Yogitha Srikhanta investigates strategies that bacterial gut pathogens employ to proliferate, cause disease and survive, with a focus on antibiotic resistance and epigenetic-mediated gene regulation.

Original article

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Congrats Ben on the award of the Future Leader Postdoctoral Fellowship

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Monash BDI success in Faculty fellowships

Six postdoctoral researchers from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) have received fellowships in two separate schemes offered by the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (MNHS).

These awards will support outstanding early career researchers at key points in their careers. This opportunity allows them to continue to pursue their chosen research programs in areas as diverse as understanding gene regulation in prostate cancer, identifying the molecular determinants of immune cell recognition and treating antimicrobial resistant infections.

Congratulations to Dr Sue Nang, Dr Gaofeng Ni and Dr Evan Healy on receiving a Faculty Early Career Postdoctoral Fellowship.

The Early Career Postdoctoral Fellowship (formerly Bridging Postdoctoral Fellowship) provides funding to support the career development of final year PhD students and early career researchers while they apply for externally funded fellowships.

The Future Leader Postdoctoral Fellowships (formerly Senior Postdoctoral Fellowships) are targeted at outstanding candidates who have clear potential to be successful in external career fellowship schemes.

Three Future Leader Postdoctoral Fellowships were awarded to Monash BDI’s Dr Anja Knaupp, Dr Benjamin Gully and Dr Natalie Lister.

Original article