Research Activities

  My specialist interest is in the area of bacterial pathogenesis, with a focus on investigating the structure-function relationships in proteins involved in bacterial infections. Since forming my group in 2012 I have led my team in the study of bacterial virulence factors (adhesins, toxins, virulence regulators) using structural biology, biochemistry and molecular biology approaches. These proteins are novel antibacterial drug targets and in this context we are using small molecule and antibody approaches to develop inhibitors, which could represent new classes of antimicrobial agents. Our research output and achievements have been reflected by our success in publishing our work in leading international journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Antioxidants and Redox Signalling, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Angewandte Chemie International, and obtaining external research funding including an ARC Future Fellowship, an ARC Discovery and an NHMRC project grants.