Pattern Recognition Receptors and Inflammation
immunological assays and biochemical mechanism of action assays. These projects also offer the opportunity for the biopharma experience of drug development and potential clinical application/trials. Keywords: innate immunity, inflammation, inflammasomes, drug development
Innate immune immunometabolism: the intersection between metabolism and immunology Suitability: Honours, PhD Project leader: A/Prof Ashley Mansell e: ashley.mansell@hudson.org.au Project description: Recent discoveries have positioned mitochondrial reprogramming by Toll-like receptors (TLRs), at the centre of innate immune inflammation. Immunometabolism describes the interplay between immunological and metabolic processes which are not only critical to the immediate innate immune response to infection, but also the new paradigm of innate memory or training, the concept that myeloid lineage cells can respond more strongly to future challenge via epigenetic reprogramming. We have discovered a role for STAT3 in immunometabolism and how this regulates inflammatory gene induction, mitochondrial health, and metabolism. This project offers the opportunity to explore the molecular dynamics and mechanisms of TLR-induced mitochondrial metabolism, and the temporal influence on transcriptional and epigenetic remodelling using advanced genetic sequencing and metabolomic approaches, in conjunction with novel mouse models of dysfunctional STAT3 signalling and inflammatory disease. Keywords: innate immunity, inflammation toll-like receptors, pattern recognition receptors, cell biology, mitochondria, metabolism
Developing therapies to treat inflammasome-mediated inflammation and disease Suitability: Honours, PhD Project leader: A/Prof Ashley Mansell e: ashley.mansell@hudson.org.au Project description: Inflammasomes are implicated and associated with nearly every major disease afflicting mankind: cancer; infections, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases. There is considerable interest therefore in developing novel therapies to target inflammasome-mediated inflammation. We, and our industrial partner have developed a family of novel multi-NLRP inflammasome inhibitors. This project offers the opportunity to characterise and evaluate the efficacy of these inhibitors in in vivo models of disease, cellular 15 Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases | Student Research Projects 2023
