Project: Breaking bacterial antibiotic resistance using ionobiotics
McDevitt group
Antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens represent an imminent global threat to human health in the 21st century. Rising rates of bacterial resistance and a waning pipeline for new antibiotic discovery and development requires new approaches to address this healthcare crisis. This project will investigate the use of novel metal ion shuttling compounds, which we have called ionobiotics, that break drug resistance in high priority bacterial pathogens and render them susceptible to antibiotic treatment. This approach has the potential to restore the efficacy of our existing antibiotic arsenal. This project will contribute to showing the range of antibiotics that can be rescued by ionobiotic treatment and define the mechanism of action using a combination of molecular, biochemical, and multi-omic approaches.
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McDevitt group
3 vacancies
The McDevitt group studies bacterial pathogens, how they cause disease in the host, and develops novel therapeutics. In our group, we use state-of-the-art techniques that include genomics, molecular microbiology (e.g. making mutants, infection models, etc.), transcriptomics, biochemistry (e.g. recombinant proteins), and mass spectrometry. Our projects also involve working with immunologists, biophysicists, and structural biologists to access technologies and techniques that complement our work. We also work with biotech and industry partners to translate our research findings.
McDevitt group Current Projects
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Breaking bacterial antibiotic resistance using ionobiotics
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
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Defining the virulence mechanisms of antibiotic resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
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Developing a novel therapeutic approach to treat Streptococcus pneumoniae infections
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
Research degrees at the Doherty Institute are administered by the University of Melbourne.