Associate Professor Kevin Downard

Associate Professor
School of Molecular Bioscience

G08 - Biochemistry Building
The University of Sydney
NSW 2006 Australia

T:	+61 (0)2 9351 4140
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W:	Related website

Themes

Infection and Immunological Conditions

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Biographical details

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Research interests

Main Research Areas :Mass Spectrometry, Proteomics, Protein Structure and Biology, Protein Bioinformatics, Computational Biology

Our internationally-recognized research in viral and structural proteomics, and bioinformatics, uses cutting edge mass spectrometry technologies that we both develop and apply.

Current research projects :

1. Viral proteomics using MS for surveillance of the type, subtype and antigenicity of the influenza virus and other biopathogens to monitor their evolution and identify the emergence of highly virulent new strains.

2. Application of Radical Probe Mass Spectrometry (RP-MS) to study protein interaction interfaces and the impact of oxidation on these interactions. Our research is focussed particularly on long lived tissue proteins.

3. Development and application of new computer algorithms (eg. COMPLX, PROXIMO and PRISM) and approaches to obtain information on the structure and interactions of proteins from mass spectra and to advance bioinformatics. Other algorithms to deconvolute ESI mass spectra (CRAM), advance "shotgun" proteomics (ETISEQ), and type influenza virus (FluTyper) have also been written.

Selected Invited Talks:

(Opening Keynote) GRC Isotopes in Biological & Chemical Sciences (Galveston, USA 2012)
Mass Spectrometry Society of Japan BMS Symposium (Yokohama, Japan 2011)
1st Asian and Oceanic Mass Spectrometry Conference & 58th MSSJ Annual Conference on Mass Spectrometry (Tsukuba, Japan, 2010)
(Keynote Lecture) 18th International Mass Spectrometry Conference (IMSC) (Bremen, Germany 2009
5th Australian Influenza Symposium (Melbourne, Australia 2009)
4th Annual Infectious Disease and Control (Sydney, Australia 2009). Vaccines Europe (Brussels, Belgium 2008)

Selected Recent Publications:

Swaminathan K, Downard KM (2012) Anti-Viral Inhibitor Binding to Influenza Neuraminidase by MALDI Mass Spectrometry, Anal. Chem., 3725-3730.

Lun ATL, Wong JWH, Downard KM (2012) FluShuffle and FluResort - New Algorithms to Identify Reassorted Strains of the Influenza Virus by Mass Spectrometry, BMC Bioinformatics, 13, 208.

Maleknia SD, Downard KM (2012) On-Plate Deposition of Oxidized Proteins to Facilitate Protein Footprinting Studies by Radical Probe Mass Spectrometry, Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom., 26: 2311-2318.

Downard KM, Maleknia SD, Akashi S (2012) Impact of Limited Oxidation on Protein Ion Mobility and Structure of Importance to Footprinting by Radical Probe Mass Spectrometry, Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom., 26, 226-230.

Downard KM, Kokabu Y, Ikeguchi M, Akashi S (2011) Homology Modelled Structure of the Beta-B2B3-Crystallin Heterodimer Studied by Ion Mobility and Radical Probe Mass Spectrometry, FEBSJ, 278, 4044-4054.

Ha J-W, Downard KM (2011) Evolution of H5N1 Influenza Virus through Proteotyping of Hemagglutinin with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry, Analyst, 136, 3259 - 3267.

Ha J-W, Schwahn AB, Downard KM (2011) Proteotyping to Establish Gene Origin within Reassortant Influenza Viruses, PLoS One, 6, e15771.

Schwahn AB, Downard KM (2011) Proteotyping to Establish the Lineage of Type A H1N1 and Type B Human Influenza Virus, J. Virol. Methods, 171: 117-122.

Schwahn AB, Wong JWH, Downard KM (2010) Rapid Differentiation of Seasonal and Pandemic H1N1 Influenza through Proteotyping of Viral Neuraminidase with Mass Spectrometry, Anal. Chem., 82, 4584-4590.

PhD, Masters (by Research) and Honours research opportunities are available to qualified local and overseas students. Send your CV and transcripts to the laboratory CI.

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