2012 Research Opportunities - Health

Marine and environmental immunology: biotic and abiotic impacts in herpesvirus epizootics in oysters

There is a current epizootic in Pacific oysters (C. gigas) due to the herpesvirus OsHv which had devastated commercial oyster production in France and other countries. The disease was detected in Sydney in 2010. This PhD project will investigate interactions between environmental factors and immunity in oysters in the field and also in laboratory studies.

The goal is to devise control strategies to enable Australian oyster farmers to remain profitable. This project will seek to answer fundamental questions about how molluscs evolve through natural selection to cope with devastating diseases. The project will involve collaboration with researchers in France and throughout Australia and may require extensive travel.

Supervisors:Dr Ika Paul-Pont / Dr Navneet Dhand
Co-supervisor:Prof Richard Whittington

Further Information:
The successful candidate must have completed an undergraduate degree in science, agriculture, veterinary science or equivalent, have research experience (Honours or Master’s degree), good analytical and communication skills, and be willing to undertake marine and estuarine field studies.

The successful applicant must apply for and be awarded a scholarship (stipend) for example, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or IPA (International Postgraduate Award). For international students, the student must have a scholarship which covers full tuition fees and a living allowance.
The project is based at the Camden campus.

Immune modulation during mycobacterial infection:host and pathogen processes

M.paratuberculosis causes chronic intestinal disease in animals. Recently, this mycobacterium has been found to infect humans and may be linked to Crohn’s disease, a debilitating inflammation of the bowel. The pathology and immune response to M.paratuberculosis infection closely resembles what occurs in other diseases caused by mycobacteria, including tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) and leprosy (M. leprae) in humans. This makes Johne’s disease, the disease caused by M.paratuberculosis in cattle and sheep, an excellent animal model for mycobacterial infections.

Immune modulation occurs during mycobacterial infection, both related to the host and the pathogen responses. Findings from microarray analysis of early exposure of cattle to M.Paratuberculosis have revealed the involvement of immune pathways. This PhD project will study in detail the implications of these findings with particular emphasis on novel cellular mechanisms that may be altered in response to M.paratuberculosis and how these changes impact upon the pathogenesis of Johne’s disease, both from the point of view of the pathogen and the host.

Working within a large multidisciplinary and supportive team with access to ongoing field trials, this project will use an established experimental infection model in cattle and sheep. Animals can be followed throughout the course of the disease. Pathology of the lesions and expression of cytokines and chemokines throughout disease will be compared. The role of regulatory cells and molecules in M.paratuberculosis infection will also be examined. The study will incorporate molecular techniques such as cell culture, immunohistochemistry, quantitative RT-PCR, Flow Cytometry and genome array analysis to monitor changes in host cellular responses.

Supervisor: Dr Auriol Purdie / Dr Karren Plain
Co-supervisor: Prof Richard Whittington

Further Information:
The project is based at the Camden campus. The successful candidate must have completed an undergraduate degree in science, agriculture, veterinary science or equivalent, have research experience (Honours or Master’s degree), good analytical and communication skills, and be willing to perform laboratory and field based studies.

The successful applicant must apply for and be awarded a scholarship (stipend) for example, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) for Australian and New Zealand residents. For international applicants, the student must have a scholarship which covers full tuition fees and a living allowance. In addition, a ‘top-up’ of the living allowance may be negotiated with the successful student.

Vaccines for Johne’s disease: defining protection

Johne’s disease is an infection of ruminants that results in wasting and the eventual death of the affected animal. The infection is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis. While there is a currently available vaccine for sheep, this does not stop infections and can result in severe injection site lesions. A safe and effective vaccine for Johne’s disease is an imperative for disease control in the agricultural industry in Australia. This project will examine alternative formulations that could be used for new vaccines to control Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis infections primarily in sheep. Working within a large multidisciplinary and supportive team with access to ongoing field trials, this project will examine the immunity developed by various vaccine formulations to determine why the vaccines do or do not provide protection. This project will enable the candidate to develop a range of skills including animal handling, cellular and humoral immunology and molecular biology. The successful candidate will be exposed to state of the art immunology and vaccine technology. After graduation the candidate will be well placed to enter the vaccine development, commercial or research fields.

Supervisor: Dr Douglas Begg / Dr Kumi de Silva
Co-supervisor: Prof Richard Whittington

Further Information:
The successful candidate must have completed an undergraduate degree in science, agriculture, veterinary science or equivalent, have research experience (Honours or Master’s degree), good analytical and communication skills, and be willing to participate in laboratory and field based studies.

The successful applicant must apply for and be awarded a scholarship (stipend) for example, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or IPA (International Postgraduate Award). For international students, the student must have a scholarship which covers full tuition fees and a living allowance. Dependant on experience, a ‘top-up’ of the living allowance may be negotiated with the successful candidate.

The project is based at the Camden campus.