Protein Discovery Centre

Group Leader

Professor Jeff Gorman

Summary

The QIMR Protein Discovery Centre (QPDC) is a state-of-the-art facility recognised as a world leader in the mass spectrometry and proteomics field and is one of the most advanced and best equipped of its kind in Australia. The centre collaborates broadly on both national and international projects.

The centre aims to discover the identities of proteins involved in and/or affected by physiological and disease processes and the ways in which these proteins function and interact and to develop techniques to observe stimulated cells and the reaction within cell proteins.

Current research

• Viruses that cause serious respiratory diseases of children
• Signal-activated transcription factors involved in cancer progression
• Virally infected cells versus non-infected cells – aimed at vaccine development
• Hypoxia inducible factor which controls the response to hypoxia – to determine if a particular enzyme affects other proteins
• Dioxin receptor – a xenobiotic regulator response involved in cancer
• Cancer stem cell phenotype analysis – developing markers for cancer stem cells
• Oxidative stress – in relation to virus infection and mosquito age grading 

Staff

Laboratory Head: Professor Jeff Gorman

Postdoctorate staff: Dr Keyur Dave, Dr Madeleine Headlam, Dr Marcus Hastie and Dr Manuel-Rey Plan

Visiting scientists: Dr Kirsten Spann (Sir Albert Sakzewski Virus Research Centre – The University of Queensland)

Research Assistants: Ms Johana Chicher, Mr Anders Diseberg, Ms Emma Redhead, Ms Cassandra Wright and Mr Buddhika Jayakody

Honours student: Mr Tim Reeks, Mr Yadveer Grewal 

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following funding agencies:

• National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
• NCRIS – via Bioplatforms Australia
• Queensland Government

Collaborators

Dr Peter Collins, Respiratory Virus Laboratory, National Institutes of Allergic and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health (USA)

Professor Mark Peeples, Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University Center for Vaccines and Immunity, Columbus Children's Research Institute, Columbus, Ohio (USA)

Dr Kirsten Spann, Respiratory Virus Research Unit Head, Clinical Medical Virology Centre, The University of Queensland and Sir Albert Sakzewski Virus Research Centre, Herston, Queensland, Australia

Professor Bryan Williams and Dr Anthony Sadler, Monash Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Victoria, Australia

Associate Professor Murray Whitelaw and Dr Daniel Peet, University of Adelaide, South Australia.

Drs Alejandro Lopez and Chris Schmidt, QIMR

Professor Brian Kay, QIMR

Associate Professor Joe Rothnagel and Prof Ross Smith, The University of Queensland

Professor Nick Dixon, University of Wollongong

Dr Ross McGeary, The University of Queensland

Professor Martin Lavin and Professor John de Jersey, QIMR and The University of Queensland

Dr Phil Bond, The University of Queensland