Genome wide investigations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to reveal processes of pathogenesis [ 2007 - 2009 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Dr Nicholas West (Principal investigator)

Brief description Tuberculosis remains a global health burden of staggering proportions. Around 1 in 3 people are infected with Mycobacteria tuberculosis, the organism responsible for the disease, which kills 2 million people annually. The emergence of strains now resistant to almost all of our front line drugs has placed extra pressure on researchers who are attempting to develop new protective vaccines and the critical antibiotics required to eradicate the disease. Furthermore the current global HIV pandemic is making the situation far worse as HIV kills the very cells of the body that protect us from tuberculosis. This research project will fill the significant gaps in our knowledge of M. tuberculosis infection, specifically identify the genes of the organism which allow it to invade and spread throughout the body. M. tuberculosis infection consists of 3 characteristic stages, i.e. colonisation, spread and long term survival in specialised structures called granulomas. It is from these granulomas that the bacterium can emerge after long periods of inactivity to cause clinical tuberculosis. Using a mouse model of infection I will define the genes needed by the bacterium to survive at these 3 key stages of disease thereby providing for a better knowledge base from which to design new vaccine strategies and to create effective drugs.

Funding Amount $AUD 396,341.71

Funding Scheme NHMRC Project Grants

Notes New Investigator Grant