The Univeristy of Melbourne The Royal Melbourne Hopspital

A joint venture between The University of Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital

EDUCATION

Research Projects

Project: Bacterial subversion strategies to resist host-mediated copper stress

McDevitt group

Copper is an essential metal in mammals, but is not used by any known process in the major human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. During infection, S. pneumoniae is exposed to high levels of copper and has evolved a number of unique pathways to tolerate and subvert this host-mediated chemical stress. This project will investigate the previously uncharacterised subversion strategies employed by S. pneumoniae to resist copper stress and cause infection.

Contact project supervisor for further
information and application enquiries

Project Supervisor

Professor Christopher McDevitt

Project Co-supervisor

Dr Stephanie Neville

Project availability
PhD/MPhil
Honours

McDevitt group

christopher.mcdevitt@unimelb.edu.au

4 vacancies

Themes
Antimicrobial Resistance
Bacterial and Parasitic Infections
Cross Cutting Disciplines
Discovery Research

Research in the McDevitt group seeks to understand how bacterial pathogens acquire and use metal ions and how this shapes the host-pathogen interaction during infection.