We offer a busy calendar of events, which are variously available to the public, our graduates, future and current students, and staff.

Structural Biology and Biochemistry Theme Seminars - Probing protein assemblies by native mass spectrometry

30 June 2022 3:00pm4:00pm
Dr Keitos Sokratous from OMass Therapeutics, Oxford, UK, will present a general overview of structural mass spectrometry (MS) approaches in studying proteins and protein assemblies, with a particular focus in native MS.

Bowl-Shaped Catalysts for Site-Selective C-H Functionalization

24 June 2022 11:15am12:15pm
Prof. Huw M. L. Davies from the Department of Chemistry, Emory University, USA will describe a series of new bowl-shaped catalysts, which are capable of distinguishing between very similar C-H bonds in a highly selective manner. Please contact Prof Craig Williams (c.williams@uq.edu.au) if you wish to meet the speaker afterwards.

Curious Chemical Conundrums

24 June 2022 9:30am10:30am
Prof. Varinder K. Aggarwal from the School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, UK reactivity will discuss selectivity in various ylide reactions, reactivity of highly strained molecules and C-H borylation reactions. Please contact Prof Craig Williams (c.williams@uq.edu.au) if you wish to meet Prof Aggarwal afterwards.

Synthetic streamlining via C-H bond functionalization.

20 June 2022 1:00pm2:00pm
Prof. Nidhi Jain from the UQ Centre for Natural Gas and Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, will discuss his groups recently developed strategies to construct C-C, C-N, C-O and C-S bonds assisted by palladium and copper catalysts, hypervalent iodine reagents and photocatalysts in visible light. Please contact Dr Paul Shaw (p.shaw3@uq.edu.au) if you wish to meet the speaker afterwards.

You can take the boy out of science but you cannot take the scientist out of the boy - the mutually beneficial relationship between research and other sectors

20 June 2022 12:00pm1:00pm
This seminar will not feature any Western blots, ELISAs, immuno-fluorescent microscopy or immuno-assays. Instead, Dr Jason Leung from Pricewaterhouse Coopers will talk about: I) The skills and experiences gained through research and academia and their value when transferred to other sectors; and ii) The lessons learned from other sectors and how these are relevant to research and academia

Greenhouse gases: geological CO2 storage, and methane in aquifers overlying gas reservoirs.

13 June 2022 1:00pm2:00pm
Dr Julie Pearce from the UQ Centre for Natural Gas, will discuss experiments performed at reservoir pressure and temperature conditions to react pure and impure CO2 with formation water and the rock cores, and modelling to understand potential impacts of CO2 storage. 

Targeting the gut microbiota– a new therapy for T1D?

1 June 2022 12:00pm1:00pm
Associate Professor Emma Hamilton-Williams from UQDI will present the findings from her team's recent clinical trial using a prebiotic fibre supplement to target the gut microbiota in adults with type 1 diabetes to remodel the microbiota functional response as well as systemic immunity.

Structural Biology & Biochemistry Theme Seminars

26 May 2022 1:00pm2:00pm
Molecular basis of auto-inhibition, activation and substrate recognition of SARM1, the executioner of axon degeneration presented by Dr Weixu Gu and Co-encapsulation of Ancestral P450 and its redox partner Cytochrome P450 reductase in VLP (P22) presented by Loic Bourdon

Polymeric Nanosensors and Nanozymes for Drug Delivery

23 May 2022 1:00pm2:00pm
Scientia Associate Professor Rona Chandrawati from the School of Chemical Engineering and Australian Centre for Nanomedicine, UNSW, will discuss the design, synthesis, and applications of nanoparticles for sensing and drug delivery.

RNA recombination between self-amplifying RNA vaccines and wild-type viruses

18 May 2022 12:00pm1:00pm
Tess Hick from Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands will present work that addresses the hypothetical risk of RNA recombination between self-replicating alphavirus replicon and circulating wild-type viruses.

In-operando transmission electron microscopy characterisation and solid-state Na-ion batteries.

16 May 2022 1:00pm2:00pm
Dr Ruth Knibbe from the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, UQ, will discuss two main areas her group has been working on – in-operando liquid electrochemical transmission electron microscopy and the development of solid-state batteries.

Oxidised Cholesterols in the Lung: Novel Immune Regulators during Bacterial and Viral Respiratory Infections

11 May 2022 12:00pm1:00pm
A/Prof Katharina Ronacher from the Mater Research Institute will present data demonstrating that oxidised cholesterols, or so called oxysterols, that are produced produced in the lung in response to both bacterial (M. tuberculosis) and viral respiratory infections (influenza, SARS-CoV-2), facilitate the chemotactic recruitment of immune cells expressing the oxysterol-sensing receptor GPR183 to lung.

Magnets come in all shapes and sizes; new examples based on coordination complexes, stable organic radicals and nanoparticles.

9 May 2022 1:00pm2:00pm
Dr Rebecca O. Fuller from Chemistry – School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, will present a talk highlighting three very different magnetic materials that her team is developing.

Widespread discrepancy in mouse genetic backgrounds complicates Chikungunya virus, SARS-CoV-2 and other mouse studies

27 April 2022 12:00pm1:00pm
Dr Daniel Rawle, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, will describe a serendipitous discovery that, in the course of investigating the physiological role of granzyme A, has revealed the significance of the Nnt gene mutation in the inflammatory responses in mouse models. Remarkably, k-mer mining of the Sequence Read Archive illustrated that ≈27% of Run Accessions and ≈38% of BioProjects listing C57BL/6J as the mouse strain had Nnt sequencing reads inconsistent with a C57BL/6J genetic background. Nnt and mouse background issues have clearly complicated our understanding of granzyme A and may similarly have influenced studies across a broad range of fields. We also show that Nnt genotype and mouse backgrounds can affect SARS-CoV-2 mouse models. I will end the talk by outlining the SARS-CoV-2 mouse models in our lab, and another serendipitous discovery; ACE2-independent SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Student-led Development of Virtual Laboratories for Multimodal (Hybrid) Teaching

11 April 2022 1:00pm2:00pm
Dr Stephanie Schweiker from the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at Bond University will present on the student-led feedback and modifications made to improve our virtual laboratory experiments developed for multimodal (hybrid) teaching.

RNA interference for sustainable plant protection

6 April 2022 12:00pm1:00pm
Dr Anne Sayer from QAAFI/SCMB will present recent research into the effectiveness of using RNA interference (RNAi)-based plant protection as an environmentally sustainable disease control strategy against fungal pathogens.

New Strategies for the Synthesis of Unusual Peptides and Alkaloids

4 April 2022 1:00pm2:00pm
Prof Steven L. Castle from the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department, Brigham Young University / Provo, UTAH, USA, will present results from his teams synthetic efforts targeting the peptide yaku’amide A and related analogs, and the anticancer activity of these compounds will be discussed. In addition, efforts to use the methodology developed in this endeavor to evaluate the ability of dehydroamino acids to increase the proteolytic stability of peptides will be described.

Lateral-flow point of care tests - from CD4 T-cells to liver disease and COVID-19

30 March 2022 12:00pm1:00pm
Associate Professor David Anderson from the Burnet Institute will provide an update on the development of point-of-care tests for CD4 T-cells (Visitect CD4), syphilis, liver disease and cirrhosis, and dimeric IgA and neutralising antibodies in COVID-19.

Infection and Immunity Theme Seminar

24 March 2022 12:00pm1:00pm
EMCRs and HDR students from the Infection and Immunity theme will present their latest research.

Arthritogenic alphaviruses: New insights on how host immune responses drive disease

23 March 2022 12:00pm1:00pm
Dr Ali Zaid from the Menzies Health Institute, Griffith University, present recent work based on animal models of arthritogenic alphaviruses Ross River virus (RRV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV), with a focus on immune responses and the role of distinct immune compartments in inflammation, disease, and resolution.

Electrochemical CO2 Utilisation – Catalysts, Device, and System

21 March 2022 1:00pm2:00pm
Dr Fengwang Li from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Sydney, will talk about recent advances in CO2RR to ethylene, a chemical used to produce plastics and the basis of a US$160B global industry. Specifically, molecular tuning catalyst design strategy, membrane electrode assembly (MEA) based electrolyser, and carbon balance in CO2RR will be discussed.

The Australian black swan genome and transcriptome provide insight into the pathogenesis of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI).

16 March 2022 12:00pm1:00pm
Associate Professor Kirsty Short from the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, presents research demonstrating that compared to other wild waterfowl, black swans have not expanded their immune gene repertoire, lack a key viral pattern-recognition receptor and mount a poorly controlled inflammatory response to HPAI.

CFC to HCFC to HFC to HFE? Worsening a fingermark developer for a better environment.

14 March 2022 1:00pm2:00pm
Dr William Gee, Senior Lecturer at the School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, presents the latest challenge faced by iodine alpha-napthoflavone fingerprint development.

Look what the cat dragged in! Infection kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the feline model of COVID-19

9 March 2022 12:00pm1:00pm
Dr Craig Miller, Director of the Immunopathology Core Laboratory in the Oklahoma Center for Respiratory and Infectious Diseases (OCRID) at Oklahoma State University will present his latest research on infection kinetics in a feline model of natural SARS-CoV-2 infection that results in clinical disease and histopathologic lesions consistent with acute COVID-19 in humans.

New Strategies for Anticancer and Antibacterial Drug Discovery

8 March 2022 10:00am11:00am
Prof Paul Hergenrother from the Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, will describe his teams creation of close to 1000 bioactive compounds and their application in discovering rules for Gram-negative penetrance, and the use of this information to create a number of novel classes of antibiotics with activity against Gram-negative bacteria. The lecture will also discuss some of his team's latest advances in anticancer drug discovery.

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