Dr Natalee Newton
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
+61 7 3365 4648
Primary research interest
Molecular virology and the structure of flaviviruses
About Me
I completed a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in Microbiology at The University of Queensland where I studied the antigenic properties of novel mosquito viruses in Australia. I then completed my PhD (2017-2021) at SCMB (UQ) with A/Prof Daniel Watterson, Dr Jody Hobson-Peters and Prof Roy Hall studying the infection and structure of mosquito and tick-borne flaviviruses. I continued my research on arboviruses as a Postdoctoral Researcher in A/Prof Daniel Watterson’s laboratory and was awarded an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellowship starting January 2022. My project aims to explore the structural evolution of flaviviruses to improve outbreak preparedness and design safer and more effective vaccines.
Research Focus and Collaborations
My main focus is on using cryo-electron microscopy to provide insights into flavivirus structure, with implications for viral evolution, rational vaccine design and therapeutic antibody development. I am currently working on utilising cutting-edge structural biology in combination with this chimeric virus system to explore pathogenic viral emergence and evolution at the molecular level. With a unique toolset my research is positioned to reveal the structural details of flavivirus evolution in the context of the infectious virion superstructure. I aim to translate these findings into new vaccines and strategies to overcome current epidemics and counter emerging flaviviral threats.
Funded Projects
NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow (2022-2026). Reconstructing ancestral viruses to fight current and future flavivirus outbreaks. Total value of grant: $650,740
Journal Articles
Wang, Lan-Lan, Cheng, Qia, Newton, Natalee D., Wolfinger, Michael T., Morgan, Mahali S., Slonchak, Andrii, Khromykh, Alexander A., Cheng, Tian-Yin and Parry, Rhys H. (2024). Xinyang flavivirus, from Haemaphysalis flava ticks in Henan Province, China, defines a basal, likely tick-only Orthoflavivirus clade. Journal of General Virology, 105 (5) ARTN 001991. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001991
Parry, Rhys H., Slonchak, Andrii, Campbell, Lewis J., Newton, Natalee D., Debat, Humberto J., Gifford, Robert J. and Khromykh, Alexander A. (2023). A novel tamanavirus (Flaviviridae) of the European common frog (Rana temporaria) from the UK. Journal of General Virology, 104 (12) 001927, 1-12. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001927
Speck, Peter, Mackenzie, Jason, Bull, Rowena A., Slobedman, Barry, Drummer, Heidi, Fraser, Johanna, Herrero, Lara, Helbig, Karla, Londrigan, Sarah, Moseley, Gregory, Prow, Natalie, Hansman, Grant, Edwards, Robert, Ahlenstiel, Chantelle, Abendroth, Allison, Tscharke, David, Hobson-Peters, Jody, Kriiger-Loterio, Robson, Parry, Rhys, Marsh, Glenn, Harding, Emma, Jacques, David A., Gartner, Matthew J., Lee, Wen Shi, McAuley, Julie, Vaz, Paola, Sainsbury, Frank, Tate, Michelle D., Sinclair, Jane ... Young, Paul (2023). Statement in Support of: “Virology under the Microscope—a Call for Rational Discourse”. mSphere, 8 (3), e0016523. doi: 10.1128/msphere.00165-23
Speck, Peter, Mackenzie, Jason, Bull, Rowena A., Slobedman, Barry, Drummer, Heidi, Fraser, Johanna, Herrero, Lara, Helbig, Karla, Londrigan, Sarah, Moseley, Gregory, Prow, Natalie, Hansman, Grant, Edwards, Robert, Ahlenstiel, Chantelle, Abendroth, Allison, Tscharke, David, Hobson-Peters, Jody, Kriiger-Loterio, Robson, Parry, Rhys, Marsh, Glenn, Harding, Emma, Jacques, David A., Gartner, Matthew J., Lee, Wen Shi, McAuley, Julie, Vaz, Paola, Sainsbury, Frank, Tate, Michelle D., Sinclair, Jane ... Young, Paul (2023). Statement in Support of: “Virology under the Microscope—a Call for Rational Discourse”. Journal of Virology, 97 (5), e0045123. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00451-23
Speck, Peter, Mackenzie, Jason, Bull, Rowena A., Slobedman, Barry, Drummer, Heidi, Fraser, Johanna, Herrero, Lara, Helbig, Karla, Londrigan, Sarah, Moseley, Gregory, Prow, Natalie, Hansman, Grant, Edwards, Robert, Ahlenstiel, Chantelle, Abendroth, Allison, Tscharke, David, Hobson-Peters, Jody, Kriiger-Loterio, Robson, Parry, Rhys, Marsh, Glenn, Harding, Emma, Jacques, David A., Gartner, Matthew J., Lee, Wen Shi, McAuley, Julie, Vaz, Paola, Sainsbury, Frank, Tate, Michelle D., Sinclair, Jane ... Young, Paul (2023). Statement in Support of: “Virology under the Microscope—a Call for Rational Discourse”. mBio, 14 (3), e0081523. doi: 10.1128/mbio.00815-23
Speck, Peter, Mackenzie, Jason, Bull, Rowena A., Slobedman, Barry, Drummer, Heidi, Fraser, Johanna, Herrero, Lara, Helbig, Karla, Londrigan, Sarah, Moseley, Gregory, Prow, Natalie, Hansman, Grant, Edwards, Robert, Ahlenstiel, Chantelle, Abendroth, Allison, Tscharke, David, Hobson-Peters, Jody, Kriiger-Loterio, Robson, Parry, Rhys, Marsh, Glenn, Harding, Emma, Jacques, David A., Gartner, Matthew J., Lee, Wen Shi, McAuley, Julie, Vaz, Paola, Sainsbury, Frank, Tate, Michelle D., Sinclair, Jane ... Young, Paul (2023). Statement in Support of: “Virology under the Microscope-a Call for Rational Discourse”. Journal of Virology, 97 (5). doi: 10.1128/jvi.00451-23
Torres, Francisco J., Parry, Rhys, Hugo, Leon E., Slonchak, Andrii, Newton, Natalee D., Vet, Laura J., Modhiran, Naphak, Pullinger, Brody, Wang, Xiaohui, Potter, James, Winterford, Clay, Hobson-Peters, Jody, Hall, Roy A. and Khromykh, Alexander A. (2022). Reporter flaviviruses as tools to demonstrate homologous and heterologous superinfection exclusion. Viruses, 14 (7) 1501, 1501. doi: 10.3390/v14071501
O’Brien, Caitlin A., Huang, Bixing, Warrilow, David, Hazlewood, Jessamine E., Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, Hall-Mendelin, Sonja, Pegg, Cassandra L., Harrison, Jessica J., Paramitha, Devina, Newton, Natalee D., Schulz, Benjamin L., Suhrbier, Andreas, Hobson-Peters, Jody and Hall, Roy A. (2022). Extended characterisation of five archival tick-borne viruses provides insights for virus discovery in Australian ticks. Parasites and Vectors, 15 (1) 59, 59. doi: 10.1186/s13071-022-05176-z
Scott, Connor A. P., Amarilla, Alberto A., Bibby, Summa, Newton, Natalee D., Hall, Roy A., Hobson-Peters, Jody, Muller, David A., Chappell, Keith J., Young, Paul R., Modhiran, Naphak and Watterson, Daniel (2021). Implications of dengue virus maturation on vaccine induced humoral immunity in mice. Viruses, 13 (9) 1843, 1843. doi: 10.3390/v13091843
O'Brien, Caitlin A., Harrison, Jessica J., Colmant, Agathe M. G., Traves, Renee J., Paramitha, Devina, Hall-Mendelin, Sonja, Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, Vet, Laura J., Piyasena, Thisun B. H., Newton, Natalee D., Yam, Alice W., Hobson-Peters, Jody and Hall, Roy A. (2021). Improved detection of flaviviruses in Australian mosquito populations via replicative intermediates. Journal of General Virology, 102 (7) 001617. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001617
Hardy, Joshua M., Newton, Natalee D., Modhiran, Naphak, Scott, Connor A. P., Venugopal, Hariprasad, Vet, Laura J., Young, Paul R., Hall, Roy A., Hobson-Peters, Jody, Coulibaly, Fasséli and Watterson, Daniel (2021). A unified route for flavivirus structures uncovers essential pocket factors conserved across pathogenic viruses. Nature Communications, 12 (1) 3266, 3266. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-22773-1
Newton, Natalee D., Hardy, Joshua M., Modhiran, Naphak, Hugo, Leon E., Amarilla, Alberto A., Bibby, Summa, Venugopal, Hariprasad, Harrison, Jessica J., Traves, Renee J., Hall, Roy A., Hobson-Peters, Jody, Coulibaly, Fasséli and Watterson, Daniel (2021). The structure of an infectious immature flavivirus redefines viral architecture and maturation. Science Advances, 7 (20) eabe4507, 1-12. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abe4507
Modhiran, Naphak, Song, Hao, Liu, Lidong, Bletchly, Cheryl, Brillault, Lou, Amarilla, Alberto A., Xu, Xiaoying, Qi, Jianxun, Chai, Yan, Cheung, Stacey T. M., Traves, Renee, Setoh, Yin Xiang, Bibby, Summa, Scott, Connor A. P., Freney, Morgan E., Newton, Natalee D., Khromykh, Alexander A., Chappell, Keith J., Muller, David A., Stacey, Katryn J., Landsberg, Michael J., Shi, Yi, Gao, George F., Young, Paul R. and Watterson, Daniel (2021). A broadly protective antibody that targets the flavivirus NS1 protein. Science, 371 (6525), 190-194. doi: 10.1126/science.abb9425
Newton, Natalee D., Colmant, Agathe M. G., O’Brien, Caitlin A., Ledger, Emma, Paramitha, Devina, Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, Watterson, Daniel, McLean, Breeanna J., Hall-Mendelin, Sonja, Warrilow, David, van den Hurk, Andrew F., Liu, Wenjun, Hoare, Christina, Kizu, Joanne R., Gauci, Penelope J., Haniotis, John, Doggett, Stephen L., Shaban, Babak, Johansen, Cheryl A., Hall, Roy A. and Hobson-Peters, Jody (2020). Genetic, morphological and antigenic relationships between mesonivirus isolates from Australian mosquitoes and evidence for their horizontal transmission. Viruses, 12 (10) 1159, 1159. doi: 10.3390/v12101159
O’Brien, Caitlin A., Pegg, Cassandra L., Nouwens, Amanda S., Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, Huang, Bixing, Warrilow, David, Harrison, Jessica J., Haniotis, John, Schulz, Benjamin L., Paramitha, Devina, Colmant, Agathe M. G., Newton, Natalee D., Doggett, Stephen L., Watterson, Daniel, Hobson-Peters, Jody and Hall, Roy A. (2020). A unique relative of Rotifer birnavirus Isolated from Australian mosquitoes. Viruses, 12 (9) 1056, 1056. doi: 10.3390/v12091056
Harrison, Jessica J., Hobson-Peters, Jody, Colmant, Agathe M. G., Koh, Joanna, Newton, Natalee D., Warrilow, David, Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, Piyasena, Thisun B. H., O’Brien, Caitlin A., Vet, Laura J., Paramitha, Devina, Potter, James R., Davis, Steven S., Johansen, Cheryl A., Setoh, Yin Xiang, Khromykh, Alexander A. and Hall, Roy A. (2020). Antigenic characterization of new lineage II insect-specific flaviviruses in Australian mosquitoes and identification of host restriction factors. mSphere, 5 (3) e00095, 1-19. doi: 10.1128/msphere.00095-20
Vet, Laura J., Setoh, Yin Xiang, Amarilla, Alberto A., Habarugira, Gervais, Suen, Willy W., Newton, Natalee D., Harrison, Jessica J., Hobson-Peters, Jody, Hall, Roy A. and Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle (2020). Protective efficacy of a chimeric insect-specific flavivirus vaccine against West Nile virus. Vaccines, 8 (2) 258, 258. doi: 10.3390/vaccines8020258
Colmant, Agathe M. G., O'Brien, Caitlin A., Newton, Natalee D., Watterson, Daniel, Hardy, Joshua, Coulibaly, Fasséli, Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, Warrilow, David, Huang, Bixing, Paramitha, Devina, Harrison, Jessica J., Hall, Roy A. and Hobson-Peters, Jody (2020). Novel monoclonal antibodies against Australian strains of negeviruses and insights into virus structure, replication and host -restriction. Journal of General Virology, 101 (4), 440-452. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001388
Hobson-Peters, Jody, Harrison, Jessica J., Watterson, Daniel, Hazlewood, Jessamine E., Vet, Laura J., Newton, Natalee D., Warrilow, David, Colmant, Agathe M. G., Taylor, Carmel, Huang, Bixing, Piyasena, Thisun B. H., Chow, Weng Kong, Setoh, Yin Xiang, Tang, Bing, Nakayama, Eri, Yan, Kexin, Amarilla, Alberto A., Wheatley, Sarah, Moore, Peter R., Finger, Mitchell, Kurucz, Nina, Modhiran, Naphak, Young, Paul R., Khromykh, Alexander A., Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, Suhrbier, Andreas and Hall, Roy A. (2019). A recombinant platform for flavivirus vaccines and diagnostics using chimeras of a new insect-specific virus. Science Translational Medicine, 11 (522) eaax7888, 1-15. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aax7888
Piyasena, Thisun B H, Newton, Natalee D, Hobson-Peters, Jody, Vet, Laura J, Setoh, Yin X, Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, Khromykh, Alexander A and Hall, Roy A (2019). Chimeric viruses of the insect-specific flavivirus Palm Creek with structural proteins of vertebrate-infecting flaviviruses identify barriers to replication of insect-specific flaviviruses in vertebrate cells. The Journal of general virology, 100 (11), 1580-1586. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001326
Piyasena, Thisun B. H., Setoh, Yin X., Hobson-Peters, Jody, Newton, Natalee D., Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, McLean, Breeanna J., Vet, Laura J., Khromykh, Alexander A. and Hall, Roy A. (2019). Author Correction: Infectious DNAs derived from insect-specific flavivirus genomes enable identification of pre- and post-entry host restrictions in vertebrate cells. Scientific Reports, 9 (1) 8431, 8431. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-44657-7
Warrilow, David, Huang, Bixing, Newton, Natalee D., Harrison, Jessica J., Johnson, Karyn N., Chow, Weng Kong, Hall, Roy A. and Hobson-Peters, Jody (2018). The taxonomy of an Australian nodavirus isolated from mosquitoes. PLoS One, 13 (12) e0210029, 1-9. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210029
Colmant, Agathe M. G., Hall-Mendelin, Sonja, Ritchie, Scott A., Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, Harrison, Jessica J., Newton, Natalee D., O’Brien, Caitlin A., Cazier, Chris, Johansen, Cheryl A., Hobson-Peters, Jody, Hall, Roy A. and van den Hurk, Andrew F. (2018). The recently identified flavivirus Bamaga virus is transmitted horizontally by Culex mosquitoes and interferes with West Nile virus replication in vitro and transmission in vivo. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 12 (10) e0006886, e0006886. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006886
Piyasena, Thisun B. H. , Setoh, Yin X., Hobson-Peters, Jody, Newton, Natalee D. , Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, McLean, Breeanna J. , Vet, Laura J. , Khromykh, Alexander A. and Hall, Roy A. (2017). Infectious DNAs derived from insect-specific flavivirus genomes enable identification of pre- and post-entry host restrictions in vertebrate cells. Scientific Reports, 7 (1) 2940, 2940.1-2940.11. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-03120-1
O'Brien, Caitlin A., McLean, Breeanna J., Colmant, Agathe M. G., Harrison, Jessica J., Hall-Mendelin, Sonja, van den Hurk, Andrew F., Johansen, Cheryl A., Watterson, Daniel, Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, Newton, Natalee D., Schulz, Benjamin L., Hall, Roy A. and Hobson-Peters, Jody (2017). Discovery and characterisation of castlerea virus, a new species of Negevirus isolated in Australia. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 13, 1176934317691269. doi: 10.1177/1176934317691269
Hall, Roy A., Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, McLean, Breeanna J., O'Brien, Caitlin A., Colmant, Agathe M.G., Piyasena, Thisun B.H., Harrison, Jessica J., Newton, Natalee D., Barnard, Ross T., Prow, Natalie A., Deerain, Joshua M., Mah, Marcus G.K.Y. and Hobson-Peters, Jody (2017). Commensal viruses of mosquitoes: Host restriction, transmission, and interaction with arboviral pathogens. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 12 (Suppl 2), 35-44. doi: 10.4137/EBO.S40740
Thesis
Newton, Natalee Denise (2021). Binjari virus structure and use as a universal platform for flavivirus cryo-electron microscopy. PhD Thesis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/833b177