Higher Degree by Research Application Portal

The stability and composition of the airway microbiome is an important determinant of respiratory health. Over the past our research has identified key commensal-pathogen interactions that are considered beneficial due to their ability to impede the growth of the opportunistic pathogens Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Moraxella catarrhalis that are responsible for a range of respiratory infections including pneumonia, otitis media and acute exacerbations of chronic lung disease, leading causes of childhood mortality and morbidity. Our aim is to develop these commensals along the translation pipeline as live biotherapeutic products. However, this work requires understanding of the human host response to epithelial colonization. 

This project will study transcriptional changes in human airway epithelial cells following colonization by protective commensals to identify novel host-specific factors influenced by protective commensal stains. The human airway epithelial cell model of commensal-pathogen interaction has been developed in collaboration with airway biology experts in Australia and will be used to study the transcriptional changes triggered in the epithelium upon colonization by commensals. The commensal strains of interest can colonize the human airway epithelium for at least 7 days post exposure. RNAseq will be carried out on epithelium infected with PBS, commensal strains, pathogens H. influenzae or S. pneumoniae or M. catarrhalis, or commensal-pathogen co-infection at different timepoints over the 7-day infection period. The transcriptional profiles will be compared. We expect to identify novel host factors involved in pathogen inhibition that involve the host epithelium. We will validate key findings from the transcriptional analysis using existing samples collected from human participants infected (or co-infected) with the bacteria of interest.  

Australian NHMRC

Telethon 7 Trust

Western Australian Child Health Research Fund

Prof. Mark Nicol

mark.nicol@uwa.edu.au

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a program of independent, supervised research that is assessed solely on the basis of a thesis, sometimes including a creative work component, that is examined externally. The work presented for a PhD must be a substantial and original contribution to scholarship, demonstrating mastery of the subject of interest as well as an advance in that field of knowledge. 

Visit the course webpage for full details of this course including admission requirements, course rules and the relevant CRICOS code/s.