Kobe:Research

Protein structure and function
Prof. Kobe's research theme is protein structure and function, with the emphasis on understanding the structural basis of intra- and intermolecular interactions formed by these macromolecules and inferring function from structure. The research focuses on using structural and molecular information to understand the molecular and cellular functions of proteins, aiming to validate the proteins as therapeutic targets or biotechnological products, and design new therapeutics and biotechnological applications. The primary technique used in the laboratory is X-ray crystallography, combined with a plethora of other molecular biology, biophysical and computational techniques.

Current projects include:
 * Structural proteomics of macrophage proteins
 * Mechanism and specificity of nuclear import
 * Structural basis of signal transduction
 * Structural basis of plant disease resistance and development
 * Molecular and structural basis of flavivirus and retrovirus-induced membrane fusion

Funded Projects

 * A Grid Enabled Network for the Molecular and Materials Structure Sciences
 * ARC Research Network, 2005 - 2009
 * Functional and structural characterisation of Defective embryo and meristems (Dem) proteins involved in plant development
 * ARC Discovery-Project, 2005 - 2007
 * New approaches to functional and structural genomics
 * ARC Federation Fellowship, 2005 - 2010
 * Phosphoproteomics: metabolic and exercise signalling markers for sedentary and trained individuals
 * NHMRC Medical Bioinformatics, Genomics and Proteomics Program, 2006 - 2010
 * Structure and function of novel macrophage proteins using high throughput crystallography
 * ARC Discovery-Project, 2004 - 2006

Student Projects Available

 * Computational biology approaches to characterizing protein-protein interactions
 * Protein structure-function studies in a number of systems including:
 * proteins from macrophages
 * proteins involved in nuclear transport processes
 * proteins involved in signal transduction
 * proteins involved in plant disease resistance and development