Geoff Mcfadden awarded a 2006 ARC Federation Fellowship

30th May 2006

Congratulations to Howard Hughes International Scholar, Professor Geoff McFadden, based at the Botany School, at the University of Melbourne who was recently awarded an ARC Federation Fellowship. These awards are highly prestigious and designed to develop and retain the skills of Australian researchers.

Geoff is the first parasitologist to win a Federation Fellowship and he talked to Lisa Jones about the award on 30 May 2006.

Why is your area of research important?

"I research the malaria parasite. Malaria is a major global health problem, with an estimated five million people dying from the disease every year. Existing therapeutic drugs are no longer as useful in treating malaria because, over the years, the parasites have become resistant to them. Our research involves finding new drugs and new parasite-specific targets through looking at plant evolutionary history and the history of the parasite. Our research group was the first to identify a relict chloroplast in malaria parasites and this revolutionised our understanding of the parasite's evolution. Currently we have been identifying a whole new range of drugs that weren't previously considered anti-malarials, including herbicides. We've had a high success rate and have identified approximately 15 new drugs, including herbicides and antibiotics (like doxycycline). Identifying targets and leads is relatively easy - now it is a matter of their potency."

What does being awarded an ARC Federation Fellowship mean for your research?

"We will be able to expand our research group and do totally new things that we couldn't do before. The Federation Fellowship money will be used to create a malaria mosquito facility in Melbourne to enable scientists to study the parasite in the mosquito phase of its life cycle. The new facility will also be used to study insect-borne viruses and develop new and sophisticated gene targeting technologies for malaria parasite research."

"We will use the facility and funds to build a mosquito colony, using either Anopheles stephensi or Anopheles farauti (the latter is a vector for malaria that is found in Australia, SE Asia and India), infect them with malaria and then investigate what is happening to their organelles. This new knowledge of the basic biology of the malaria parasite will help in the development of new anti-malarial drugs."

"The ARC Federation Fellowship means that I will have more flexibility and be able to focus on my research. I think that the new facility will attract collaborators worldwide as there are few of these types of research facilities; the Institut Pasteur in Paris and Imperial College London offer similar research facilities."

What will stop the malaria parasite from becoming resistant to the new anti-malaria drugs that you are developing?

"Scientists are more prepared now and know how resistance to drugs works. We are a lot smarter about resistance and develop multiple-enzyme targets and cycle drugs to deter drug resistance."

What are the steps you need to take once you have developed new anti-malaria drugs so that people infected with malaria can benefit from your research?

"The process of identifying and developing new drugs to combat malaria might be a long process. Initially we will identify a lead or a target and then assess its economic viability...find out how cheap is it to make and how difficult to synthesise - herbicides are manufactured on a massive production scale so they are generally pretty cheap to make."

"Next we test the lead against parasites in the lab (in culture); then test the lead in animal models (usually mice)."

"The next stage is to find out about the pharmacokinetics of the new drug and finally the drug goes to clinical trials."

"We will collaborate with other scientists throughout the process of identifying leads and testing them; we have good links with industry and NGO's like the Medicines for Malaria Venture (Initiative) who help our research"

"With this process in mind the ARC Federation Fellowship is not a bad timeframe (5 years) for the research work that I do."

How does your research into anti-malaria drugs fit in with the malaria vaccine development at QIMR and why are both areas of research necessary?

"We are using complementary approaches. Vaccines are better for long-term solutions; with a vaccine you are looking to totally eliminate the disease, it is the ultimate solution. However a vaccine for malaria may be a way off and in the meantime we use anti-malaria drugs."

"Malaria drugs are a short term fix, they can assist in short-term problems but people may be re-infected. There are currently drugs at various stages of development in the pipeline for treating malaria, these should help to alleviate the problem."

What sort of advantages do you anticipate the new malaria mosquito facility in Melbourne will give to this area of research?

"This facility will hopefully encourage collaborations within the malaria research community; scientists will be able to study parasite lifestyle, develop new drugs to target malaria, and study how these drugs affect motility of and invasion by the parasite."

"The malaria research community in Melbourne (includes scientists from Monash University, University of Melbourne, LaTrobe University, and WEHI) are leaders in malaria cell biology. There is already a critical mass in Melbourne who use sophisticated technologies, have a great knowledge in immunology and cell biology and have a strong bioinformatics facility. I hope that the facility will be a magnet, attracting additional staff and visiting scientists. We will bring scientists in to tap into new techniques and to share some of our own skills."

The ARC invests $41.5 million over five years into the Federation Fellowship award scheme; 90 Federation Fellowships have been taken up since the first awards in 2002. What sort of impact do you think this award scheme is having on science research both within Australia and internationally?

"The ARC Federation Fellowship is a fantastic scheme - it means that scientists are right up there at the top with world-class facilities and attractive remuneration, as most high-end jobs are. The Fellowship scheme is a great opportunity for me; and I think it helps to keep people in Australia. It would be good if there were even more opportunities available for Australian scientists - this would help Australia move away from being a resource-based country and to create more opportunities for scientific development."

"Being involved in setting up the ARC/NHMRC Research Network for Parasitology helped my application. The ARC has supported my career since day one and the ARC Federation Fellowship will give me the independence and flexibility to enable me to direct malaria research."