About
The McDevitt laboratory is part of the
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Melbourne.
Research projects in the McDevitt group investigate the interaction of pathogenic bacteria with the host environment with a particular focus on characterising membrane transport proteins involved in the movement of essential metal ions.
News
The Challenge
Over the past 60 years, despite the availability of antibiotics, infectious bacterial diseases have continued to cause massive global morbidity and mortality. Currently, infectious bacterial diseases account for more than 10 million deaths each year.
The problem is growing every day due to the lack of effective vaccines, rapidly increasing rates of antibiotic resistance, the emergence of new pathogens and the re-emergence of "old" pathogens in new guises.
The McDevitt laboratory is committed to dealing with infectious bacterial diseases in the 21st century using a two-pronged approach to engineer novel antibacterial drugs, as well as to develop cheaper and more effective vaccines.
These challenges require a thorough understanding of the biology of disease and the complex interaction between the bacterial pathogen and its host in order to develop the next generations of vaccines and drugs.
Our Goal
Our research is supported by
