Dr Julie McAuley
Page Contents
Include: Bio | Major Research Project | Research Staff | Collaborators | Recent Publications
Julie McAuley BSc (Hons) PhD
| Academic Degrees | Contact Details | |
| 2000: Dual degree in B. A. S. Biochemistry and Chemistry (Hons),
Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia 2005: PhD, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia |
Tel: +61 3 8344 7751 Fax: +61 3 8347 1540 Email: jmcauley@unimelb.edu.au Room 3.19B, Department of Microbiology and Immunology |
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| Professional Appointments |
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| 2005-2009: Postdoctoral Fellow, McCullers Laboratory, Department of Virology,
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, TN, USA 2009-present: Senior Research Officer, Brown Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology |
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Bio
Dr Julie McAuley
Dr McAuley completed her PhD at the Mater Medical Research Institute (South Brisbane) in the field of mucosal immunology. Her PhD work examined innate defence mechanisms provided by the epithelial cell surface receptors and explored the mechanisms to which it protected host from invasion by pathogens in the intestinal environment. Her work in this field won several conference awards and was published in high impact journals. Dr McAuley then left Australia to pursue her postdoctoral research mentored by Dr Jonathan McCullers at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee (USA). She trained as a viral immunologist and studied the impact of novel influenza virus proteins on pathogenicity and predisposition to secondary bacterial infection in the host. Dr McAuley has extensive experience in understanding complexities of influenza and bacterial infection in both the mouse and ferret models, enabling important translation into the potential for virulence in humans. During the 4.5 year postdoctoral fellowship position she contributed a significant amount of knowledge in the field of influenza PB1-F2 protein research and is an author on more than 10% of publications in this area. Dr McAuley has also been invited to speak at several international conferences as a result of the importance of her work. In 2009 Dr McAuley gained an NHMRC New Investigator Priming Grant enabling her to establish an independent research group within Prof Brown’s Laboratory at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the University of Melbourne (UM). Dr McAuley is currently interested in understanding mechanisms of virulence of influenza virus and host strategies to combat infection. She aims to further explore the mechanisms to which the influenza virus PB1-F2 protein contributes to pathogenesis and to identify key features that may enable prediction of severity of disease in novel influenza outbreaks.
Major Research Project
Influenza A virus PB1-F2 protein: a putative virulence factor and initiator of inflammation
Influenza A virus (IAV) is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality and not only poses a constant threat due to emergence of new virus strains of unknown virulence in winter epidemics but can also trigger pandemics with the potential for deaths in the millions. No one can predict the severity of any influenza season, including a pandemic season. The three IAVs that caused separate pandemics in the 20th century and the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus vary widely in their virulence. Likewise seasonal IAV outbreaks can differ in their severity. Understanding factors contributing to IAV virulence is paramount if we are to ameliorate disease burden. The IAV PB1-F2 protein contributes to pathogenesis. Modified laboratory IAV strains producing PB1-F2 protein of lethal pandemic isolates enhances inflammation in the mouse model of infection, while pandemic 2009 H1N1 derived PB1-F2 protein does not. A clearer understanding of the host mechanisms of inflammation that PB1-F2 protein activates is currently being explored. Additionally, PB1-F2 proteins from relevant pandemic, epidemic and seasonal isolates are being evaluated for their influence on disease status during infection.
Research Staff
Robert Allen: PhD student
Charley Mackenzie-Kludas: Research Assistant
Collaborators
NH&MRC Project
NH&MRC New Investigator Project Grant “The impact of influenza A virus PB1-F2 protein on host
immunity and the potential for therapeutic targeting”
The project aims to explore the host-specific pathways triggered by expression of PB1-F2 during IAV infection and
correlate these outcomes with the enhanced inflammatory responses observed in the host in previous work.
Collaborators: Dr Jonathan McCullers, Dept Infectious Diseases, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, USA; Prof Anne Kelso (WHO), Dr Ashley Mansell, Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, Monash Institute of Medical Research
Recent publications (2006 - present)
- McAuley JL, McCullers JA. Pro-inflammatory effects of H5N1 and 20th century pandemic influenza virus PB1-F2 proteins are mediated by macrophages. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 2011; 5 (Suppl. 1): 280-3.
- McAuley JL, McCullers JA. Bacterial super-infections: the other side of influenza pathogenesis. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 2011; 5 (Suppl. 1): 11-4.
- Smith, AM, Adler, FR, McAuley, JL, Ribeiro, RM, McCullers, JA, Perelson AS. Effect of 1918 PB1-F2 expression on influenza A virus infection kinetics. PLoS Computational Biology 2011; 7(2): e1001081.
- Iverson AR, Boyd KL, McAuley JL, Plano LR, Hart ME, McCullers JA. Influenza Virus Primes Mice for Pneumonia From Staphylococcus aureus. J Infect Dis 2011; 203(6): 880-888.
- McCullers, JA, McAuley JL, Browall S, Iverson AR, Boyd KL, Henriques Normark B. Influenza enhances susceptibility to natural acquisition of and disease due to Streptococcus pneumoniae in ferrets. J Infect Dis 2010; 202: 1287-1295.
- McAuley JL, Chipuk JE, Boyd KL, Van De Velde N, Green DR, McCullers JA. PB1-F2 proteins from H5N1 and 20 century pandemic influenza viruses cause immunopathology. PLoS Pathog 2010; 6: e1001014.
- McAuley JL, Zhang K, McCullers JA. The effects of influenza A virus PB1-F2 protein on polymerase activity are strain specific and do not impact pathogenesis. J Virol 2009; 84: 558-564.
- Dawson PA, Huxley S, Gardiner B, Tran T, McAuley JL, Grimmond S, McGuckin MA, Markovich D. Reduced mucin sulfonation and impaired intestinal barrier function in the hyposulfataemic NaS1 null mouse. Gut 2009; 58: 910-919.
- McGuckin MA, Every AL, Skene CD, Linden SK, Chionh YT, Swierczak A, McAuley J, Harbour S, Kaparakis M, Ferrero R, Sutton P. Muc1 mucin limits both Helicobacter pylori colonization of the murine gastric mucosa and associated gastritis. Gastroenterology 2007; 133(4): 1210-8.
- McAuley JL, Linden SK, Png CW, King RM, Pennington HL, Gendler SJ, Florin TH, Hill GR, Korolik V, McGuckin MA. MUC1 cell surface mucin is a critical element of the mucosal barrier to infection. J Clin Invest 2007; 117: 2313-2324.
- McAuley JL, Hornung F, Boyd KL, Smith AM, McKeon R, Bennink J, Yewdell JW, McCullers JA. Expression of the 1918 influenza A virus PB1-F2 enhances the pathogenesis of viral and secondary bacterial pneumonia. Cell Host Microbe 2007; 2: 240-249.
- Peltola VT, Boyd KL, McAuley JL, Rehg JE, McCullers JA. Bacterial sinusitis and otitis media following influenza virus infection in ferrets. Infect Immun 2006; 74: 2562-2567.