Mark Blaskovich
- Email:
- m.blaskovich@imb.uq.edu.au
- Phone:
- +61 7 334 62039
- Mobile:
- 0414955380
Overview
Background
Professor Mark Blaskovich is an antibiotic hunter and Director of Translation at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at The University of Queensland. He is co-founder and former Director of the Centre for Superbug Solutions at IMB.
A medicinal chemist with 15 years of industrial drug development experience prior to his academic career, Mark has been developing new antibiotics to treat drug resistant pathogens and using modified antibiotics to detect bacterial infections. He is a co-founder of the Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery, a global antibiotic discovery initiative, and has led a number of UQ-industry collaborations focused on antibiotic development. An inventor on eleven patent families, Mark has developed drugs in clinical trials, published more than eighty research articles, and received over $10m in grant funding.
Availability
- Professor Mark Blaskovich is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced), University of Victoria
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Waterloo
Works
Search Professor Mark Blaskovich’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2020
Journal Article
How to stimulate and facilitate early stage antibiotic discovery
Zuegg, Johannes, Hansford, Karl A., Elliott, Alysha G., Cooper, Matthew A. and Blaskovich, Mark A. T. (2020). How to stimulate and facilitate early stage antibiotic discovery. ACS Infectious Diseases, 6 (6), 1302-1304. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.0c00163
Featured
2020
Journal Article
Metal complexes as a promising source for new antibiotics
Frei, Angelo, Zuegg, Johannes, Elliott, Alysha G., Baker, Murray V., Braese, Stefan, Brown, Christopher, Chen, Feng, Dowson, Christopher Gerard, Dujardin, Gilles, Jung, Nicole, King, A. Paden, Mansour, Ahmed Moustafa, Massi, Massimiliano, Moat, John, Mohamed, Heba A., Renfrew, Anna, Rutledge, Peter, Sadler, Peter J., Todd, Matthew Houghton, Willans, Charlotte E., Wilson, Justin Jeff, Cooper, Matthew Allister and Blaskovich, Mark (2020). Metal complexes as a promising source for new antibiotics. Chemical Science, 11 (10), 2627-2639. doi: 10.1039/c9sc06460e
Featured
2019
Journal Article
The diminished antimicrobial pipeline
Blaskovich, Mark A.T. (2019). The diminished antimicrobial pipeline. Microbiology Australia, 40 (2), 92-96. doi: 10.1071/MA19025
Featured
2019
Journal Article
Fluoroquinolone-derived fluorescent probes for studies of bacterial penetration and efflux
Stone, M. Rhia L., Masi, Muriel, Phetsang, Wanida, Pagès, Jean-Marie, Cooper, Matthew A. and Blaskovich, Mark A. T. (2019). Fluoroquinolone-derived fluorescent probes for studies of bacterial penetration and efflux. MedChemComm, 10 (6), 901-906. doi: 10.1039/c9md00124g
Featured
2018
Journal Article
Can octapeptin antibiotics combat extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria?
Blaskovich, Mark A. T., Pitt, Miranda E., Elliott, Alysha G. and Cooper, Matthew A. (2018). Can octapeptin antibiotics combat extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria?. Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy, 16 (6), 485-499. doi: 10.1080/14787210.2018.1483240
Featured
2018
Journal Article
Fluorescent Antibiotics: New Research Tools to Fight Antibiotic Resistance
Stone, M Rhia L., Butler, Mark S., Phetsang, Wanida, Cooper, Matthew A. and Blaskovich, Mark A. T. (2018). Fluorescent Antibiotics: New Research Tools to Fight Antibiotic Resistance. Trends in Biotechnology, 36 (5), 523-536. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2018.01.004
Featured
2018
Journal Article
Structure, Function, and Biosynthetic Origin of Octapeptin Antibiotics Active against Extensively Drug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria
Velkov, Tony, Gallardo-Godoy, Alejandra, Swarbrick, James D., Blaskovich, Mark A. T., Elliott, Alysha G., Han, Meiling, Thompson, Philip E., Roberts, Kade D., Huang, Johnny X., Becker, Bernd, Butler, Mark S., Lash, Lawrence H., Henriques, Sónia Troeira, Nation, Roger L., Sivanesan, Sivashangarie, Sani, Marc-Antoine, Separovic, Frances, Mertens, Haydyn, Bulach, Dieter, Seemann, Torsten, Owen, Jeremy, Li, Jian and Cooper, Matthew A. (2018). Structure, Function, and Biosynthetic Origin of Octapeptin Antibiotics Active against Extensively Drug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria. Cell Chemical Biology, 25 (4), 380-391.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2018.01.005
Featured
2018
Journal Article
Protein-inspired antibiotics active against vancomycin- and daptomycin-resistant bacteria
Blaskovich, Mark A T, Hansford, Karl A., Gong, Yujing, Butler, Mark S., Muldoon, Craig, Huang, Johnny X., Ramu, Soumya, Silva, Alberto B., Cheng, Mu, Kavanagh, Angela M., Ziora, Zyta, Premraj, Rajaratnam, Lindahl, Fredrik, Bradford, Tanya A., Lee, June C., Karoli, Tomislav, Pelingon, Ruby, Edwards, David J., Amado, Maite, Elliott, Alysha G, Phetsang, Wanida, Daud, Noor Huda, Deecke, Johan E, Sidjabat, Hanna E, Ramaologa, Sefetogi, Zuegg, Johannes, Betley, Jason R, Beevers, Andrew P G, Smith, Richard A G ... Cooper, Matthew A. (2018). Protein-inspired antibiotics active against vancomycin- and daptomycin-resistant bacteria. Nature Communications, 9 (1) 02123, 22. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02123-w
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Unusual amino acids in medicinal chemistry
Blaskovich, Mark A. T. (2016). Unusual amino acids in medicinal chemistry. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 59 (24), 10807-10836. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b00319
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Antibiotics in the clinical pipeline at the end of 2015
Butler, Mark S., Blaskovich, Mark A. T. and Cooper, Matthew A. (2016). Antibiotics in the clinical pipeline at the end of 2015. The Journal of Antibiotics, 70 (1), 1-22. doi: 10.1038/ja.2016.72
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Fluorescent trimethoprim conjugate probes to assess drug accumulation in wild type and mutant Escherichia coli
Phetsang, Wanida, Pelingon, Ruby, Butler, Mark S., KC, Sanjaya, Pitt, Miranda, Kaeslin, Geraldine, Cooper, Matthew A. and Blaskovich, Mark A. T. (2016). Fluorescent trimethoprim conjugate probes to assess drug accumulation in wild type and mutant Escherichia coli. ACS Infectious Diseases, 2 (10), 688-701. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.6b00080
Featured
2010
Book
Handbook on syntheses of amino acids : General routes for the syntheses of amino acids
Blaskovich, Mark A (2010). Handbook on syntheses of amino acids : General routes for the syntheses of amino acids. First ed. New York , NY, U.S.A.: Oxford University Press; American Chemical Society.
2024
Journal Article
Standardisation of high throughput microdilution antifungal susceptibility testing for Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans
Floyd, Holly E. E., Kavanagh, Angela M., Lowe, Gabrielle J., Amado, Maite, Fraser, James A., Blaskovich, Mark A. T., Elliott, Alysha G. and Zuegg, Johannes (2024). Standardisation of high throughput microdilution antifungal susceptibility testing for Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Scientific Reports, 14 (1) 23407. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-74068-2
2024
Book Chapter
Treatment of Urban Wastewater with a View towards Recycling and Reuse in India
Jain, Marut, Chauhan, Ruchi, Mishra, Deepti, Sahoo, Abhisek, Kishore Pant, Kamal, Maria Ziora, Zyta and Blaskovich, Mark A.T. (2024). Treatment of Urban Wastewater with a View towards Recycling and Reuse in India. Innovative and Hybrid Technologies for Wastewater Treatment and Recycling. (pp. 13-36) Boca Raton: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/9781003454199-2
2024
Journal Article
A review of antibacterial candidates with new modes of action
Butler, Mark S., Vollmer, Waldemar, Goodall, Emily C. A., Capon, Robert J., Henderson, Ian R. and Blaskovich, Mark A. T. (2024). A review of antibacterial candidates with new modes of action. ACS Infectious Diseases, 10 (10), 3440-3474. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.4c00218
2024
Journal Article
Tetrazoles: A multi-potent motif in drug design
Yuan, Ye, Li, Muzi, Apostolopoulos, Vasso, Matsoukas, John, Wolf, Wojciech M., Blaskovich, Mark A.T., Bojarska, Joanna and Ziora, Zyta M. (2024). Tetrazoles: A multi-potent motif in drug design. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 279 116870, 116870. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2024.116870
2024
Journal Article
Modelling and statistical interpretation of phenol adsorption behaviour of 3-Dimensional hybrid aerogel of waste-derived carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide
Jain, Marut, Sahoo, Abhisek, Mishra, Deepti, Aiman Khan, Sadaf, Kishore Pant, Kamal, Ziora, Zyta M. and Blaskovich, Mark A.T. (2024). Modelling and statistical interpretation of phenol adsorption behaviour of 3-Dimensional hybrid aerogel of waste-derived carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide. Chemical Engineering Journal, 490 151351, 1-17. doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2024.151351
2024
Journal Article
Phage-induced efflux down-regulation boosts antibiotic efficacy
Kraus, Samuel, Fletcher, Megan L., Łapińska, Urszula, Chawla, Krina, Baker, Evan, Attrill, Erin L., O’Neill, Paul, Farbos, Audrey, Jeffries, Aaron, Galyov, Edouard E., Korbsrisate, Sunee, Barnes, Kay B., Harding, Sarah V., Tsaneva-Atanasova, Krasimira, Blaskovich, Mark A.T. and Pagliara, Stefano (2024). Phage-induced efflux down-regulation boosts antibiotic efficacy. PLoS Pathogens, 20 (6 June) e1012361, e1012361. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012361
2024
Journal Article
Facile one-pot fabrication of multifunctional silver nanoparticles utilizing biowaste for efficient pollutant degradation, heavy metal sensing, and bactericidal activity
Khan, Sadaf Aiman, Zeng, Junya, Jain, Marut, Pant, Kamal Kishore, Ziora, Zyta Maria, Blaskovich, Mark A.T. and Seneviratne, Chaminda Jayampath (2024). Facile one-pot fabrication of multifunctional silver nanoparticles utilizing biowaste for efficient pollutant degradation, heavy metal sensing, and bactericidal activity. Materials Chemistry and Physics, 322 129606, 129606. doi: 10.1016/j.matchemphys.2024.129606
2024
Book Chapter
Biodegradation of petrochemical refinery wastewater
Jain, Marut, Noor, Aisha, Sahoo, Abhisek, Pant, Kamal K., Ziora, Zyta M. and Blaskovich, Mark A. T. (2024). Biodegradation of petrochemical refinery wastewater. Biodegradation of toxic and hazardous chemicals. (pp. 1-13) edited by Kashyap K. Dubey, Kamal K. Pant, Ashok Pandey and Maria Ángeles Sanromán. Boca Raton, FL, United States: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/9781003391487-1
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Mark Blaskovich is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
-
Functionalised antibiotics for diagnostics and therapeutics
The increasing incidence of infections caused by drug resistant bacteria and fungi poses a significant and increasing threat to global human health, with predicted annual mortality of 10 million people by 2050. It is imperative to advance new technologies capable of rapidly and accurately diagnosing infections to enable timely and appropriate therapy. We must develop new antibiotics with efficacy against multidrug-resistant bacteria and fungi, and new methods to rapidy diagnose infections. To enable this we require fundamental studies that probe the chemical biology of antibiotic action and investigate microbial growth, metabolism and resistance.
This research program is designed to achieve these goals, based on the chemical functionalisation of antibiotics with a readily derivatised handle. The resulting set of versatile intermediates is then modified to create 1) fluorescent probes that can catalyse basic research and lead to new assays, 2) clinical imaging agents to visualise microbial infections, and 3) novel hybrid therapeutics. The project requires talented synthetic organic chemists with an interest in multidisciplinary research.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Conotoxins - advanced probes for studying pain pathways
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Joanne Blanchfield
-
Doctor Philosophy
Bio-evaluation of Human Tyrosinase Inhibitors as Potential Anti-melanoma Agents and Novel Treatment for Parkinson's Disease
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Zyta M Ziora
-
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding Molecular Accumulation in antimicrobial resistant microbes
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Antibiotic Conjugates: Joining Together to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Vito Ferro, Dr Anthony Verderosa
-
Doctor Philosophy
Antibiotic Conjugates: Joining Together to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Vito Ferro
-
Doctor Philosophy
Disrupting Bacterial Proteostasis through ClpP Activation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Anthony Verderosa
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigations of novel antimicrobial agents and formulations to treat topical agricultural infections.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Conny Turni
-
Doctor Philosophy
Clicking Conjugates into Place for the Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Joanne Blanchfield, Dr Anthony Verderosa
-
Master Philosophy
The antibacterial mechanism of action of cannabidiol
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Johannes Zuegg
-
Doctor Philosophy
Antibiotic potentiators as an alternative therapeutic option for the treatment of extensively drug-resistant Gram-negative infections.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Johannes Zuegg
-
Doctor Philosophy
Novel antibiotics containing tyrosinase inhibitors
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Zyta M Ziora
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigations of the interactions between fluorescent antibiotics and bacteria
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sanjaya Kc, Dr Anthony Verderosa
-
Doctor Philosophy
Selenium - The SuperElement against Superbugs
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Joanne Blanchfield
-
Doctor Philosophy
Mechanism of action of MgO
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Conny Turni, Professor Ian Henderson
-
Doctor Philosophy
Medicinal chemistry strategies to remove bacterial biofilms associated with gastrointestinal disorders
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Markus Muttenthaler
-
Doctor Philosophy
Development of Biobased Silver Nano-Particles for Application as Wastewater Disinfectant
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Zyta M Ziora
-
Doctor Philosophy
Development of Metal Organic Frameworks for targeted oral drug delivery
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Amirali Popat
-
Doctor Philosophy
Mechanism of action of MgO
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Conny Turni, Professor Ian Henderson
-
Doctor Philosophy
Targeting the Biogenesis of Resistance Enzymes to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ulrike Kappler, Professor Ian Henderson, Dr Anthony Verderosa
-
Doctor Philosophy
How does cannabidiol kill bacteria?
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Johannes Zuegg
-
Doctor Philosophy
A global quantitative genetic network for Escherichia coli
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Emily Goodall, Professor Ian Henderson
-
Doctor Philosophy
Synthesis and Physico-chemical characterization of waste derived carbon adsorbents for wastewater treatment
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Zyta M Ziora
-
Doctor Philosophy
Seeing the Unseen: Imaging Bacterial Infections
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kristofer Thurecht, Dr Rhia Stone
-
Doctor Philosophy
Mechanism of action of MgO
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Conny Turni, Professor Ian Henderson
-
Doctor Philosophy
Development of Metal Organic Frameworks for targeted oral drug delivery
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Amirali Popat
-
Doctor Philosophy
Seeing the Unseen: Imaging Bacterial Infections
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kristofer Thurecht, Dr Rhia Stone
-
Doctor Philosophy
Sustainable antimicrobial coating materials for potential face mask application
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alan Rowan, Dr Nasim Amiralian
-
Doctor Philosophy
Development of computational models to discover new antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria. (Note: online component of Onawole's application lists his Master's thesis title instead of this project)
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Johannes Zuegg
-
Doctor Philosophy
Sustainable Antimicrobial Coating Materials for Potential Face Mask Applications
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alan Rowan, Dr Nasim Amiralian
-
Doctor Philosophy
A global quantitative genetic network for Escherichia coli
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Emily Goodall, Professor Ian Henderson
-
Doctor Philosophy
Targeting bacterial biofilms in patients with gastrointestinal disorders
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Markus Muttenthaler
Completed supervision
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Expression and Characterisation of Human Tyrosinase as a Target for Novel Inhibitor Development
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Zyta M Ziora
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Structure-Activity and Structure-Toxicity Relationships of novel octapeptin antibiotic derivatives against Gram-negative Bacteria
Principal Advisor
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Deciphering Antibiotic Modes of Action and Profiling Microbial Resistance with Novel Fluorescent Probes
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Henderson
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Genotypic and phenotypic characterisation of Gram-positive antibiotics
Principal Advisor
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Development of new bicyclic nitroimidazoles as antimicrobial agents
Principal Advisor
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Tagged Antibiotics for Examination of Bacterial Resistance and Infection
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Joanne Blanchfield
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
ß-hairpin antimicrobial peptides: structure, function and mode of action
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mehdi Mobli
-
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Synthesis and Physico-chemical characterization of waste derived carbon adsorbents for wastewater treatment
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Zyta M Ziora
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Development of Biobased Silver Nano-Particles for Application as Wastewater Disinfectant
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Zyta M Ziora
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Characterising the Aat system for the acylation and secretion of CexE
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Henderson
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Advanced Formulation Technologies for Oral Delivery of Antimicrobial Agents
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Amirali Popat, Dr James Robert Falconer
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating the Immunopharmacology of the Complement C5a Receptors, C5aR1 and C5aR2
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Richard Clark, Dr John Lee, Professor Trent Woodruff
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Evaluating Genotypic and Phenotypic Variability against Polymyxins and a Novel Lipopeptide, Octapeptin C4, in Antibiotic-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae
Associate Advisor
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
Novel Nitroimidazole and Glycopeptide Antibiotics Targeting Enteric Pathogens
Associate Advisor
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Mark Blaskovich directly for media enquiries about:
- acne
- antibiotic resistance
- antibiotics
- antimicrobial resistance
- antimicrobial resistance antibiotics
- bacteria
- bacterial detection
- bacterial infection
- bacterial resistance
- drug design
- drug development
- drug discovery
- E. coli
- glycopeptide antibiotics
- golden staph
- gram negative bacteria
- gram positive bacteria
- microbiome
- octapeptin
- superbugs
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