Sam Robinson

Identification and characterisation of new pain-causing toxins from animal venoms

Almost all venomous animals use their venoms for defensive purposes—many solely. Defensive stings or bites, such as those of ants, wasps, scorpions and spiders, are often associated with intense pain caused by toxins that directly target sensory neurons, hijacking or overstimulating neuronal transmission. These pain-causing toxins have the potential to be used as tools to study the nervous system and uncover new pain signalling components (i.e. ion channels and/or receptors). The focus of this project will be the discovery and characterisation of pain-causing toxins from ant venoms.

The aims of this project will be:

1. Discovery of novel pain-causing toxins
2. Determine the mode of action of pain-causing toxins
3. Use newly identified pain-causing toxins to investigate mammalian pain pathways

Techniques learned/applied may include (but are not limited to) venom collection, fractionation and purification; transcriptomics, proteomics and mass spectrometry; peptide synthesis; ion channel electrophysiology, microscopy, and in vivo pain models.

The identification and characterisation of new pain-causing toxins from venoms will provide new knowledge about methods of chemical defence used by venomous animals and has the potential to elucidate new components of human pain signalling. A better understanding of our pain physiology may ultimately lead to the development of new or improved pain treatments.

The project will be completed at the UQ Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) under the supervision of Dr. Sam Robinson, Dr. Jennifer Deuis, and Prof. Irina Vetter. UQ has a strong, internationally-focused research culture, and it is consistently ranked in the top 1% of world universities. The IMB is a leading research institute in the Asia-Pacific region and is internationally renowned for excellence in venom research (with experts in all aspects of venom biology including venom-peptide pharmacology, chemistry, structural biology, and venoms-based drug discovery) and pain research (it is home to the IMB Centre for Pain Research).