Russell Johnson
 Russell Johnson |
U.S. Fulbright Postgraduate Scholars
Media Profile
“Malaria is the most widespread and serious parasitic disease infecting humans, causing an estimated two million deaths per year. Most victims of malaria are children under the age of five from developing countries. Australia is at the forefront of malaria research, and through an international approach I hope we can move closer to finding a vaccine.”
Russell Johnson is one of fourteen Americans to be granted a Fulbright Postgraduate Award in 2006. He will study at the University of Melbourne, conducting biochemical research on the fundamental metabolic pathways of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, in the lab of Dr Geoff McFadden, a world-renowned malaria specialist.
Russell is a science graduate from St. Olaf College where he specialised in chemistry and took numerous elective courses in the biomolecular sciences. He has been invited to work in Dr McFadden’s lab to study metabolism in the parasite’s mitochondria and apicoplast, an unusual structure in malaria parasites similar to plant chloroplasts that is regarded as an exciting new target for drug development.
“Research has shown that the apicoplast is indispensable to the survival of Plasmodium falciparum, yet much is to be learned about how it carries out biosynthesis and metabolism. I look forward to embracing Dr McFadden’s pioneering research on the apicoplast and its relation to cellular organelles in plants and the ‘Australian way’ of studying malaria and conducting research.”
Dr McFadden’s lab has shown that the drug Fusidic Acid acts as an antimalarial, but exactly what the drug targets has yet to be identified. Research indicates that Fusidic Acid acts against the enzyme Elongation Factor G, which is critical to protein translation in many organisms. In Plasmodium falciparum, two copies of this enzyme have been identified; one targeted to the mitochondria and the other to the apicoplast. In the lab, Russell will construct mutant versions of these enzymes that are putatively resistant to Fusidic Acid. He will introduce them into the parasite and use drug trials with Fusidic Acid to determine which enzyme the drug is targeting; the mitochondrial or apicoplast copy. Discerning the target is crucial to developing Fusidic Acid as a therapeutic.
Russell’s research in Australia will be a continuum of research he conducted at Dr Robert Ménard’s lab at The Pasteur Institute in France, on Plasmodium. In the course of his work, Russell will engage with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and Monash University labs that house exceptional malaria laboratories.
“The Australian scientists I met at The Pasteur Institute combined academic rigor with unmatched personal warmth; they conveyed the kind of balance between dedication to research and a satisfying personal life that I have long sought to achieve. I am eager to learn more about their philosophy and begin to incorporate it into my own way of thinking.”