Padmanabhan Group – Molecular and systems medicine
Our group is dedicated to uncovering the intricate molecular and systems-level mechanisms that drive infectious and neurodegenerative diseases using multiscale mathematical modelling and advanced imaging techniques to engineer new treatment strategies.
Our research areas
Infectious and neurodegenerative diseases
Our research focuses on infectious diseases caused by viruses such as hepatitis C, SARS-CoV-2, and respiratory syncytial virus, as well as neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. We employ advanced imaging techniques, such as super-resolution microscopy, to investigate the underlying pathomechanisms. We also develop multiscale mathematical models integrating phenomena from molecular to human population levels to understand treatment failures and predict strategies for improving outcomes.
Our group uses a combination of computational and quantitative experimentation techniques including:
- Cell cultures: Primary mouse neurons and non-neuronal cells such as neuroblastoma cells
- Animal models: Mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease
- Super-resolution microscopy techniques: sptPALM, uPAINT and dSTORM
- Biochemical methods: Western blotting, PCR, and ELISA
- Mathematical modelling: Quantitative systems pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacometrics, viral dynamics, hidden Markov modelling, and systems biology and network modelling
- The potential of ultrasound and antibodies for Alzheimer’s disease therapy (4 March 2024)
- NHMRC awards $43 million in four new grants (18 December 2023)
- Should we be using mice to study Alzheimer’s disease? (31 May 2023)
- Tau hot spots open new avenues of discovery into dementia (13 September 2022)
- New mathematical model predicts the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines (15 March 2022)
- Mathematical model created by Queensland researcher set to speed up development of future COVID-19 vaccines (15 March 2022)
- How drug combinations could help fight COVID-19 (16 December 2020)
View full list of publications on eSpace
Selected publications
Padmanabhan, Pranesh, Kneynsberg, Andrew, Cruz, Esteban, Amor, Rumelo, Sibarita, Jean‐Baptiste and Götz, Jürgen (2022). Single‐molecule imaging reveals Tau trapping at nanometer‐sized dynamic hot spots near the plasma membrane that persists after microtubule perturbation and cholesterol depletion. The EMBO Journal, 41 (19) e111265, 1-16. doi: 10.15252/embj.2022111265
Modeling how antibody responses may determine the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines
Padmanabhan, Pranesh, Desikan, Rajat and Dixit, Narendra M. (2022). Modeling how antibody responses may determine the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. Nature Computational Science, 2 (2), 123-131. doi: 10.1038/s43588-022-00198-0
Super-resolution microscopy: a closer look at synaptic dysfunction in Alzheimer disease
Padmanabhan, Pranesh, Kneynsberg, Andrew and Götz, Jürgen (2021). Super-resolution microscopy: a closer look at synaptic dysfunction in Alzheimer disease. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 22 (12), 723-740. doi: 10.1038/s41583-021-00531-y
Targeting TMPRSS2 and Cathepsin B/L together may be synergistic against SARS-CoV-2 infection
Padmanabhan, Pranesh, Desikan, Rajat and Dixit, Narendra M. (2020). Targeting TMPRSS2 and Cathepsin B/L together may be synergistic against SARS-CoV-2 infection. PLoS Computational Biology, 16 (12) e1008461, e1008461. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008461
Padmanabhan, Pranesh, Martínez-Mármol, Ramón, Xia, Di, Götz, Jürgen and Meunier, Frédéric A. (2019). Frontotemporal dementia mutant Tau promotes aberrant Fyn nanoclustering in hippocampal dendritic spines. eLife, 8 e45040. doi: 10.7554/elife.45040
Axon growth regulation by a bistable molecular switch
Padmanabhan, Pranesh and Goodhill, Geoffrey J. (2018). Axon growth regulation by a bistable molecular switch. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 285 (1877) 20172618, 20172618. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2618
Inhibitors of hepatitis C virus entry may be potent ingredients of optimal drug combinations
Padmanabhan, Pranesh and Dixit, Narendra M. (2017). Inhibitors of hepatitis C virus entry may be potent ingredients of optimal drug combinations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114 (23), E4524-E4526. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1704531114
Padmanabhan, Pranesh, Garaigorta, Urtzi and Dixit, Narendra M. (2014). Emergent properties of the interferon-signalling network may underlie the success of hepatitis C treatment. Nature Communications, 5 (1) 3872, 1-9. doi: 10.1038/ncomms4872
Padmanabhan, Pranesh and Dixit, Narendra M. (2011). Mathematical model of viral kinetics in vitro estimates the number of E2-CD81 complexes necessary for hepatitis C virus entry. PLoS Computational Biology, 7 (12) e1002307, e1002307-e1002307. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002307
Contact us
Get in touch to learn more about our research.
Sir William Macgregor Building (64), Level 5, Room 511