https://www.grinterlab.org/new-page-2 daily 0.75 2025-05-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/746c8220-c6b0-4dcd-a6f8-043ddf61b385/ezgif-2-9688edf79b.gif Research - Harnessing generative-AI to design novel proteins Artificial Intelligence has brought a revolution to structural biology, first with the development of accurate tools for protein structure prediction like AlphaFold annd RoseTTAfold, and more recently with greatly improved accuracy and flexibility in computationally generating novel proteins, using tools like RFdiffusion, ProteinMPNN, and BindCraft. In this project, we are utilising and further developing these tools to generate new-to-nature proteins for use across diagnostics, medicine and biotechnology. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/fff96e43-7379-4ae2-bcaf-92cf06c17565/Huc_157_Map1.png Research - How do bacteria extract energy from air? It has been recently discovered that bacteria from diverse environments can survive starvation by extracting energy directly from the air itself. The trace amounts of hydrogen, carbon monoxide CO and methane in the air are extracted and oxidised by specialised metalloenzymes to provide energy to the bacteria. To achieve this, these enzymes are among the most sensitive catalysts in existence. We study the structure and biochemistry of the Hydrogenases and Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenases that mediate the oxidation of atmospheric gases. We aim to discover how evolution has shaped these enzymes to perform their extraordinarily difficult catalytic task and how the electrons they produced and utilised by the bacterial cell. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/a16d685f-7770-465e-8b1d-bfa860fa2706/YddB_Sup1.png Research - How do bacterial pathogens steal iron from their hosts? Iron is an essential nutrient and bacterial pathogens must obtain it from their host during infection. Many of these pathogens engage in iron piracy, directly extracting iron and the iron-containing cofactor heme from host proteins. We are investigating how Gram-negative bacterial pathogens use specialised outer membrane transporters to engage in iron piracy from host proteins, including haemoglobin and transferrin. We are focusing on pathogens from the Haemophilus and Neisserial genera with the aim of developing antivirulence strategies that block iron piracy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/0e70e529-4cf3-45b2-aaa6-bdc5bce8fd13/PL1_1.png Research - Developing Lectin-like Bacteriocins as next generation antibiotics The resistance of bacterial pathogens to antibiotics is a growing crisis and novel strategies for treating bacterial infection are urgently required. Lectin-like bacteriocins are a family of antibacterial proteins that kill Gram-negative bacteria by interfering with the insertion of proteins into the outer membrane. These proteins have been shown to be effective in the treatment of bacterial infection in plants and animals, and have significant potential as next generation antimicrobials. In order to realise this potential we are working to understand the structural, biochemical and physiological basis for the potent activity of these antimicrobials. Additionally, we are building a diverse library of natural and engineered lectin-like bacteriocins as a tool kit for combating bacterial infection. https://www.grinterlab.org/home daily 1.0 2024-06-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/31206dee-35db-410e-ac67-6ac697626dae/HisFeS_compare.png Home - Our Research The Grinter lab utilises a multidisciplinary combination of structural biology, molecular cell biology, chemical biology, and multi-omics to understand the physiology of microbes on a molecular level. We apply this understanding to develop strategies to understand and combat bacterial disease, and to develop new tools for industrial biotechnology. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/3802a6af-b842-455a-a6a3-bdc57d6e0ed2/Ez9hgKJUYAYzPmI.jpeg Home - The Team We consist of a diverse and growing team of Australian and international scientists with experience in diverse aspects of biomolecular sciences. As a young team we are quick to embrace new technology and methodology and value a inclusive and progressive lab atmosphere. https://www.grinterlab.org/contact daily 0.75 2024-01-14 https://www.grinterlab.org/new-page daily 0.75 2025-05-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/827dddcf-33b1-48dd-807d-53087f0b44b7/Photo+29-10-2024%2C+4+52+01+pm.jpg News - 28/10/2024 Congratulations to Ashleigh Kropp for Winning a Poster Prize at the Crystal35 conference in Fremantle, Western Australia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/f3212d20-94bb-4790-b385-a8cf4bd10a08/download.png News - 07/08/2024 Congratulations to Ashleigh Kropp for being awarded an EMBL Australia travel grant and an EMBO travel grant to present her work at the 2024 European Microscopy Congress https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/da3d36ad-db3a-46ad-976d-5dc1d16ad96a/Photo+12-2-2025%2C+6+24+28+pm+%281%29.jpg News - 13/02/2025 Congratulations to Ashleigh Kropp and Daniel Fox for winning Poster Prizes at the 50th Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/b1cc41ef-6312-4b65-bbd6-ca5bd336db4a/unnamed+%281%29.jpg News - 13/12/2022 Australian Research Council Grant Success The Grinter Lab was awarded >1.2 million dollars of shared funding in the latest round of ARC DP23 grants. We will be looking to recruit people to fill multiple positions in 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/813b552d-916e-41d2-bac0-d8730e86498f/Photo+7-2-2024%2C+6+41+38+pm.jpg News - 7/02/24 Congratulations to Fabian Munder for winning a poster prize at 49th Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/2b6c29da-95fc-4145-a78c-e65a8c3ea4de/ASBMB-logo.jpg News - 17/04/2025 Congratulations to Daniel Fox for being awarded a 2025 Awarded Australian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Fellowship https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/aa805b35-1691-4d91-8b1c-d07e31887681/Photo+27-3-2025%2C+4+09+34+pm.jpg News - 27/03/2025 A huge congratulations to Fabian Munder for delivering his final PhD oration and submitting his PhD Thesis! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/53f58d8d-527e-4c2e-bb6e-cf236d810116/Cover.png News - 01/08/2023 Huc Featured in Australian Biochemist A big thank you to the ASBMB for featuring our work on how the [NiFe]-hydrogenase Huc allows bacteria to live on air https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/02e268ba-4c1c-4f61-9584-87ddb5bf1183/ASM%2BLogo%2BOnly.jpg News - 15/03/2025 Congratulations to Ashleigh Kropp for being awarded a 2025 Nancy Millis Victoria Award by the Australia Society of Microbiology https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/b826b1fa-4cbd-4214-a015-c797fb4ee908/IMG_3610.jpg News - 27/07/2023 A warm welcome to Imogen Samuels who is joining the Grinter lab as a PhD student! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/b049c5c6-fbeb-4cc4-9fb9-4874751a0137/Photo+11-11-2024%2C+12+32+15+pm.jpg News - 11/11/2024 Great work from Fabian Munder presenting his work on PqqU scavenging by Gram-negative bacteria as an oral presentation at the the ARC CCeMMP Symposium https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/90310af9-85bc-4d23-85e1-b7692a9d8e9b/2023-07-02+03.17.07.jpg News - 03/07/2023 There’s nothing hiking through the red woods on the west coast of California to put things in perspective. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/bb88d64a-8813-4b34-9ea2-c532948d8c2c/images.jpeg News - 20/05/2025 A big congratulations to Daniel Fox for being awarded a FAOBMB Young Scientist Program 2025 Fellowship and being selected for an oral presentation at FAOBMB 2025 in Busan, Korea https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/d21338de-c0ea-44cf-b849-d4b8ab6f8a8a/Photo+12-11-2024%2C+12+02+21+pm.jpg News - 11/11/2024 Congratulations to Daniel Fox for winning the CCeMMP Research Symposium 2024 Thermo Fisher Scientific Poster Prize for Best Poster https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/549621e5-a82e-4afe-9294-79c231c17618/Photo+4-6-2024%2C+10+34+58+am.jpg News - 04/06/2024 The Grinter Lab took on some stiff competition from the Tilley lab to win the current round of the UoM Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology Bake Off. Fabian Munder represented with his cake version of the membrane transporter PqqU (check out the related pre-print). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/e08e114e-5318-4b73-9494-b368ab77ce6c/Photo+9-12-22%2C+11+53+36+am.jpg News - 13/12/2022 Congratulations to Daniel Fox for winning a Poster Prize at the Crystal34 conference! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/13f71995-e466-4f4a-ab43-e62483ce7867/2023-07-07+14.57.05.jpg News - 06/07/2023 A huge thanks to Profs. Bil Clemons and Doug Rees and their team for the invitation to speak at CalTech and to everyone for a whirlwind tour of the amazing science being done there! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/56cb0d80-8c52-4793-a9b6-431bcc86ba6c/IMG_1769.jpg News - 12/06/2024 Lab Head Rhys Grinter represented at the GRC on Metallocofactors at Stone Hill College, Massachusetts. Amazing science and people! Even got to ride in an American school bus. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/ba71df7a-760c-45ab-99d3-c8729ebdfdbb/IMG_6360.jpg News - 30/09/2022 Congratulations to Fabian Munder for winning a ASBMB Postgraduate student poster award at ComBio! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/5b4e7f5d-6992-486d-b593-d340cda2d32e/CCEMP_art.png News - 30/09/2024 Congratulations to Daniel Fox for winning the CCeMMP Bench to Art Exhibition 2024 People's Choice Runner Up Prize https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/452496d9-c6bb-4f00-bf1e-11206de2b879/PHOTO-2022-10-09-13-30-22.jpg News - 09/10/2022 Lab Head Rhys Grinter (right) smashed the Melbourne Around the Bay Cycle (100km)! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/a71eca1f-b141-409e-b1f1-647f87e78ba8/Photo+29-10-2024%2C+11+45+25+am.jpg News - 28/10/2024 Great work from Fabian Munder presenting his work on PqqU scavenging by Gram-negative bacteria as an oral presentation at the Crystal35 conference in Fremantle, Western Australia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/7bb88728-9748-43c2-8acc-45c977671bde/download.jpeg News - 11/07/2024 Congratulations to Fabian Munder for winning a Poster prize, and to Daniel Fox for being awarded Runner Up Poster Prize at the 22nd Melbourne Protein Group Student Symposium https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/91c90a23-757d-47c4-9754-7c861bd414dc/Photo+17-4-2025%2C+3+52+52+pm+%282%29.jpg News - 29/05/2025 A huge congratulations to Ashleigh Kropp for delivering her final PhD oration and submitting her Thesis! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/d10b446b-ef32-470d-aff2-25086974d425/Nature_2301.jpg News - 08/03/2023 Huc [NiFe]-Hydrogenase Story Published in Nature Congratulations to the team for this excellent outcome! Special shout out to Ashleigh Kropp and Chris Greening for co-leading this study at Monash Article link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05781-7 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/a99c2ccb-4bb1-4969-a0ec-28b0e8da2c1e/Photo+8-2-23%2C+6+10+57+pm.jpg News - 11/02/2023 Double Poster Prize Success at Lorne Proteins 2023 Congratulations to Ashleigh Kropp and Fabian Munder for both winning a poster prize at 48th Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/455a59ae-07d6-4d1c-91ae-4b8dd77c4c48/Photo+6-12-2024%2C+2+20+44+pm.jpg News - 13/12/2024 Congratulations to Prof. Chris Greening and the team for the Discovery Award for Best Publication by the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute for our paper in Cell, which uncovers unexpected diversity and function of hydrogenases in Archaea. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/846e37af-9daa-47c7-9e0a-d5706a49e746/Figure+5.jpg News - 31/05/2025 Well done Fabian Munder, and thanks to the entire team for the hard work on our story on PQQ scavenging by Gram-negative bacteria published in Science Advances today. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/aacf6722-3f08-43b9-bffd-aa788169717d/IMG_20220816_140210%7E2.jpg News - 30/03/2023 Welcome to Luis Jimenez who is joining the Grinter Lab as a Research Assistance/Lab Manager. https://www.grinterlab.org/publications daily 0.75 2025-05-30 https://www.grinterlab.org/new-page-1 daily 0.75 2025-05-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/221164cd-8899-4991-ae08-c9dd568f820c/DSC_5928.jpg The Team - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/8a209a2e-b71d-4001-908a-6475a3710ab0/166_AMR_20210503_Crop.png The Team - Rhys Grinter - Lab Head Rhys heads the Grinter lab at University of Melbourne in the Bio21 Institute. Originally from South Australia, Rhys earned his PhD from the University of Glasgow. He relocated to Monash University in 2015 working as a research fellow in labs Prof. Trevor Lithgow and A/Prof. Chris Greening, before founding the independent Grinter lab in 2021. Rhys has diverse interests in the molecular physiology of bacteria and has strong experience in applying a combination of structural biology, molecular cell biology and chemical biology to resolve important questions in this area. When not working he enjoys SCUBA diving, Cycling, and teaching his 6.5-year-old daughter how to play Zelda. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/0c0e1870-41a3-4743-9bee-b8dd1b827442/IMG_2766.jpg The Team - Ashleigh Kropp - Post Doctoral Researcher Ash is a PhD student in the Grinter lab primarily working on elucidating the structure and function of the hydrogenases in Mycobacterium smegmatis. She completed her undergraduate, Honours, and Masters of Philosophy degrees at the University of Melbourne/WEHI, writing her thesis on the structural and functional role of specific human kinases that are involved in numerous cancers. In late 2019, Ash joined the Greening lab at Monash as a research assistant and then began her PhD in the Grinter lab in February 2022. Outside of work, Ash loves yoga and hiking, trashy reality TV and being with her friends. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/20ce0248-4975-4b71-80c6-218043e40bc5/Headshot_cropped.jpg The Team - Fabian Munder - Post Doctoral Researcher Fabian completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Hamburg/EMBL Hamburg in Germany, before joining the Grinter lab as a PhD student in late-2021. He is interested in the structure and function of membrane proteins and his project concerns the beta-barrel assembling BAM complex of Gram-negative bacteria and how to inhibit it with lectin-like bacteriocins. For this, he applies a variety of molecular, biochemical, and structural biology techniques with a focus on single particle cryo-EM. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/3807851f-7c09-4105-a3df-267a22a1ef22/Daniel.jpg The Team - Daniel Fox - PhD Candidate Daniel is a PhD student in the Grinter Lab and researches the biochemical and structural basis of iron piracy in the clinically important human pathogens Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. He grew up in Canberra and previously completed a Bachelor of Medical Science (Hons.) at the Australian National University looking at host-pathogen interactions before starting at the BDI in late 2021. In his spare time he likes to volunteer on the student microbiology committee, read, go op-shopping, enjoy a good coffee, babysit Ash’s cat Moro and making the most of what Melbourne has to offer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/3920e3bd-2dd1-40cd-9497-c534228f180d/CW+photo+for+website.jpg The Team - Chunxiao (Christina) Wang - Lab Manager Chunxiao (Christina) Wang currently serves as the lab manager and research assistant at Grinter Lab. With over 19 years of experience, she has held positions at prestigious institutions including WEHI, Monash University, and the University of Melbourne. Christina holds a master's degree in biomedical engineering and brings extensive expertise in protein research, tissue culture, virus inhibition, and DNA/RNA studies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/b826b1fa-4cbd-4214-a015-c797fb4ee908/IMG_3610.jpg The Team - Imogen Samuels - PhD Candidate Imogen is a PhD student who joined the Grinter Lab in mid-2023, investigating the cytotoxic mechanism behind lectin-like bacteriocins in gram-negative bacteria. She completed a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) at The University of Otago in Dunedin, exploring chemical-genetic interactions in Mycobacterium tuberculosis that altered TB drug potency. In her spare time, Imogen enjoys snowboarding, visiting art galleries and exploring new coffee roasters with friends. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/4645bce1-c159-4107-b4bb-c945a5780c7b/1636550738474.jpeg The Team - Janik Clement - PhD Candidate Janik Clement is a molecular biologist and PhD candidate who joined the Grinter Lab at the beginning of 2025. With a background in membrane proteins and biotech, Janik previously worked in both startup and academic settings, contributing to projects ranging from large-scale screening assays to lab automation. His current research focuses on the de novo design of protein binders targeting GPCRs, using tools like BindCraft, RFdiffusion, and ProteinMPNN. Outside the lab, Janik enjoys hiking, particularly via ferrata routes and other outdoor activities. https://www.grinterlab.org/funding daily 0.75 2022-05-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/4723f2ed-46ad-4ce4-9ac9-18953757512e/wellcome-logo-black.gif Funding - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/8f78e20e-9c58-4b3e-8cf5-874437c7f605/Monash-BDI-logo-print-300dpi-SMC-18012016.jpg Funding - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/be2126ad-736a-4bd7-a0c0-d2cc95fa3b32/NHMRC.jpg Funding - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/12de7ad2-e571-46ae-a3ca-3f529377d3cc/A_synch.png Funding - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6281bc82086f977572468996/3eec2ffd-ea23-40ac-9a59-e625e2c4d02c/arclogo_pcinline.jpg Funding - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.