Congratulations: Sarawak RDC grant 2020-2022- Dr. Xavier Chee

Heartiest congratulations to Dr. Xavier Chee and his team on his recent achievement of securing the Sarawak RDC grant 2020-2022 on the project, “Machine learning-guided Design of Dual-action MgrA/AgrA Inhibitors to Suppress S. aureus Virulence and Pathogenesis”. 

The project, submitted under Theme 1: ‘Waging War Against Anti-microbial Resistance’, aims to determine a dual-target inhibitor that could simultaneously knock out the global regulator proteins MgrA and AgrA. These two proteins control virulence and toxin secretion of S. aureus.  The project would also be combining data to construct machine learning models that could discover future MgrA and AgrA inhibitors. 

This project aligns with Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak’s 2025 Vision and Strategic Plan of Research with Impact: 

1. Increase capacity of world-leading research in Science by working with international experts in virulence and pathogenesis  

2. Drive therapeutic research through multi-disciplinary collaboration and by working between the interface of machine learning and biology 

3. Develop globally competitive higher degree research graduates for rewarding careers within and beyond academia. 

Dr Xavier’s international collaboration with Prof Hanne Ingmer and Dr Martin Saxtorph from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, in determining the inhibitors would lead to optimization and expansion for future IP filing and commercialization, advancing the field of anti-virulence therapeutics. 

We wish you success in your research endeavours. 

From
School of Research, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak