Lab head: Nick Scott
​ORCID: 0000-0003-2556-8316

Nick Scott completed his PhD at the University of Sydney (2007 to 2012) on mass spectrometry (MS) approaches for the study of bacterial protein modification under the guidance of Prof. Stuart Cordwell. The key focus of his doctorate was the establishment of a protocol for enriching bacterial glycopeptides irrespective of glycan composition. This approach has become the gold standard for the analysis of glycopeptides and enabled the exploration of glycosylation in a range of microbial pathogens including A. baumannii, R. solanacearum and B. cenocepacia.

In late 2011 Nick was awarded a NHMRC Early Career Fellowship and in 2012 he moved to the Foster lab at the University of British Columbia. Within the Foster lab he began developing quantitative proteomics approaches for the study of protein interactions using protein correlation profiling (PCP) as well as applying quantitative approaches to study bacterial glycosylation. In 2013, he was awarded a Michael Smith Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship to continue this work. 

In 2015, Nick was recruited to the University of Melbourne for the conclusion of his NHMRC fellowship (2016–2017) and to establish his own independent research career. This transition to independence has been facilitated by his success in gaining competitive funding through a sole CI NHMRC project grant (2016–2018) and a University of Melbourne Early Career Researcher (2016) award as well as co-CI NHMRC/ARC project grants (2018-2020).

Nick's research program aims to understand the function of microbial glycosylation and its influence on infection. For the O-linked glycosylation system of Burkholderia a key goal of my research is to understand how protein glycosylation effects/drives host immunity. Employing state of the art mass spectrometry (MS), molecular and immunological approaches, my research program aims to understand the glycoproteomes of Burkholderia species and how glycoproteins impact the host response. The long-term goal of these studies is to leverage this insight into Burkholderia O-linked glycosylation to produce novel glycoconjugates that can bolster human immunity and control these opportunistic pathogens. 
BSc (MOBT) (Hons. I University Medal) University of Sydney (2003-2006)
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Doctor of Philosophy, Cordwell Lab, University of Sydney,  (2007-2012)

Postdoctoral training, Foster lab (2012-2015), University of British Columbia, Canada

Postdoctoral training, Hartland lab (2016-2017), University of Melbourne
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Scott lab established November 2017

​ARC Future Fellow (2021-2024)
Current lab members
Dr Jessica Lewis
(jessica.lewis1@unimelb.edu.au)

Jessica Lewis completed a PhD at Monash University (2016-2020) on characterisation of the Type VI Secretion System in Acinetobacter baumannii under the guidance of Assoc. Professor John Boyce. This work focused on identifying a comprehensive set of type VI effector proteins encoded by A. baumannii strains, demonstrating a more diverse array than has been previously observed in a single species, as well as determining the role that PAAR tip proteins play in the delivery of A. baumannii effector proteins.
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During her PhD, Jessica demonstrated extensively across microbiology and molecular biology units at Monash University, and upon PhD submission, worked full time at the Monash Research Office (medical and health sciences team), coordinating the submission on numerous grants to the NHMRC, MRFF, and other medical funders.

Within the Scott lab, Jessica’s works focuses on using mass spectrometry and a range of phenotypic techniques to understand the conserved roles of glycosylation within the Burkholderia species. Additionally, we will be working to optimise a method for examining the Burkholderia secretome using affinity enrichment mass spectrometry.
 
BSc (Hons), Monash University (2012-2015)
Doctor of Philosophy, Boyce Lab, Monash University (2016-2020)
Postdoctoral researcher (2021 - )
Dr Pauline M.L. Coulon
(pauline.coulon@unimelb.edu.au)

​Pauline M.L. Coulon recently completed a PhD at Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS; Laval, Canada) - Armand-Frappier Health and Biotechnology Centre (2017- submitted April 2021) in the laboratory of Professor Eric Déziel. This work focused on the regulation and the role of the Hmq system in the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) and the phase variation of B. ambifaria. The presence of the hmqABCDEFG operon and the production of 4-hydroxy-3-methyl-2-alkylquinolines (HMAQs) were screened among Bcc species. She demonstrated that the Hmq system is more prevalent in environmental strains and is required for plant-growth promotion in Pisum sativum (common pea) by either controlling the quorum sensing or acting as an antimicrobial. This project concluded that phase variation in B. ambifaria, which results in loss of HMAQs production, could either be due to the loss of the third replicon or epigenetic factors - depending on the strain. Within the Scott lab, Pauline’s goal is to understand how glycosylated proteins are involved in B. cenocepacia virulence, including the impact on the quorum sensing, lipids, and metal accumulation - using mass spectrometry and a range of phenotypic techniques.

Undergraduate of molecular and cellular biology, University of South Brittany and Paris Diderot (2011-2014)
Master of Biotechnologies, University of South Brittany (2014-2016)
Doctorate of Biology, INRS - Armand-Frappier Health and Biotechnology Centre (2017-2021)
Postdoctoral researcher (2021 - )
Taylor McDaniels 
Taylor McDaniels graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne with a major in Infection and Immunity (2018-2020). She is currently doing a Master in Biomedical Science where she is partaking in a research project in the Scott Lab. Taylor’s work focuses on O-linked glycosylation in Burkholderia cenocepacia. Her goal is to develop a greater understanding of O-link glycan intermediate toxicity in Burkholderia using phenotypic assays, proteomics and molecular biology techniques.

BSc, The University of Melbourne (2018-2020)
Master in Biomedical Research, The University of Melbourne (2021- )


(tmcdaniels@student.unimelb.edu.au)

Scott lab 2021 (April)

Previous lab members (Year- Degree) | Current position

Wafaa Adams (2020- Honours)
Ameera Raudah Ahmad Izaham (laboratory technician)
Camilla Taylor (2018- Honours) | Medicine (University of Melbourne)

Lab Mascots

Picture
​Rubi and Meowcroft

Not the hardest working lab members but a constant source of equal parts joy and ​mischief

Contact Us

The Scott lab is located within the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity

E-mail: nichollas.scott@unimelb.edu.au

Address: Level 6, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, 792 Elizabeth St, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000