Teaching
Courses- BIOL1004: Molecular Biology (Lecturer)
- BIOL2174: Cell Physiology in Health & Disease (Lecturer)
- BIOL3174/5 Research Projects, PhB Advanced Study Courses (Supervisor)
Teaching awards- ANU Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research Supervision, 2007
- ANU Vice-Chancellor's Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, 2008
- Australian Teaching and Learning Council Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, 2009
Research interests
- The physiology and biochemistry of the malaria parasite
- Mechanisms of drug action and drug resistance in the malaria parasite
Current projects
Student research opportunities
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The biochemistry, physiology and pharmacology of the malaria parasite
Enquiries from prospective students are welcome.
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Lab members
- Richard Allen (Visiting Fellow, UQ)
- Adelaide Dennis (PhD student)
- Emma Hodges (Visiting Scholar)
- Kiaran Kirk (Lab Leader)
- Adele Lehane (Postdoctoral Fellow)
- Margaret Mackinnon (Visiting Scholar)
- Rosa Marchetti (PhD student)
- Petra Mossop (Laboratory Technician)
- Kathryn Parker (Honours Student)
- Esther Rajendran (PhD student)
- Natalie Spillman (Visiting Fellow)
- Markus Winterberg (Research Officer)
» Go to lab directory
 Past members
- Christina Spry (Postdoc 2010-2011; currently an NHMRC Postdoctoral Fellow in Cambridge, UK)
- Simon Cobbold (PhD 2011; currently a postdoc with Manuel Llinás at Princeton University)
- Rongwei Teng (Postdoc 2005-2008; currently with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, Canberra)
- Pauline Junankar (Research Officer 1997-2009; retired)
- Megan Downie (PhD 2006; currently with the Australian Commonwealth Department of Health, Canberra)
- Roselani Henry (PhD 2006; currently working as a clinician at Cairns Base Hospital)
- Rhys Hayward (PhD 2005; currently with the Defence Intelligence Organisation, Department of Defence, Canberra)
- Rowena Martin (PhD 2005; currently an NHMRC Australian Biomedical Fellow, ANU)
- Lisa Alleva (Postdoc 1999-2001; currently with the ACT Department of Health, Canberra)
- Kevin Saliba (Postdoc 1997-2005; currently a Senior Lecturer, ANU Medical School)
- Amanda Nourse (Postdoc 1997-2000; currently a Research Officer, Inst. Mol. Biosci., University of Queensland, Brisbane)
- Ari Karjalainen (Postdoc 1997-2000; currently a Scientific Officer, Toxicologist, at the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki, Finland)
- Henry Staines (DPhil 1997; currently a Research Fellow, St George's Hospital, London, UK)
- James Bursell (DPhil 1996; currently a Consultant Paediatrician, Milton Keynes General Hospital, Milton Keynes, UK)
- James Hall (DPhil 1996; currently Vice-President, Emerging CV and GI Diseases, AstraZeneca, Goteborg, Sweden)
- Rachel Lewis (Research Assistant 1994-1995; currently a Consultant Paediatrician, New York, USA)
- Heather Horner (Research Assistant 1993-1996; retired)
Lab awards and achievements
- Bancroft-Mackerras Medal of the Australian Society for Parasitology (2008)
- Roche Medal of the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2002)
2012- Natalie Spillman (Postdoc). American-Australian Association Fellowship.
2011- Natalie Spillman (PhD student). Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Fellowship and Collins Bursary for travel overseas.
- Christina Spry (Postdoc). NHMRC Overseas Biomedical Fellowship.
2010- Richard Allen (Postdoc). NHMRC Australian Biomedical Fellowship.
2009- Adele Lehane (PhD student)
- NHMRC Overseas Biomedical Fellowship.
- Selected by the Australian Academy of Science to represent Australia at the 59th meeting of Nobel Laureates (together with early-career researchers) in Lindau, Germany.
- Natalie Spillman (PhD student). Selected as one of 16 international students to participate in the annual eight week Biology of Parasitism course held at Woods Hole in the USA.
2008 - Adele Lehane (PhD student).
- Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Fellowship and the Society’s President Award (for the top-ranked Fellowship awardee) for travel overseas.
- Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s Mannatech Award for Modern Metabolic Biochemistry, for the paper: Feedback inhibition of pantothenate kinase regulates pantothenol uptake by the malaria parasite (2007) J. Biol. Chem. 282, 25395-25405 by Lehane, A.M., Marchetti, R.V., Spry, C., van Schalkwyk, D.A., Teng, R., Kirk, K. and Saliba K.J.
- Early Career Researcher Poster Prize at the Molecular Approaches to Malaria meeting, Lorne, Australia.
- Runner-up for the ‘student talk’ award at the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology and the ARC/NHMRC Parasitology Network.
- Natalie Spillman (PhD student). Student Oral/Poster Prize at the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology and the ARC/NHMRC Parasitology Network.
- Robert Summers (Hons student).
- ANU University Medal in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Student Poster Prize at the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology and the ARC/NHMRC Parasitology Network.
2007- Simon Cobbold (PhD student). Student Poster Prize at the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology and the ARC/NHMRC Parasitology Network.
- Adele Lehane (PhD student).
- Australian Society for Medical Research Award for travel within Australia.
- Selected as one of 16 international students to participate in the annual eight week Biology of Parasitism course held at Woods Hole in the USA.
- Rowena Martin (Research Officer).
- NHMRC Australian Biomedical Fellowship.
- Early Career Researcher Prize for best talk at the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology and the ARC/NHMRC Parasitology Network.
2005- Richard Allen (PhD student). Australian Society for Medical Research Award for travel overseas.
2004- Roselani Henry (PhD student). Australian Bicentennial Scholarship for travel to the UK.
2003- Richard Allen (PhD student). Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Fellowship for travel overseas.
2001- Rowena Martin (PhD student). Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Student Poster Prize at the annual ‘Combined Biology Society’ (ComBio) meeting.
Publications
Selected publications
- Spillman, N.J., Allen, R.J.W., McNamara, C.W., Yeung, B.K.S., Winzeler, E.A., Diagana, T.T. and Kirk, K. (2013) Na+ regulation in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum involves the cation ATPase PfATP4 and is a target of the spiroindolone antimalarials. Cell Host & Microbe 13, 227-237
- Winterberg, M., Rajendran, E., Baumeister, S., Bietz, S., Kirk, K. and Lingelbach K. (2012) Chemical activation of a high-affinity glutamate transporter in human erythrocytes and its implications for malaria-parasite-induced glutamate uptake. Blood, 119, 3604-3612
- Martin, R.E., Marchetti, R.V., Cowan, A.I., Howitt, S.M., Bröer, S. and Kirk, K. (2009) Chloroquine transport via the malaria parasite’s ‘Chloroquine Resistance Transporter’. Science, 325, 1680-1682
- Dean, S., Marchetti, R., Kirk, K. and Matthews, K.R. (2009) A surface transporter family conveys the differentiation signal in African trypanosomes. Nature, 459, 213-217
- Lehane, A.M., Hayward, R., Saliba K.J. and Kirk, K. (2008) A verapamil-sensitive chloroquine-associated H+ leak from the digestive vacuole in chloroquine-resistant malaria parasites. J. Cell Sci. 121, 1624-1632
- Martin, R.E. and Kirk, K. (2007) Transport of the essential nutrient isoleucine in human erythrocytes infected with the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Blood 109, 2219-2226
- Salibaa, K.J., Martina, R.E., Bröer, A., Henry, R.I., McCarthy, C.S., Downie, M.J., Allen, R.J.W., Mullin, K.A., McFadden, G.I., Bröerb, S. and Kirkb, K. (2006) Sodium-dependent uptake of inorganic phosphate by the intracellular malaria parasite. Nature 443, 582-585 [a,b Equal contributions]
- Martin, R.E., Henry, R.I., Abbey, J.L., Clements, J.D, and Kirk, K. (2005) The 'permeome' of the malaria parasite: an overview of the membrane transport proteins of Plasmodium falciparum. Genome Biol. 6, R26
- Martin, R.E. and Kirk, K. (2004) The malaria parasite’s chloroquine resistance transporter is a member of the drug/metabolite transporter superfamily. Mol. Biol. Evol. 21, 1938–1949
- Allen, R.J.W. and Kirk, K. (2004) The membrane potential of the intraerythrocytic malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. J. Biol. Chem., 279, 11264-11272
- Kirk, K. (2001) Membrane transport in the malaria-infected erythrocyte. Physiol. Rev. 81, 495-537
- Reed, M.B., Saliba, K.J., Caruana, S.R., Kirk, K. and Cowman, A.F. (2000) Pgh1 modulates sensitivity and resistance to multiple antimalarials in Plasmodium falciparum. Nature 403, 906-909
All publications
 Click here to see a full list of publications on the ISI website...
Recent grants
- NH&MRC Project Grant (1042272): Kirk, K. (2013-2015) Targeting an ion pump in the malaria parasite with multiple compound classes
- Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV): Kirk, K. (2012-2013) Testing the MMV Malaria Box on malaria parasite ion regulation
- NH&MRC Project Grant (585473): Saliba, K.J., Kirk, K., Tilley, L., Maier, A. (2010-2012) The Na+/H+ exchanger and H+-pumping pyrophosphatases of the malaria parasite
- NH&MRC Project Grant (525428): Kirk, K. (2009-2011) Transport of amino acids and polyamines in the malaria parasite
- GO8/DAAD Australia Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme: Kirk, K. (2008-2009) Molecular identification of novel permeation pathways induced by malaria parasites
- NH&MRC Project Grant (418055): Kirk, K. (2007-2009) Chloroquine resistance and the physiology of the malaria parasite’s digestive vacuole
- ARC Discovery Grant (DP0771754): Kirk, K. and Saliba, K.J. (2007-2009) Ion transport in the malaria parasite and parasitised erythrocyte
- NH&MRC Project Grant (316933): Kirk, K. (2005-2007) Metabolomic analysis and membrane transport proteins in the malaria parasite
- ARC Discovery Grant (DP0559433): Kirk, K., Howitt, S.M. and Bröer, S. (2005-2007) Amino acid transporters and the chloroquine resistance transporter of the intracellular malaria parasite
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