Aussie scientist linked to coronavirus breakthrough

This is the Australian scientist responsible for creating world-first computer modelling software being used in the race to develop a vaccine for the deadly coronavirus.

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EXCLUSIVE: World-first atom modelling software created by an Australian scientist has been used in the race to develop a vaccine for the deadly coronavirus.

Dr Tristan Croll, who studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland and completed his PhD in Tissue Engineering at the University of Melbourne, said his software allowed researchers to better understand the part of the virus that attaches to and infects human cells.

Australian Dr Tristan Croll visiting University of NSW to discuss his atom modelling software. Picture: Richard Dobson

Using this modelling, researchers from University of Texas, Austin, and the US National Institutes of Health made a critical breakthrough toward developing a vaccine for the virus using Dr Croll’s modelling software ISOLDE.

“The coronaviruses are a family of viruses that are well known,” said Dr Croll, researcher at Cambridge Institute for Medical Research.

US scientists announced last week they had created the first 3D atomic scale map of the protein the novel coronavirus uses to attach to and infect human cells, a critical step toward developing vaccine and treatments. Picture: University of Texas at Austin/AFP

“It’s the details of the spike protein on this new strain (Covid-19) that’s important to understand because that is what attaches to human cells and causes them to become infected.

“My modelling software is designed for these situations to make sure you get a good quality model of the protein as quickly and as easily as possible.

“The model is our picture of the structure, it is the thing we need to know in order to design drugs that will bind to and block that protein, or to create stable fragments of the protein for an effective vaccine.”

While other atom modelling software does exist, ISOLDE – which stands for Interactive Structure Optimisation by Local Direct Exploration and is also a fun play on the classic tale of Tristan and Isolde – helped scientists to build and share the structure of this spike protein in record time.

UT Austin associate professor Jason McLellan led the research to map and characterise the spike protein and the findings have been shared and published in the journal Science to assist researchers worldwide.

As cases of the virus continue to be reported outside its country of origin, China, the World Health Organisation has said countries around the world should be “in a phase of preparedness” for a possible coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Croll said since his program was first released at the end of 2018, he has worked with researchers and scientists worldwide.

Great introduction to ISOLDE by @CrollTristan at ⁦@mpimoph⁩ today. Reliable model building into #cryoEM maps. Check it out - it’s worth it: https://t.co/9w11KJYcrj pic.twitter.com/pDkI27O6yA

— Stefan Raunser (@Intein) October 18, 2019

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday (Tues) that a vaccine the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and drugmaker Moderna have been developing is ready to be tested on humans, NIAID director Anthony Fauci told the WSJ.

The rapidly developed vaccine will be tested on 20–25 healthy volunteers in April to determine whether two doses will be safe and generate an immune response to protect against infection. Results will be available in July or August, Fauci told WSJ.

Dr Croll said: “ISOLDE was created to help better our understanding of how things work at a molecular level.”

Now at #CCP4SW we will see how #ISOLDE can help the difficult task of low resolution model building. @CrollTristan pic.twitter.com/eTDdzgv0ym

— Claudia Millán (@cheshireminima) January 8, 2020

“You need to understand all the different machinery of life to understand how it works.

“It was first used commercially by (medicine research company) Genentech in San Francisco to find the structure of a protein called CD20, which is very important to the development of treatments for blood cancers.

“I have also been working with researchers at the University of Queensland to develop environmentally friendly, biodegradable pesticides for organic farming. And I’m also working with researchers at Cambridge University (in England), where I’m currently based, to understand better how living cells generate energy. This research could lead to treatments for a whole range of diseases.

“Anything that ultimately depends on structure – that’s what ISOLDE is there for.”

Dr Croll was a guest speaker at the 45th Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function in Victoria this month and has been speaking about his program at facilities in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

Originally published as Aussie scientist linked to coronavirus breakthrough