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- Peter Timms
Assoc. Professor Peter Timms
Associate Investigator
Queensland University of Technology
Research theme: Food, Health
Research discipline: Cell and Molecular Biosciences
Research program: Infectious Diseases
Development of chlamydial vaccines
Chlamydia causes several serious diseases including sexually transmitted infections, infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease, respiratory infections and trachoma. The team is group is using animal models to develop vaccines for urogenital infections in both women and men.
Basic studies on stress response in Chlamydia
Chlamydia are effective intracellular parasites and are constantly responding to “stress conditions”. They have evolved a range of mechanisms to survive, including some novel proteins. The research group is studying various stress-related proteins using a range of molecular approaches.
Chlamydial infections in wildlife
Chlamydia continues to be a significant cause of disease in koala but is also found in other Australian wildlife including bandicoots, possums, frogs. Professor Timms’s research group is part of an international project to analyse the full genome of the koala strain of Chlamydia pneumoniae, to understand how it is different to the human strains. They have also commenced a vaccine development program for koalas.
Areas of expertise
- Chlamydia
- Vaccines
- Diagnostics
- Molecular microbiology
Qualifications:
BSc(Hons) (University of Queensland)
MSc (University of Queensland)
PhD (University of Queensland)
Publications
Journal Articles
Waugh, C. A., Timms P., Andrew D., Rawlinson G., Brumm J., Nilsson K., et al.
(2015). Comparison of subcutaneous versus intranasal immunization of male koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) for induction of mucosal and systemic immunity against Chlamydia pecorum.
Vaccine. 33(7), 855-860. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.12.052
Cui, J., Frankham G. J., Johnson R. N., Polkinghorne A., Timms P., O’Meally D., et al.
(2015). SNP Marker Discovery in Koala TLR Genes.
PLOS ONE. 10(3), doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121068
Jelocnik, M., Self R., Timms P., Borel N., & Polkinghorne A.
(2015). Novel Sequence Types of Infect Free-Ranging Alpine Ibex ( ) and Red Deer ( ) in Switzerland.
Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 51(2), 479-483. doi: 10.7589/2014-08-220
Chacko, A., Beagley K. W., Timms P., & Huston W. M.
(2015). Human Chlamydia pneumoniae isolates demonstrate ability to recover infectivity following penicillin treatment whereas animal isolates do not.
FEMS Microbiology Letters. 362(6), doi: 10.1093/femsle/fnv015
Jelocnik, M., Bachmann N. L., Kaltenboeck B., Waugh C., Woolford L., K. Speight N., et al.
(2015). Genetic diversity in the plasticity zone and the presence of the chlamydial plasmid differentiates Chlamydia pecorum strains from pigs, sheep, cattle, and koalas.
BMC Genomics. 16(1), doi: 10.1186/s12864-015-2053-8
Bachmann, N. L., Sullivan M. J., Jelocnik M., Myers G. S. A., Timms P., & Polkinghorne A.
(2015). Culture-Independent Genome Sequencing of Clinical Samples Reveals an Unexpected Heterogeneity of Infections by Chlamydia pecorum.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 53(5), 1573-1581. doi: 10.1128/JCM.03534-14
Taylor-Brown, A., Vaughan L., Greub G., Timms P., & Polkinghorne A.
(2015). Twenty years of research into Chlamydia-like organisms: a revolution in our understanding of the biology and pathogenicity of members of the phylum Chlamydiae.
Pathogens and Disease. 1-15. doi: 10.1093/femspd/ftu009
Martineau, A. R., James W. Yee, Hooper R. L., Barnes N. C., Jolliffe D. A., Greiller C. L., et al.
(2015). Vitamin D3 supplementation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (ViDiCO): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised controlled trial.
The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. 3(2), 120-130. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(14)70255-3
Roulis, E., Bachmann N. L., Myers G. S. A., Huston W., Summersgill J., Hudson A., et al.
(2015). Comparative genomic analysis of human Chlamydia pneumoniae isolates from respiratory, brain and cardiac tissues.
Genomics. 106(6), 373-383. doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2015.09.008
Alfano, N., Courtiol A., Vielgrader H., Timms P., Roca A. L., & Greenwood A. D.
(2015). Variation in koala microbiomes within and between individuals: effect of body region and captivity status.
Scientific Reports. 5, 10189. doi: 10.1038/srep10189
Hernández-Sánchez, J., Brumm J., Timms P., & Beagley K. W.
(2015). Vaccination of koalas with a prototype chlamydial vaccine is safe, does not increase the incidence of lymphoma-related disease and maybe associated with increased lifespan in captive koalas.
Vaccine. 33(36), 4459-4463. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.07.029
Morris, K. M., Mathew M., Waugh C., Ujvari B., Timms P., Polkinghorne A., et al.
(2015). Identification, characterisation and expression analysis of natural killer receptor genes in Chlamydia pecorum infected koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus).
BMC Genomics. 16(1), doi: 10.1186/s12864-015-2035-x
Wilson, D. P., Craig A. P., Hanger J., & Timms P.
(2015). THE PARADOX OF EUTHANIZING KOALAS ( ) TO SAVE POPULATIONS FROM ELIMINATION.
Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 51(4), 833-842. doi: 10.7589/2014-12-278
Fiebig, U., Keller M., Möller A., Timms P., & Denner J.
(2015). Lack of antiviral antibody response in koalas infected with koala retroviruses (KoRV).
Virus Research. 198, 30-34. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2015.01.002
Menon, S., Timms P., Allan J. A., Alexander K., Rombauts L., Horner P., et al.
(2015). Human and Pathogen Factors Associated with Chlamydia trachomatis-Related Infertility in Women.
Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 28(4), 969-985. doi: 10.1128/CMR.00035-15
Vodstrcil, L. A., McIver R., Huston W. M., Tabrizi S. N., Timms P., & Hocking J. S.
(2014). The Epidemiology of Chlamydia trachomatis Organism Load During Genital Infection: A Systematic Review.
Journal of Infectious Diseases. 211(10), 1628-1645. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiu670
Sobinoff, A. P., Dando S. J., Redgrove K. A., Sutherland J. M., Stanger S. J., Armitage C. W., et al.
(2014). Chlamydia muridarum Infection-Induced Destruction of Male Germ Cells and Sertoli Cells Is Partially Prevented by Chlamydia Major Outer Membrane Protein-Specific Immune CD4 cells.
Biology of Reproduction. 92(1), 27-27. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod.114.124180
Research links
