Alison Todd | |
---|---|
Alma mater | University of Sydney (BSc) Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (PhD) |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | Johnson and Johnson SpeeDx |
Thesis | Molecular analysis of regulatory and transforming sequences of the human N-ras gene [1] |
Alison Todd is an Australian scientist who is holder of 18 patents (as at July 2019), [2] and a co-founder and chief scientific officer of SpeeDx. [3] The company manufactures and sells tests for detecting infectious pathogens and identifying antibiotic resistance. [4] The biomedical company, co-founded by Todd, develops diagnostic tools. [5] Todd mentors younger scientists and entrepreneurs, as well as advocating for greater gender diversity in leaders in STEM. [6]
Todd is the Chief Scientific Officer of SpeeDx, which is a molecular diagnostics company which she and Elisa Mokany started. Todd and Mokany have 18 patent families between them. They have brought 11 medical diagnostic tests for the management of clinical disease. [3]
Todd developed several novel molecular analytical technologies which have been used for basic research, preclinical/clinical drug development and in vitro diagnostics. Her expertise include nucleic acid chemistry, particularly target amplification and catalytic DNA technologies, and the biology of cancer and viral diseases. Prior to founding SpeeDx, Todd was a Senior Research Director at Johnson and Johnson Research Pty Limited, Sydney.[ citation needed ]
Todd describes her "Eureka moment", "It all began when Elisa joined my group at Johnson & Johnson Research (JJR), we were already exploring ways to exploit DNAzymes (deoxyribozymes) for diagnostic applications. These fascinating molecules are simple, short, synthetic DNA sequences (oligonucleotides) that can catalyse reactions in a manner analogous to protein enzymes. Although catalytic RNA (ribozymes) had been found in nature, catalytic DNA had not, and it had been assumed DNA would not have similar properties. However, a few years earlier, undeterred by dogma, Jerry Joyce and co-workers at Scripps had conducted ‘evolution in a test tube’". [7]
Todd's publications can be found at (Google Scholar). [12]
2017 — Todd's work was referenced in The Australian Financial Review , where she was described as a 'frontline fighter in the war on superbugs'. [15]
2017 — The Sydney Morning Herald described the formation of Todd's company, as well as their concern that women were under-represented in STEMM, and the hiring and mentoring practices reflected in their company. [16]
Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions.
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample rapidly, allowing scientists to amplify a very small sample of DNA sufficiently to enable detailed study. PCR was invented in 1983 by American biochemist Kary Mullis at Cetus Corporation. Mullis and biochemist Michael Smith, who had developed other essential ways of manipulating DNA, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993.
Viral load, also known as viral burden, is a numerical expression of the quantity of virus in a given volume of fluid, including biological and environmental specimens. It is not to be confused with viral titre or viral titer, which depends on the assay. When an assay for measuring the infective virus particle is done, viral titre often refers to the concentration of infectious viral particles, which is different from the total viral particles. Viral load is measured using body fluids sputum and blood plasma. As an example of environmental specimens, the viral load of norovirus can be determined from run-off water on garden produce. Norovirus has not only prolonged viral shedding and has the ability to survive in the environment but a minuscule infectious dose is required to produce infection in humans: less than 100 viral particles.
DNA computing is an emerging branch of unconventional computing which uses DNA, biochemistry, and molecular biology hardware, instead of the traditional electronic computing. Research and development in this area concerns theory, experiments, and applications of DNA computing. Although the field originally started with the demonstration of a computing application by Len Adleman in 1994, it has now been expanded to several other avenues such as the development of storage technologies, nanoscale imaging modalities, synthetic controllers and reaction networks, etc.
Ribonuclease H is a family of non-sequence-specific endonuclease enzymes that catalyze the cleavage of RNA in an RNA/DNA substrate via a hydrolytic mechanism. Members of the RNase H family can be found in nearly all organisms, from bacteria to archaea to eukaryotes.
Deoxyribozymes, also called DNA enzymes, DNAzymes, or catalytic DNA, are DNA oligonucleotides that are capable of performing a specific chemical reaction, often but not always catalytic. This is similar to the action of other biological enzymes, such as proteins or ribozymes . However, in contrast to the abundance of protein enzymes in biological systems and the discovery of biological ribozymes in the 1980s, there is only little evidence for naturally occurring deoxyribozymes. Deoxyribozymes should not be confused with DNA aptamers which are oligonucleotides that selectively bind a target ligand, but do not catalyze a subsequent chemical reaction.
QIAGEN N.V. is a German-founded multinational provider of sample and assay technologies for molecular diagnostics, applied testing, academic research, and pharmaceutical research. The company operates in more than 35 offices in over 25 countries. QIAGEN N.V., the global corporate headquarter of the QIAGEN group, is located in Venlo, The Netherlands. The main operative headquarters are located in Hilden, Germany. European, American, Chinese, and Asian-Pacific regional headquarters are located respectively in respectively Hilden, Germany; Germantown, Maryland, United States; Shanghai, China; and Singapore. QIAGEN's shares are listed at the NYSE and at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in the Prime Standard. Thierry Bernard is the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
A real-time polymerase chain reaction is a laboratory technique of molecular biology based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It monitors the amplification of a targeted DNA molecule during the PCR, not at its end, as in conventional PCR. Real-time PCR can be used quantitatively and semi-quantitatively.
Dz13 is an experimental treatment developed by scientists at the University of New South Wales. The drug aims to combat a range of illnesses, including skin cancer, restenosis, arthritis and macular degeneration. Trials of Dz13 were suspended in 2013.
In biology, a branched DNA assay is a signal amplification assay that is used to detect nucleic acid molecules.
Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), also referred to as in vitro selection or in vitro evolution, is a combinatorial chemistry technique in molecular biology for producing oligonucleotides of either single-stranded DNA or RNA that specifically bind to a target ligand or ligands. These single-stranded DNA or RNA are commonly referred to as aptamers. Although SELEX has emerged as the most commonly used name for the procedure, some researchers have referred to it as SAAB and CASTing SELEX was first introduced in 1990. In 2015, a special issue was published in the Journal of Molecular Evolution in the honor of quarter century of the discovery of SELEX.
Nucleic acid sequence-based amplification, commonly referred to as NASBA, is a method in molecular biology which is used to produce multiple copies of single stranded RNA. NASBA is a two-step process that takes RNA and anneals specially designed primers, then utilizes an enzyme cocktail to amplify it.
Digital polymerase chain reaction is a biotechnological refinement of conventional polymerase chain reaction methods that can be used to directly quantify and clonally amplify nucleic acids strands including DNA, cDNA, or RNA. The key difference between dPCR and qPCR lies in the method of measuring nucleic acids amounts, with the former being a more precise method than PCR, though also more prone to error in the hands of inexperienced users. PCR carries out one reaction per single sample. dPCR also carries out a single reaction within a sample, however the sample is separated into a large number of partitions and the reaction is carried out in each partition individually. This separation allows a more reliable collection and sensitive measurement of nucleic acid amounts. The method has been demonstrated as useful for studying variations in gene sequences—such as copy number variants and point mutations.
Biomolecular engineering is the application of engineering principles and practices to the purposeful manipulation of molecules of biological origin. Biomolecular engineers integrate knowledge of biological processes with the core knowledge of chemical engineering in order to focus on molecular level solutions to issues and problems in the life sciences related to the environment, agriculture, energy, industry, food production, biotechnology and medicine.
Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc. (IDT), headquartered in Coralville, Iowa, is a supplier of custom nucleic acids, serving the areas of academic research, biotechnology, clinical diagnostics, and pharmaceutical development. IDT's primary business is the manufacturing of custom DNA and RNA oligonucleotides (oligos) for research applications.
Hot start PCR is a modified form of conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that reduces the presence of undesired products and primer dimers due to non-specific DNA amplification at room temperatures. Many variations and modifications of the PCR procedure have been developed in order to achieve higher yields; hot start PCR is one of them. Hot start PCR follows the same principles as the conventional PCR - in that it uses DNA polymerase to synthesise DNA from a single stranded template. However, it utilizes additional heating and separation methods, such as inactivating or inhibiting the binding of Taq polymerase and late addition of Taq polymerase, to increase product yield as well as provide a higher specificity and sensitivity. Non-specific binding and priming or formation of primer dimers are minimized by completing the reaction mix after denaturation. Some ways to complete reaction mixes at high temperatures involve modifications that block DNA polymerase activity in low temperatures, use of modified deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates (dNTPs), and the physical addition of one of the essential reagents after denaturation.
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