Research Fellow
Overview
Dr. Lucía F. Zacchi is a yeast genetic engineer and molecular biologist, specialized in protein quality control and glycobiology.
She graduated as Microbiologist from Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Argentina. She then obtained a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue her Ph.D. in Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology at the University of Minnesota, USA. For her dissertation she studied mechanisms of phenotypic variation in the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. She did post-doctoral work in the laboratories of Dr. Jeffrey Brodsky (University of Pittsburgh, USA), Dr. Julio Caramelo (Fundacion Instituto Leloir, Argentina), and Dr. Benjamin L. Schulz (SCMB, UQ). Dr. Zacchi has been the recipient of Post-doctoral Fellowships from the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation, CONICET-Argentina, and Endeavour-Australia.
In her work, Dr. Zacchi aims to dissect the molecular machinery involved in the secretory pathway and how to manipulate it for medical and biotechnological applications. She uses the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker's yeast) and mammalian cells to study mechanisms of protein glycosylation, protein quality control, and protein degradation in the cell, under physiological conditions or during disease. Her research employs a variety of techniques, including genetics, molecular and cellular biology, and proteomics and she develops new molecular tools, genetic screens, and glycoproteomic workflows. Her current research is specifically focused on glycoengineering of eukaryotic cells and bioprocesses to develop and optimise the production of specific glycosylated variants of biotherapeutics of interest.
Dr. Zacchi's research interests are:
1) Protein folding in the cell and glycobiology.
2) Glycoengineering of cell lines and bioprocesses.
3) Mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis.
Research Impacts
The understanding of the processes involved in protein quality control, folding, and glycosylation reaches fields as diverse as microbial pathogenesis and human genetic diseases, and has important biotechnological, clinical, and industrial applications.
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Minnesota
Publications
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Journal Article: Pre- and post-puberty expression of genes and proteins in the uterus of Bos indicus heifers: the luteal phase effect post-puberty
Fortes, M. R.S., Zacchi, L. F., Nguyen, L. T., Raidan, F., Weller, M. M.D.C.A., Choo, J. J.Y., Reverter, A., Rego, J. P.A., Boe-Hansen, G. B., Porto-Neto, L. R., Lehnert, S. A., Cánovas, A., Schulz, B. L., Islas-Trejo, A., Medrano, J. F., Thomas, M. G. and Moore, S. S. (2018) Pre- and post-puberty expression of genes and proteins in the uterus of Bos indicus heifers: the luteal phase effect post-puberty. Animal Genetics, 49 6: 539-549. doi:10.1111/age.12721
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Journal Article: SWATH-MS glycoproteomics reveals consequences of defects in the glycosylation machinery
Zacchi, Lucia F. and Schulz, Benjamin L. (2016) SWATH-MS glycoproteomics reveals consequences of defects in the glycosylation machinery. Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, 15 7: 2435-2447. doi:10.1074/mcp.M115.056366
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Journal Article: N-glycoprotein macroheterogeneity: biological implications and proteomic characterization.
Zacchi, Lucia F. and Schulz, Benjamin L. (2015) N-glycoprotein macroheterogeneity: biological implications and proteomic characterization.. Glycoconjugate Journal, 33 3: 1-18. doi:10.1007/s10719-015-9641-3
Grants
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Dr Lucia Zacchi - Maternity Funding (Advance Queensland Women's Academic Fund)
(2017–2018) Queensland Government Advance Queensland Women's Academic Fund
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Identifying cellular factors controlling early-onset torsion dystonia
(2016) The Parkinson's & Movement Disorder Foundation
Supervision
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Messaging with magnesium: Function of yeast Ost3 proteins in glycosylation and magnesium
Doctor Philosophy
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Systems biology-guided cell-line engineering for production of therapeutic proteins with complex post-translational modifications.
Doctor Philosophy
-
Comparability studies of biopharmaceuticals produced by fed-batch or perfusion culture
Doctor Philosophy
Available Projects
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Yeasts, glycoproteomics, microbial pathogenesis, neurological diseases, biopharmaceuticals... take your pick!
We are always looking for enthusiastic, team-oriented, and fast-learning students with a background in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Microbiology or related fields, and an interest in learning molecular and cellular biology, glycobiology, models of disease, and/or proteomics. Previous experience in a molecular biology laboratory is required (we may request a reference letter).
IMPORTANT: Please note that if you intend to do a Master's or a PhD you will need to have your own scholarship/fellowship.
Our goal is to provide you with the best experience, both inside and outside the lab, which will contribute to train you for a career in research. An integral part of the experience in our lab will involve active participation in lab meetings and journal club discussions. We will encourage you to present your findings to the group. We will also endeavour to coach you in effective presentation techniques, scientific writing, ethics in research, good laboratory practices, and team-work.
We have plenty of projects available. Contact us!
Publications
Featured Publications
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SWATH-MS glycoproteomics reveals consequences of defects in the glycosylation machinery
Zacchi, Lucia F. and Schulz, Benjamin L. (2016) SWATH-MS glycoproteomics reveals consequences of defects in the glycosylation machinery. Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, 15 7: 2435-2447. doi:10.1074/mcp.M115.056366
-
N-glycoprotein macroheterogeneity: biological implications and proteomic characterization.
Zacchi, Lucia F. and Schulz, Benjamin L. (2015) N-glycoprotein macroheterogeneity: biological implications and proteomic characterization.. Glycoconjugate Journal, 33 3: 1-18. doi:10.1007/s10719-015-9641-3
Book Chapter
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Endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation and protein quality control
Zacchi, L.F., Caramelo, J.J., McCracken, A.A. and Brodsky, J.L. (2016). Endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation and protein quality control. In Ralph A. Bradshaw and Philip D. Stahl (Ed.), Encyclopedia of cell biology (pp. 596-611) Waltham, MA, United States: Academic Press.
Journal Article
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Fortes, M. R.S., Zacchi, L. F., Nguyen, L. T., Raidan, F., Weller, M. M.D.C.A., Choo, J. J.Y., Reverter, A., Rego, J. P.A., Boe-Hansen, G. B., Porto-Neto, L. R., Lehnert, S. A., Cánovas, A., Schulz, B. L., Islas-Trejo, A., Medrano, J. F., Thomas, M. G. and Moore, S. S. (2018) Pre- and post-puberty expression of genes and proteins in the uterus of Bos indicus heifers: the luteal phase effect post-puberty. Animal Genetics, 49 6: 539-549. doi:10.1111/age.12721
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Adipose tissue proteomic analyses to study puberty in Brahman heifers
Nguyen, L. T., Zacchi, L. F., Schulz, B. L., Moore, S. S. and Fortes, M. R. S. (2018) Adipose tissue proteomic analyses to study puberty in Brahman heifers. Journal of Animal Science, 96 6: 2392-2398. doi:10.1093/jas/sky128
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Zacchi, Lucia F., Dittmar, John C., Mihalevic, Michael J., Shewan, Annette M., Schulz, Benjamin L., Brodsky, Jeffrey L. and Bernstein, Kara A. (2017) Early-onset torsion dystonia: a novel high-throughput yeast genetic screen for factors modifying protein levels of torsinA Delta E. Disease Models & Mechanisms, 10 9: 1129-1140. doi:10.1242/dmm.029926
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N-glycosylation triggers a dual selection pressure in eukaryotic secretory proteins
Medus, Maximo L., Gomez, Gabriela E., Zacchi, Lucia F., Couto, Paula M., Labriola, Carlos A., Labanda, Maria S., Bielsa, Rodrigo Corti, Clérico, Eugenia M., Schulz, Benjamin L. and Caramelo, Julio J. (2017) N-glycosylation triggers a dual selection pressure in eukaryotic secretory proteins. Scientific Reports, 7 1: 8788. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-09173-6
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SWATH-MS glycoproteomics reveals consequences of defects in the glycosylation machinery
Zacchi, Lucia F. and Schulz, Benjamin L. (2016) SWATH-MS glycoproteomics reveals consequences of defects in the glycosylation machinery. Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, 15 7: 2435-2447. doi:10.1074/mcp.M115.056366
-
N-glycoprotein macroheterogeneity: biological implications and proteomic characterization.
Zacchi, Lucia F. and Schulz, Benjamin L. (2015) N-glycoprotein macroheterogeneity: biological implications and proteomic characterization.. Glycoconjugate Journal, 33 3: 1-18. doi:10.1007/s10719-015-9641-3
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Intracellular Complexes of the Early-Onset Torsion Dystonia-Associated AAA+ ATPase TorsinA
Li, Hui, Wu, Hui-Chuan, Liu, Zhonghua, Zacchi, Lucia F., Brodsky, Jeffrey L. and Zolkiewski, Michal (2014) Intracellular Complexes of the Early-Onset Torsion Dystonia-Associated AAA+ ATPase TorsinA. SpringerPlus, 3 1: 743.1-743.5. doi:10.1186/2193-1801-3-743
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Zacchi, Lucía F., Wu, Hui-Chuan, Bell, Samantha L., Millen, Linda, Paton, Adrienne W., Paton, James C., Thomas, Philip J., Zolkiewski, Michal and Brodsky, Jeffrey L. (2014) The BiP molecular chaperone plays multiple roles during the biogenesis of TorsinA, an AAA+ ATPase associated with the neurological disease Early-Onset Torsion Dystonia. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 289 18: 12727-12747. doi:10.1074/jbc.M113.529123
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Gerami-Nejad, Maryam, Zacchi, Lucia F., McClellan, Mark, Matter, Kathleen and Berman, Judith (2013) Shuttle vectors for facile cloning through gap repair and integration into a neutral locus in Candida albicans. Microbiology, 159 Part 3: 565-579. doi:10.1099/mic.0.064097-0
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HOS2 and HDA1 encode histone deacetylases with opposing roles in Candida albicans morphogenesis
Zacchi, Lucia F., Schulz, Wade L. and Davis, Dana A. (2010) HOS2 and HDA1 encode histone deacetylases with opposing roles in Candida albicans morphogenesis. PLoS One, 5 8: e12171.1-e12171.7. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012171
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Low dosage of histone H4 leads to growth defects and morphological changes in Candida albicans
Zacchi, Lucia F., Selmecki, Anna M., Berman, Judith and Davis, Dana A. (2010) Low dosage of histone H4 leads to growth defects and morphological changes in Candida albicans. PLoS One, 5 5: e10629.1-e10629.12. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010629
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Mds3 regulates morphogenesis in Candida albicans through the TOR pathway
Zacchi, Lucia F., Gomez-Raja, Jonathan and Davis, Dana A. (2010) Mds3 regulates morphogenesis in Candida albicans through the TOR pathway. Molecular and Cellular Biology, 30 14: 3695-3710. doi:10.1128/MCB.01540-09
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Biocontrol and PGPR features in native strains isolated from saline soils of Argentina
Principe, Analia, Alvarez, Florencia, Castro, Marina G., Zacchi, Lucia, Fischer, Sonia E., Mori, Gladys B. and Jofre, Edgardo (2007) Biocontrol and PGPR features in native strains isolated from saline soils of Argentina. Current Microbiology, 55 4: 314-322. doi:10.1007/s00284-006-0654-9
Grants (Administered at UQ)
-
Dr Lucia Zacchi - Maternity Funding (Advance Queensland Women's Academic Fund)
(2017–2018) Queensland Government Advance Queensland Women's Academic Fund
-
Identifying cellular factors controlling early-onset torsion dystonia
(2016) The Parkinson's & Movement Disorder Foundation
PhD and MPhil Supervision
Current Supervision
-
Messaging with magnesium: Function of yeast Ost3 proteins in glycosylation and magnesium
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
-
Systems biology-guided cell-line engineering for production of therapeutic proteins with complex post-translational modifications.
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
-
Comparability studies of biopharmaceuticals produced by fed-batch or perfusion culture
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
-
Engineering and production of recombinant proteins with appropriate glycostructures for early in vivo studies
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Possible Research Projects
Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.
-
Yeasts, glycoproteomics, microbial pathogenesis, neurological diseases, biopharmaceuticals... take your pick!
We are always looking for enthusiastic, team-oriented, and fast-learning students with a background in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Microbiology or related fields, and an interest in learning molecular and cellular biology, glycobiology, models of disease, and/or proteomics. Previous experience in a molecular biology laboratory is required (we may request a reference letter).
IMPORTANT: Please note that if you intend to do a Master's or a PhD you will need to have your own scholarship/fellowship.
Our goal is to provide you with the best experience, both inside and outside the lab, which will contribute to train you for a career in research. An integral part of the experience in our lab will involve active participation in lab meetings and journal club discussions. We will encourage you to present your findings to the group. We will also endeavour to coach you in effective presentation techniques, scientific writing, ethics in research, good laboratory practices, and team-work.
We have plenty of projects available. Contact us!
