Patrick Schaeffer
Projects
1
Publications
50
Awards
0
Biography
Research Overview
The study of macromolecular interactions
The group combines expertise in the functional and structural characterization of protein complexes and is particularly interested in the study of protein–ligand interactions. Proteins of interest to the group include: a) bacterial DNA replication proteins, transcription factors and metabolic enzymes; and b) viral nucleoproteins, replication proteins and integrases.
Development of ultrasensitive immunodiagnostics
This program involves the development of innovative diagnostic platforms. The group’s successes include the development of the TT-lock Immuno-PCR platform and its application for the diagnosis of melioidosis as well as a sensitive assay to detect the presence of the influenza A nucleoprotein and seafood allergy IgE. Currently the group focuses on developing a new rapid test platform technology for Ebola, influenza A/B, SARS-CoV-2, MERS and RSV.
Drug discovery
This program is in full swing and builds on recent successes in the development of innovative high-throughput assays using the principle of high-throughput differential scanning fluorimetry of GFP-tagged proteins. The group is interested in the identification of drug leads and their mechanisms of action. Diseases of particular interest to the group include: multidrug-resistant ESKAPEE infection, melioidosis, tuberculosis, malaria and HIV.
Development of bio- and nanotechnologies
The group has a long-standing interest and track-record in developing innovative sensing technologies based on fluorescence, biomolecular recognition and protein thermal stability.
Expertise
Protein Biochemistry; DNA replication; Protein-ligand interactions; Immuno-PCR diagnostics; Surface Plasmon Resonance; Protein unfolding and aggregation; Drug targets; High-throughput biotechnologies; GFP
Research
Projects
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance facility for Northern Australia (Old ID 21541)
26 Feb 2015 - 25 Feb 2016
Teaching
Research Advisor Accreditation
Advisor Type
Mentor
Research Advisor Accreditation
Role
Chair; Independent Academic
Taught Modules
[BC3201] BioengineeringCoordinator, Lecturer
2025
[BC5201] Advanced BioengineeringCoordinator, Lecturer
2025
[BC5201] Advanced BioengineeringCoordinator, Lecturer
2024
[BM2230] DNA to ProteinsCoordinator, Lecturer
2025
Current JCU Research Students
Characterising the Burkholderia pseudomallei replisome for future melioidosis drug discovery
Master of Philosophy (Medical, Molecular and Veterinary Sciences)
Synthesis of GFP-tagged fibrillin-2 to study the pathogenesis of congenital contractural arachnodactyly (CCA)
Master of Philosophy (Medical and Molecular Sciences)
Completed JCU Research Students
Novel targets and strategies in the treatment of liver and oral pharyngeal cancer
Master of Philosophy (Medical and Molecular Sciences)- 2021
Output
Sorenson, Alanna E.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2020) High-throughput differential scanning fluorimetry of GFP-tagged proteins. New York, NY, USA: [Non-Research Book Chapter] [DOI]
Sorenson, Alanna E.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2020) Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with GFP-tagged proteins (GFP-EMSA). New York, NY, USA: [Non-Research Book Chapter] [DOI]
Schaeffer, Patrick; Dixon, N.E. (2008) Diagnostics in monoplex/multiplex. WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland: [Other]
Dixon, Nicholas; Schaeffer, Patrick; Mulcair, Mark (2006) Double-stranded oligonucleotides and uses therefor. WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland: [Other]
Bourquin, Rebecca A.; Sorenson, Alanna E.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2025) 'Fluorescent HIV-1 integrases for a suite of new user-friendly stability, nucleic acid binding and strand transfer activity assays'. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 309 (3). [DOI]
Mason, Benjamin; Hayward, David C.; Moya, Aurelie; Cooke, Ira; Sorenson, Alanna; Brunner, Ramona; Andrade Rodriguez, Natalia; Huerlimann, Roger; Bourne, David G.; Schaeffer, Patrick; Grinblat, Mila; Ravasi, Timothy; Ueda, Nobuo; Tang, Sen-Lin; Ball, Eldon E.; Miller, David J. (2024) 'Microbiome manipulation by corals and other Cnidaria via quorum quenching'. Current Biology, 34 :3226-3232. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Sorenson, A.E.; Schaeffer, P.M. (2024) 'A self-assembling protein–DNA complex with an inbuilt DNA release system for quantitative immuno-PCR applications'. Sensors & Diagnostics, 3 :1976-1983. [DOI]
Comparison of the analytical sensitivity of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests in Australia and Canada
2024
Toft, Casey J.; Stocks, Bradley B.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2024) 'Comparison of the analytical sensitivity of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests in Australia and Canada'. Talanta, 275 . [DOI]
Radford, Holly M.; Toft, Casey J.; Sorenson, Alanna E.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2023) 'Inhibition of Replication Fork Formation and Progression: Targeting the Replication Initiation and Primosomal Proteins'. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24 (10). [DOI]
Toft, Casey J.; Bourquin, Rebecca A.; Sorenson, Alanna E.; Horwood, Paul F.; Druce, Julian; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2023) 'Analytical sensitivity of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests: A case for a robust reference standard'. Talanta, 7 . [DOI]
Sorenson, Alanna E.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2023) 'Real-Time Temperature Sensing Using a Ratiometric Dual Fluorescent Protein Biosensor'. Biosensors, 13 (3). [DOI]
Toft, Casey J.; Sorenson, Alanna E.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2022) 'Rise of the terminator protein tus: A versatile tool in the biotechnologist's toolbox'. Analytica Chimica Acta, 1213 . [DOI]
Toft, Casey J.; Sorenson, Alanna E.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2022) 'A soft Tus-Ter interaction is hiding a fail-safe lock in the replication fork trap of Dickeya paradisiaca'. Microbiological Research, 263 . [DOI]
Toft, Casey; Moreau, Morgane J.J.; Perutka, Jiri; Mandapati, Savitri; Enyeart, Peter; Sorenson, Alanna E.; Ellington, Andrew; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2021) 'Delineation of the ancestral tus-dependent replication fork trap'. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22 (24). [DOI]
Sorenson, A.E.; Schaeffer, P.M. (2020) 'A new bivalent fluorescent fusion protein for differential Cu(II) and Zn(II) ion detection in aqueous solution'. Analytica Chimica Acta, 1101 :120-128. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Defining specific allergens for improved component-resolved diagnosis of shrimp allergy in adults
2019
Johnston, Elecia B.; Kamath, Sandip D.; Iyer, Swati P.; Pratap, Kunal; Karnaneedi, Shaymaviswanathan; Taki, Aya C.; Nugraha, Roni; Schaeffer, Patrick M.; Rolland, Jennifer M.; O'Hehir, Robyn E.; Lopata, Andreas L. (2019) 'Defining specific allergens for improved component-resolved diagnosis of shrimp allergy in adults'. Molecular Immunology, 112 :330-337. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Razaghi, Ali; Heimann, Kirsten; Schaeffer, Patrick M.; Gibson, Spencer B. (2018) 'Negative regulators of cell death pathways in cancer: perspective on biomarkers and targeted therapies'. Apoptosis, 23 (2):93-112. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Askin, Samuel; Bond, Thomas E.H.; Sorenson, Alanna E.; Moreau, Morgane J.J.; Antony, Helma; Davis, Rohan A.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2018) 'Selective protein unfolding: a universal mechanism of action for the development of irreversible inhibitors'. Chemical Communications, 54 (14):1738-1741. [DOI]
Bond, Thomas E.H.; Sorenson, Alanna E.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2017) 'Functional characterisation of Burkholderia pseudomallei biotin protein ligase: a toolkit for anti-melioidosis drug development'. Microbiological Research, 199 :40-48. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Bond, Thomas E.H.; Sorenson, Alanna E.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2017) 'A green fluorescent protein-based assay for high-throughput ligand-binding studies of a mycobacterial biotin protein ligase'. Microbiological Research, 205 :35-39. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Kamath, Sandip; Johnston, Elecia; Iyer, Swati; Schaeffer, Patrick; Koplin, Jennifer; Allen, Katrina; Lopata, Andreas (2017) 'IgE reactivity to shrimp allergens in infants and their cross-reactivity to house dust mite'. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, 28 (7):703-707. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Askin, Samuel P.; Bond, Thomas E.H.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2016) 'Green fluorescent protein-based assays for high-throughput functional characterization and ligand-binding studies of biotin protein ligase'. Analytical Methods, 8 (2):418-424. [DOI]
Sorenson, Alanna E.; Askin, Samuel P.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2015) 'In-gel detection of biotin–protein conjugates with a green fluorescent streptavidin probe'. Analytical Methods, 7 :2087-2092. [DOI]
Tus-Ter-lock immuno-PCR assays for the sensitive detection of tropomyosin-specific IgE antibodies
2014
Johnston, Elecia B.; Kamath, Sandip D.; Lopata, Andreas L.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2014) 'Tus-Ter-lock immuno-PCR assays for the sensitive detection of tropomyosin-specific IgE antibodies'. Bioanalysis, 6 (4):465-476. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Sorenson, Alanna E.; Williams, Natasha L.; Morris, Jodie L.; Ketheesan, Natkunam; Norton, Robert E.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2013) 'Improved diagnosis of melioidosis using a 2-dimensional immunoarray'. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 77 (3):209-215. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Moreau, Morgane J.J.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2013) 'Dissecting the salt dependence of the Tus-Ter protein-DNA complexes by high-throughput differential scanning fluorimetry of a GFP-tagged Tus'. Molecular BioSystems, 9 (12):3146-3154. [DOI]
Antony, Helma; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2013) 'A GFP-tagged nucleoprotein-based aggregation assay for anti-influenza drug discovery and antibody development'. The Analyst, 138 (20):6073-6080. [DOI]
Cooper, Alanna; Williams, Natasha L.; Morris, Jodie L.; Norton, Robert E.; Ketheesan, Natkunam; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2013) 'ELISA and immuno–polymerase chain reaction assays for the sensitive detection of melioidosis'. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 75 (2):135-138. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Morin, Isabelle; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2012) 'Combining RNA-DNA swapping and quantitative polymerase chain reaction for the detection of influenza A nucleoprotein'. Analytical Biochemistry, 420 (2):121-126. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Askin, Samuel P.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2012) 'A universal immuno-PCR platform for comparative and ultrasensitive quantification of dual affinity-tagged proteins in complex matrices'. Analyst, 137 (22):5193-5196. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Moreau, Morgane J.J.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2012) 'Differential Tus–Ter binding and lock formation: implications for DNA replication termination in Escherichia coli'. Molecular BioSystems, 8 (10):2783-2791. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Moreau, Morgane J.J; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2012) 'A polyplex qPCR-based binding assay for protein–DNA interactions'. Analyst, 137 :4111-4113. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Moreau, Morgane J.J.; Morin, Isabelle; Askin, Samuel P.; Cooper, Alanna; Moreland, Nicole J.; Vasudevan, Subhash G.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2012) 'Rapid determination of protein stability and ligand binding by differential scanning fluorimetry of GFP-tagged proteins'. RSC Advances, 2 (31):11892-11900. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Morin, Isabelle; Askin, Samuel P.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2011) 'IgG-detection devices for the Tus-Ter-lock immuno-PCR diagnostic platform'. Analyst, 136 (22):4815-4821. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Development of a protease activity assay using heat-sensitive Tus-GFP fusion protein substrates
2011
Askin, Samuel P.; Morin, Isabelle; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2011) 'Development of a protease activity assay using heat-sensitive Tus-GFP fusion protein substrates'. Analytical Biochemistry, 415 (2):126-133. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Morin, Isabelle; Dixon, Nicholas E.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2010) 'Ultrasensitive detection of antibodies using a new Tus-Ter-lock immunoPCR system'. Molecular BioSystems, 6 (7):1173-1175. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Moreau, Morgane J.J.; Morin, Isabelle; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2010) 'Quantitative determination of protein stability and ligand binding using a green fluorescent protein reporter system'. Molecular BioSystems, 6 (7):1285-1292. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Dahdah, Dahdah B.; Morin, Isabelle; Moreau, Morgane J.J.; Dixon, Nicholas E.; Schaeffer, Patrick M. (2009) 'Site-specific covalent attachment of DNA to proteins using a photoactivatable Tus–Ter complex'. Chemical Communications, 21 :3050-3052. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Schaeffer, Patrick; Dixon, Nicholas (2009) 'Synthesis and applications of covalent protein-DNA conjugates'. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 62 (10):1328-1332.
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Tanner, Nathan A.; Hamdan, Samir M.; Jergic, Slobodan; Loscha, Karin V.; Schaeffer, Patrick M.; Dixon, Nicholas E.; van Oijen, Antoine M. (2008) 'Single-molecule studies of fork dynamics in Escherichia coli DNA replication'. Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, 15 (2):170-176. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Watt, Stephen J.; Urathamakul, Thitima; Schaeffer, Patrick M.; Williams, Neal K.; Sheil, Margaret M.; Dixon, Nicholas E.; Beck, Jennifer L. (2007) 'Multiple oligomeric forms of Escherichia coli DnaB helicase revealed by electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry'. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 21 :132-140. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Su, Xun-Cheng; Schaeffer, Patrick M.; Loscha, Karin V.; Gan, Pamela H. P.; Dixon, Nicholas E. ; Otting, Gottfried (2006) 'Monomeric solution structure of the helicase-binding domain of Escherichia coli DnaG primase'. FEBS journal, 273 (21):4997-5009. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Graham, Stephen C.; Lilley, Penelope E.; Lee, Mihwa; Schaeffer, Patrick M.; Kralicek, Andrew V.; Dixon, Nicholas E.; Guss, J. Mitchell (2006) 'Kinetic and crystallographic analysis of mutant Escherichia coli aminopeptidase P: insights into substrate recognition and the mechanism of catalysis'. Biochemistry, 45 (3):964-975. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Beck, Jennifer L.; Urathamakul, Thitima; Watt, Stephen J.; Sheil, Margaret M.; Schaeffer, Patrick M.; Dixon, Nicholas E. (2006) 'Proteomic dissection of DNA polymerization'. Expert Review of Proteomics, 3 (2):197-211. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Mulcair, Mark D.; Schaeffer, Patrick M.; Oakley, Aaron J.; Cross, Hannah F.; Neylon, Cameron; Hill, Thomas M.; Dixon, Nicholas E. (2006) 'A molecular mousetrap determines polarity of termination of DNA replication in E. coli'. Cell, 125 (7):1309-1319. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Ioannou, Charikleia; Schaeffer, Patrick M.; Dixon, Nicholas E.; Soultanas, Panos (2006) 'Helicase binding to DnaI exposes a cryptic DNA-binding site during helicase loading in Bacillus subtilis'. Nucleic Acids Research, 34 (18):5247-5258. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Oakley, Aaron J.; Loscha, Karin V.; Schaeffer, Patrick M.; Liepinsh, Edvards; Pintacuda, Guido; Wilce, Matthew C.J.; Otting, Gottfried; Dixon, Nicholas E. (2005) 'Crystal and solution structures of the helicase-binding domain of Escherichia coli primase'. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 280 (12):11495-11504. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Schaeffer, Patrick M.; Headlam, Madeleine J.; Dixon, Nicholas E. (2005) 'Protein - protein interactions in the eubacterial replisome'. IUBMB Life, 57 (1):5-12. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Robinson, Andrew; Wu, Peter S.-C.; Harrop, Stephen J. ; Schaeffer, Patrick M. ; Dosztanyi, Zsuzsanna; Gillings, Michael R.; Holmes, Andrew J. ; Nevalainen, K. M. Helena; Stokes, H. W.; Otting, Gottfried; Dixon, Nicholas E.; Curmi, Paul M. G.; Mabbutt, Bridget C. (2005) 'Integron-associated mobile gene cassettes code for folded proteins: the structure of Bal32a, a new member of the adaptable α+β barrel family'. Journal of Molecular Biology, 346 (5):1229-1241. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Qin, Jilong; Kinobe, Robert; Schaeffer, Patrick M.; Hong, Yaoqin (2025) 'The bacterial cell envelope as a morphogenetic code for biofilm development' Microbiology Australia, 46 (4) . [DOI]