PROFILE
Associate Professor Charlene Kahler
Started at UWA: 2005
Stopping the spread of infectious diseases
Dr Charlene Kahler is Head of the Infection and Immunity Division at The University of Western Australia’s School of Biomedical Sciences.
As a specialist researcher in the field of microbiology, Dr Kahler studies micro-organisms and related technology to uncover ways to improve immune system health.
Dr Kahler moved to UWA from Monash University where she was a Faculty of Medicine Fellow since 1999.
Prior to then, she completed her first post-doctoral position at Emory University in Atlanta (USA) and received her Bachelor of Science and PhD in microbiology at the University of Queensland.
As an expert in the field of developing novel medical countermeasures against infectious disease, Dr Kahler is researching natural products and inhibitors of virulence properties of pathogens to discover supplements for traditional treatment therapies. This includes focusing on the bacterial pathogens causing sepsis, and investigating ways to better understand the toxins produced in infections that lead to septic shock.
Dr Kahler’s other projects include:
- Therapeutics against neisseria gonorrhoea
- Genomic epidemiology of Neisseria gonorrhoeae
- Pathogenesis determinants in hyper-virulent Neisseria meningitidis
Dr Kahler currently teaches:
Funding
2018
WA Department of Health
- “MenCarWA: Meningococcal carriage study for Western Australia in 2018”
- Kahler, C.
Australian Society of Antimicrobials
- “Molecular mechanisms of reduced susceptibility to ceftriaxone and penicillin in Nesseria meningitis”
- Kahler, C. & Mowlaboccus, S.
National Health & Medical Research Council NHMRC
- “Art Robbins Nano Dispenser”
- Bond, C., Clemons, T., Filipovska, A., Fox, A., Kahler, C., Lesterhuis, W., Rackham, O., Smith, N., Swaminatha Iyer, K. & Vrielink, A.
2016 – 2019
Defence Science & Technology Laboratory DSTL
- “Research PhD – Bacterial cell membrane proteins as targets for novel antibacterial drug design”
- Sarkar-Tyson, M., Kahler, C., Sullivan, C. & Vrielink, A.
News
Funding plea to protect kids from deadly meningococcal
UWA’s Dr Charlene Kahler says she believes the surge in meningococcal disease this year is linked to the flu epidemic that hit many States.
Read moreMicrobiology Award for Charlene Kahler
The Marshall Centre's Deputy Director, Associate Professor Charlene Kahler has been awarded the Australian Society of Microbiology Distinguished Service Award. Assoc/Prof Kahler served on the Executive of ASM as the Vice President for Scientific Affairs from 2011-2014.
Read moreWA scientists fight deadly superbugs
UWA researchers provide world first insights into the way antibiotic resistance occurs with new WA research is providing new hope for fighting the deadly bacteria.
Read moreScientists make breakthrough in fight against superbugs
The three-dimensional structure of the enzyme required for polymyxin resistance was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "If we can better understand the function of this enzyme, we can be in a position to design drugs that inhibit its function and restore polymyxin sensitivity.” said Dr Kahler.
Read more