Dr Blagojce Jovcevski
Grant-Funded Researcher (A)
School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Blagojce completed his PhD at the University of Wollongong in 2017, under the supervision of Prof. Heath Ecroyd focusing on understanding the structure-function relationship of small heat-shock proteins, which are associated with numerous neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, using native mass spectrometry and biophysical approaches.
Blagojce joined the University of Adelaide in late 2017 in the Department of Chemistry (School of Physical Sciences) and also joined the Department of Food Science (School of Agriculture, Food and Wine) in 2020.
Blagojce is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow working with Assoc. Prof. Tara Pukala (School of Physical Sciences, Adelaide Proteomics Centre) to utilise mass spectrometry-based techniques to understand the aggregation dynamics of amyloid-fibril forming proteins and their affects on proteostasis. In addition, Blagojce is also an Associate Investigator for the Research Consortium Program for Agriculture Product Development which is supported by the South Australia Department for Industry and Skills to discover and repurpose bioactive molecules from agricultural and food waste for industry and biomedical applications.
Investigating the structural dynamics of amyloidogenic proteins using mass spectrometry-based approaches
The pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is believed to be caused by the aggregation of non-native proteins. My focus is on understanding the role lipids play in the aggregation dynamics of alpha-synuclein using a range of mass spectrometry-based approaches. Native MS is a high-resolution tool utilised in structural biology which can define a range of structural features within proteins, such as oligomeric distribution and polydispersity, unfolded/unstructured states, assembly stability and quaternary conformation of proteins. Using these techniques, in conjunction with other biophysical tools, can provide a structural rationale for protein function/dysfunction.
Development of novel peptide-based protein aggregation inhibitors and enzymatic-targetting antimicrobials
My work has also facilitated structure-informed design of peptide-based inhibitors of amyloid fibril formation as potential therapeutics of diseases where protein misfolding and aggregation are central, as well as enzymatic inhibitor screening of novel antimicrobial drugs targeting bacterial and fungal pathogens in collaboration with The Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS).
Utilising MS approaches as a complementary tool in structural biology and structure-activity relationships
We continuely utilise MS-based approaches to complement traditional structural biology approaches (e.g. X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, NMR) to structurally rationalise biomolecular function/activity to guide antifungal drug design and vaccine design against infectious disease. In addition, these approaches have been crucial in discovering venom proteomes and their role in envenomation and developing novel glycopeptide enrichment stratergies for disease diagnostics.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2020 - ongoing Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine University of Adelaide 2017 - ongoing Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Physical Sciences University of Adelaide -
Language Competencies
Language Competency Macedonian Can read, speak and understand spoken -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2012 - 2017 University of Wollongong Australia PhD (Biological Sciences) 2007 - 2011 University of Wollongong Australia Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Biological Sciences) -
Research Interests
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Biophysics Cell Biology Cellular Interactions Characterisation of Biological Macromolecules Medical Biochemistry: Proteins and Peptides Microbiology Molecular Targets Neurosciences Protein Trafficking Proteins and Peptides Proteomics and Intermolecular Interactions Structural Biology
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Journals
Year Citation 2022 Sanders, H. M., Jovcevski, B., Marty, M. T., & Pukala, T. L. (2022). Structural and mechanistic insights into amyloid-β and α-synuclein fibril formation and polyphenol inhibitor efficacy in phospholipid bilayers. The FEBS Journal, 289(1), 215-230.
Scopus8 WoS8 Europe PMC32022 Nguyen, S., Jovcevski, B., Pukala, T. L., & Bruning, J. B. (2022). Structural insights into the antifungal drug target guanosine monophosphate synthase from Aspergillus fumigatus. Acta Crystallographica Section D: Structural Biology, 78(Pt 2), 248-259.
Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC12022 Nguyen, S., Jovcevski, B., Truong, J. Q., Pukala, T. L., & Bruning, J. B. (2022). A structural model of the human plasminogen and Aspergillus fumigatus enolase complex. Proteins: Structure, Function and Bioinformatics, 90(8), 1509-1520.
2022 Pachulicz, R. J., Yu, L., Jovcevski, B., Bulone, V., & Pukala, T. L. (2022). Polyphenol characterisation and diverse bioactivities of native Australian lilly pilly (Syzygium paniculatum) extract. Food and Function, 13(16), 8585-8592.
2022 Horsley, J. R., Jovcevski, B., Pukala, T. L., & Abell, A. D. (2022). Designer D-peptides targeting the N-terminal region of α-synuclein to prevent parkinsonian-associated fibrilization and cytotoxicity. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Proteins and Proteomics, 1870(10), 140826-1-140826-9.
2022 Pederick, J. L., Horsfall, A. J., Jovcevski, B., Klose, J., Abell, A. D., Pukala, T. L., & Bruning, J. B. (2022). Discovery of an ʟ-amino acid ligase implicated in Staphylococcal sulfur amino acid metabolism. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 298(10), 16 pages.
2022 Stachura, D. L., Nguyen, S., Polyak, S. W., Jovcevski, B., Bruning, J. B., & Abell, A. D. (2022). A New 1,2,3-Triazole Scaffold with Improved Potency against Staphylococcus aureus Biotin Protein Ligase. ACS Infectious Diseases, 8(12), 2579-2585.
2021 Nguyen, S., Jovcevski, B., Pukala, T. L., & Bruning, J. B. (2021). Nucleoside selectivity of Aspergillus fumigatus nucleoside-diphosphate kinase.. The FEBS journal, 288(7), 2398-2417.
Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC32020 Jovcevski, B., Das, S., Smid, S., & Pukala, T. L. (2020). Polyphenol honokiol and flavone 2′,3′,4′-trihydroxyflavone differentially interact with α-synuclein at distinct phases of aggregation. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 11(24), 4469-4477.
Scopus10 WoS92020 Sajid, M. S., Jovcevski, B., Pukala, T. L., Jabeen, F., & Najam-Ul-Haq, M. (2020). Fabrication of Piperazine Functionalized Polymeric Monolithic Tip for Rapid Enrichment of Glycopeptides/Glycans.. Anal Chem, 92(1), 683-689.
Scopus14 WoS13 Europe PMC22020 Sanders, H. M., Jovcevski, B., Carver, J., & Pukala, T. L. (2020). The molecular chaperone β-casein prevents amorphous and fibrillar aggregation of α-lactalbumin by stabilisation of dynamic disorder. Biochemical Journal, 477(3), 629-643.
Scopus14 WoS14 Europe PMC62020 Wang, C. R., Bubner, E. R., Jovcevski, B., Mittal, P., & Pukala, T. L. (2020). Interrogating the higher order structures of snake venom proteins using an integrated mass spectrometric approach.. J Proteomics, 216, 103680.
Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC82020 Horsley, J. R., Jovcevski, B., Wegener, K. L., Yu, J., Pukala, T. L., & Abell, A. (2020). Rationally Designed Peptide-Based Inhibitor of Aβ42 Fibril Formation and Toxicity: A Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Alzheimer's Disease.. Biochem J, 477(11), 2039-2054.
Scopus11 WoS16 Europe PMC102020 Yeoh, Y. Q., Horsley, J., Yu, J., Polyak, S. W., Jovcevski, B., & Abell, A. D. (2020). Short photoswitchable antibacterial peptides. ChemMedChem, 15(16), 1505-1508.
Scopus10 WoS9 Europe PMC32020 Salman Sajid, M., Jovcevski, B., Mittal, P., Fatima, B., Hussain, D., Jabeen, F., . . . Najam-ul-Haq, M. (2020). Glycosylation heterogeneity and low abundant serum glycoproteins MS analysis by boronic acid immobilized Fe<inf>3</inf>O<inf>4</inf>@1,2-Epoxy-5-Hexene/DVB magnetic core shell nanoparticles. Microchemical Journal, 159, 8 pages.
Scopus4 WoS42019 Liu, Y., Jovcevski, B., & Pukala, T. L. (2019). C-Phycocyanin from Spirulina Inhibits α-synuclein and amyloid-β fibril formation but not amorphous aggregation. Journal of Natural Products, 82(1), 66-73.
Scopus17 WoS16 Europe PMC72018 Jovcevski, B., Andrew Aquilina, J., Benesch, J., & Ecroyd, H. (2018). The influence of the N-terminal region proximal to the core domain on the assembly and chaperone activity of αB-crystallin. Cell Stress and Chaperones, 23(5), 827-836.
Scopus8 WoS8 Europe PMC62017 Jovcevski, B., Kelly, M., Aquilina, J., Benesch, J., & Ecroyd, H. (2017). Evaluating the effect of phosphorylation on the structure and dynamics of Hsp27 dimers by means of ion mobility mass spectrometry. Analytical Chemistry, 89(24), 13275-13282.
Scopus11 WoS13 Europe PMC72015 Jovcevski, B., Kelly, M., Rote, A., Berg, T., Gastall, H., Benesch, J., . . . Ecroyd, H. (2015). Phosphomimics destabilize Hsp27 oligomeric assemblies and enhance chaperone activity. Chemistry and Biology, 22(2), 186-195.
Scopus91 WoS90 Europe PMC672015 Cork, A., Ericsson, D., Law, R., Casey, L., Valkov, E., Bertozzi, C., . . . Kobe, B. (2015). Stability of the octameric structure affects plasminogen-binding capacity of streptococcal enolase. PLoS ONE, 10(3), e0121764-1-e0121764-18.
Scopus9 WoS8 Europe PMC42013 Henningham, A., Ericsson, D., Langer, K., Casey, L., Jovcevski, B., Singh Chhatwal, G., . . . Walker, M. (2013). Structure-informed design of an enzymatically inactive vaccine component for group A Streptococcus. mBio, 4(4), e00509-13-1-e00509-13-9.
Scopus19 WoS16 Europe PMC9 -
Book Chapters
Year Citation 2019 Jovcevski, B., & Pukala, T. (2019). Mass Spectrometry and Its Applications. In V. Ramesh (Ed.), Biomolecular and Bioanalytical Techniques Theory, Methodology and Applications (pp. 219-253). USA: Wiley.
| Year | Funding Source | Amount (AUD) |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Postdoctoral Travel Award Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function (Sole CI) | $250 |
| 2018 | Australian Bicentennial Fellowship Travel Award, Menzies Australian Institute (Sole CI) | $1,800 |
| 2015 | American Society of Mass Spectrometry Asilomar Conference on Native Mass Spectrometry Travel Award, American Society of Mass Spectrometry (Sole CI) | $1,500 |
| 2013-14 | Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health Travel Award, University of Wollongong (Sole CI) | $3,000 |
| 2012-16 | Henning Family Foundation PhD Scholarship, Australian Rotary Health (Sole CI) | $101,500 |
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2021 Co-Supervisor Investigating the formation, inhibition and detection of amyloid oligomers in the context of neurodegenerative disease Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Shaun Thomas Ellis -
Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2020 - 2021 Co-Supervisor Mass Spectrometric Characterisation of Protein Assemblies from Bitis arietans Snake Venom Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Miss Emily Rose Bubner 2020 - 2021 Co-Supervisor Structural and Biochemical Insights into Antifungal Drug Targets from Aspergillus fumigatus Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Stephanie Nguyen
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Committee Memberships
Date Role Committee Institution Country 2022 - ongoing Board Member Australian and New Zealand Society for Mass Spectrometry Executive Committee Australian and New Zealand Society for Mass Spectrometry Australia 2021 - ongoing Chair Adelaide Protein Group ASBMB Australia 2020 - 2021 Representative ASBMB Liason, Adelaide Protein Group ASBMB Australia 2019 - 2020 Member Lorne Proteins ECR Committee Lorne Proteins Australia -
Memberships
Date Role Membership Country 2019 - ongoing Member Australian and New Zealand Society for Mass Spectrometry Australia 2018 - ongoing Member Adelaide Protein Group Australia 2018 - ongoing Member Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Australia 2017 - ongoing Member Cell Stress Society International United States
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