Kevin Saliba obtained a BSc (Chemistry) and a PhD (Pharmacology) from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He was a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Kiaran Kirk at The Australian National University between 1997 and 2004. Late in 2004 he took up his present position at The Australian National University Medical School.

Contact Details

E: Kevin.Saliba@anu.edu.au T: (+61 2) 6125 7549 F: (+61 2) 6125 0313

Main Research interests

Physiology and biochemistry of the malaria parasite.

Teaching Activities

Medical School , Physiology and Pharmacology. Second Year Student Coordinator.

Current Research Group

Adele Lehane – PhD Student Christina Spry – PhD Student Nimeka Ramanayke – PhD Student Kylie Easton - Honours Student Audrey Chan - Technical Officer Kanchuka Gunaratna - Research Assistant

Research Activities

Each year the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum infects hundreds of millions of people and kills more than one million children under the age of five, most of them in Africa. The stage of the parasite that results in all the morbidity and mortality associated with malaria, infects, resides within and ultimately destroys the red blood cells of the human host. Our work aims to identify and characterise physiological and biochemical pathways in this stage of the parasite’s lifecycle which may be utilised as targets for antimalarial chemotherapy. One such pathway that is currently under investigation is the enzyme-mediated conversion of the essential vitamin pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) into the important enzyme cofactor coenzyme A.

Publications

2009 Spry C and Saliba KJ (2009)  The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is not dependent on host coenzyme A biosynthesis.  Journal of Biological Chemistry, 284: 24904-24913 Kirk, K., Howitt, S.M., Bröer. S., Saliba, K.J. and Downie, M.J. (2009)  Purine uptake in Plasmodium:  transport versus metabolism. Trends in Parasitology, 25, 246-249 [PubMed] 2008 Saliba, K.J., Lehane, A.M. and Kirk K. (2008) A polymorphic drug pump in the malaria parasite. Molecular Microbiology, 70, 775-779. [PubMed] D.A. van Schalkwyk, W. Priebe, K.J. Saliba (2008) The inhibitory effect of 2-halo derivatives of D-glucose on glycolysis and on the proliferation of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparumJournal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (accepted 18 August) Adele M Lehane and Kevin J Saliba (2008) Common dietary flavonoids inhibit the growth of the intraerythrocytic malaria parasite. BMC Research Notes, 1:26 (accepted 18 June) Lehane, A.M., Hayward, R., Saliba K.J. and Kirk, K. (2008) A verapamil-sensitive chloroquine-associated H+ leak from the digestive vacuole of chloroquine-resistant malaria parasites. Journal of Cell Science, 121, 1624-1632.[PubMed] Downie, M.J., Saliba, K.J., Bröer, S., Howitt, S.M. and Kirk, K. (2008) Purine nucleobase transport in the intraerythrocytic malaria parasite. International Journal for Parasitology, 38: 203-209. Spry, C., Kirk, K., Saliba, K.J. (2008) Coenzyme A biosynthesis: an antimicrobial drug target. FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 32: 56-106 2007 Lehane, A.M., Marchetti, R.V., Spry, C., van Schalkwyk, D.A., Teng, R., Kirk, K. and Saliba K.J. (2007) Feedback inhibition of pantothenate kinase regulates pantothenol uptake by the malaria parasite.  Journal of Biological Chemistry, 32: 25395-25405. Staines, H.M., Alkhalil, A., Allen, R.J., De Jonge, H., Derbyshire, E., Egee, S., Ginsburg, H., Hill, D.A., Huber, S., Kirk, K., Lang, F., Lisk, G., Oteng, E., Pillai, A.D., Rayavara, K., Rouhani, S., Saliba, K.J., Shen, C., Solomon, T., Thomas, S., Verloo, P., Desai, (2007) Electrophysiological studies of malaria parasite-infected erythrocytes S.A. International Journal for Parasitology, 37:475-482. Kirk, K. and Saliba, K.J. (2007)  Targeting nutrient uptake mechanisms in Plasmodium. Current Drug Targets, 8:75-88. 2006 Saliba, K.J., Martin, R.E., Bröer, A., Henry, R.I., McCarthy, C.S., Downie, M.J., Allen, R.J.W., Mullin, K.A., McFadden, G.I., Bröer, S.and Kirk, K. (2006)  Sodium-dependent uptake of inorganic phosphate by the intracellular malaria parasite. Nature 443:582-585 Downie, M.J., Saliba, K.J., Howitt, S.M., Bröer, S. and Kirk, K. (2006)  Transport of nucleosides across the Plasmodium falciparum parasite plasma membrane has characteristics of PfENT1. Molecular Microbiology, 60:738-748. Hayward, R., Saliba, K.J. and Kirk, K. (2006) The pH of the digestive vacuole of Plasmodium falciparum is not associated with chloroquine resistance, Journal of Cell Science, 119:1016-1025 2005 Spry, C., Chai, C.L.L., Kirk, K., Saliba, K.J. (2005) A class of pantothenic acid analogs inhibits Plasmodium falciparum pantothenate kinase and represses the proliferation of malaria parasites, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotheapy, 49:4649-4657. Hayward, R., Saliba, K.J. and Kirk, K. (2005) pfmdr1 mutations associated with chloroquine resistance incur a fitness cost in Plasmodium falciparum. Molecular Microbiology, 55:1285-1295. Hayward, R., Saliba, K.J. and Kirk, K. (2005) Mutations in pfmdr1 modulate the sensitivity of Plasmodium falciparum to the intrinsic antiplasmodial activity of verapamil. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 49:840-842. Kirk, K., Martin, R.E., Bröer, S., Howitt, S.M. and Saliba, K.J. (2005) Plasmodium Permeomics: Membrane transport proteins in the malaria parasite. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology: Malaria (S. Krishna and D. Sullivan, eds), 295:325-356. Saliba, K.J., Ferru, I. and Kirk, K. (2005) Pro-vitamin B5 (pantothenol) inhibits the growth of the intraerythrocytic malaria parasite. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 49:632-637. Saliba, K.J. and Kirk, K. (2005) CJ-15,801, a fungal natural product, inhibits the intraerythrocytic stage of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro via an effect on pantothenic acid utilisation. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 141:129-131. 2004 Lehane, A.M., Saliba, K.J., Allen, R.J.W. and Kirk, K. (2004) Choline uptake into the malaria parasite is energised by the membrane potential. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 320:311-317. Saliba, K.J., Krishna, S. and Kirk, K. (2004) Inhibition of hexose transport and abrogation of pH homeostasis in the intraerythrocytic malaria parasite by an O-3-hexose derivative. FEBS Letters, 570:93-96. Go, M.-L., Liu, M., Wilairat, P., Rosenthal, P.J., Saliba, K.J. and Kirk, K. (2004) Anti-plasmodial chalcones inhibit sorbitol-induced hemolysis of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 48:3241-3245. 2003 Saliba, K.J., Allen, R.J.W., Zissis, S., Bray, P.G., Ward, S.A. and Kirk, K. (2003) Acidification of the malaria parasite's digestive vacuole by a H+-ATPase and a H+-pyrophosphatase. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 278:5605-5612. Kirk, K. and Saliba, K.J. (2003) The membrane physiology of the 'malaria-infected' erythrocyte, in Red Cell Membrane Transport in Health and Disease (I. Bernhardt and J.C. Ellory, eds.) Springer, pp 569-585. 2002 Bray, P.G., Saliba, K.J., Davies, J.D., Spiller, D.G., White, M.R.H., Kirk, K. and Ward, S.A. (2002) Distribution of acridine orange fluorescence in Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes and its implications for the evaluation of digestive vacuole pH. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 119:301-304. Bray, P.G., Saliba, K.J., Davies, J.D., Spiller, D.G., White, M.R.H., Kirk, K. and Ward, S.A. (2002) Further comments on the distribution of acridine orange fluorescence in P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 119:311-313. 2001 Elliott, J.L., Saliba, K.J. and Kirk, K. (2001) Transport of lactate and pyruvate in the intraerythrocytic malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Biochemical Journal, 355:733-739. Saliba, K.J. and Kirk, K. (2001) H+-coupled pantothenate transport in the intracellular malaria parasite. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 276:18115-18121. Biagini, G. A., Knodler, L. A., Saliba, K.J., Kirk, K. and Edwards, M. R. (2001) Na+-dependent pH regulation by the microaerophilic parasite Giardia intestinalis. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 276:29157-29162. Saliba, K.J. and Kirk, K. (2001) Nutrient acquisition by intracellular apicomplexan parasites: Staying in for dinner. International Journal of Parasitology, 31:1321-1330. Kirk, K. and Saliba, K.J. (2001) Chloroquine resistance and the pH of the malaria parasite's digestive vacuole. Drug Resistance Updates, 4:335-338. 2000 Reed, M.B., Saliba, K.J., Caruana, S.R., Kirk, K. and Cowman, A.F. (2000) Pgh1 modulates sensitivity and resistance to multiple antimalarials in Plasmodium falciparum. Nature, 403:906-909. Krishna, S.J., Woodrow, C., Burchmore, R., Saliba, K.J. and Kirk, K. (2000) Hexose transport in asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum and Kinetoplastidae. Parasitology Today, 16:516-521. 1999 Rickards, R.W., Rothschild, J.M., Willis, A.C., de Chazal, N.M., Kirk, J., Kirk, K., Saliba, K.J. and Smith, G.D. (1999) Calothrixins A and B, novel pentacyclic metabolites from Calothrix cyanobacteria with potent activity against malaria parasites and human cancer cells. Tetrahedron, 55:13513-13520. Saliba, K.J. and Kirk, K. (1999) pH regulation in the intracellular malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum: H+extrusion via a V-type H+-ATPase. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 274:33213-33219. Kirk, K., Staines, H.M., Martin, R.E. and Saliba, K.J. (1999) Transport properties of the host cell membrane, in Transport and Trafficking in the Malaria-Infected Erythrocyte , Wiley, Chichester (Novartis Foundation Symposium 226) pp 55-73. Saliba, K.J., Martin, R.E., Staines, H.M. and Kirk, K. (1999) A novel anion channel in the malaria-infected erythrocyte: opportunities for antimalarial chemotherapy, in Chloride Channels (R.Z. Kozlowski, ed.) Isis Medical Media, pp 137-148. 1998 Saliba, K.J., Folb, P.I. and Smith, P.J. (1998) Role for the Plasmodium falciparum digestive vacuole in chloroquine resistance. Biochemical Pharmacology, 56:313-320. Saliba, K.J., Horner, H.A. and Kirk, K. (1998) Transport and metabolism of the essential vitamin pantothenic acid in human erythrocytes infected with the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 273:10190-10195. Saliba, K.J. and Kirk, K. (1998) Uptake of an antiplasmodial protease inhibitor into Plasmodium falciparum-infected human erythrocytes via a parasite-induced pathway. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 94:297-301. Saliba, K.J. and Kirk, K. (1998) Clotrimazole inhibits the growth of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 92:666-667.