Julianne (Julie) Djordjevic
Associate Professor
Bachelor of Science/Honors/PhD
Julie.djordjevic@wimr.org.au
Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
Fungal Pathogenesis and Drug Discovery Group
Currently open to PHD and Honours students in the topic areas of:
Understanding fungal cell cycle and transcriptional regulation
Understanding how fungi sense and respond to nutrient deprivation and stress
Investigating new antifungal therapies
Biography
A/Prof Djordjevic investigates how fungi cause deadly disease in humans and new therapeutic approaches to treat fungal infections. Using a model pathogen that is the most common cause of fungal meningitis world-wide and classified as a Critical Priority Pathogen by the World Health Organization, she has made a significant contribution to understanding how fungi survive at human body temperature, acquire essential nutrients, evade detection by the immune system, secrete virulence factors and coordinate their energy availability with growth.
Recognizing the centrality of fungi coordinating energy with growth, she characterized the energy sensing pathway in fungal pathogens, identified druggable components and led multidisciplinary collaborations with groups in the USA, UK, Germany and Australia that culminated in the development of compound DT-23. DT-23 blocks fungal energy sensing and features in the 2025 WHO preclinical antifungal pipeline report (DT-318 series) aimed at combating antimicrobial resistance who_amr_antifungal_data_2024_preclinicalandclinical.xlsx. Assays developed in this study also allowed a USA team to confirm their creation of a lead inhibitor to potentially treat glioblastoma.
In a collaboration with UCSF, she discovered the antifungal potential of chemotherapeutic agents targeting CDK7 and with post-doctoral fellow Dr Pooja Sethiya, their mechanism of action, highlighting the potential to repurpose or dual purpose these agents as new clinical antifungals.
Research interests
Fungal nutrient acquisition pathways, Fungal stress response pathways, Fungal cell cycle and transcription regulation, Investigating new antifungal therapies
Adjunct roles
| Fellow | Australian Society for Microbiology |
| Drug Discovery Initiative (DDI) steering committee member | University of Sydney |
| Professional member | Australian Society for Microbiology |
| Host-pathogen interactions theme leader of Fungisphere (a node of Sydney ID) | Sydney ID, University of Sydney. |
| Principal Research Fellow/Associate Professor (honorary appointment) | University of Sydney, FMH |
| Undergraduate lecturer (3rd year) | University of Sydney- School of Medical Sciences |
Recent publications
Functional insight into cyclin dependent kinase (CDK)7 via chemical inhibition of the priority fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans
October 2025
Design, synthesis and cellular characterization of a new class of IPMK kinase inhibitors
July 2025
Synthesis of a New Purine Analogue Class with Antifungal Activity and Improved Potency against Fungal IP3−4K.
Arg1 from C. neoformans lacks PI3 kinase activity and conveys virulence roles via its IP3-4 kinase activity.
May 2024
Dysregulating PHO Signaling via the CDK Machinery Differentially Impacts Energy Metabolism, Calcineurin Signaling, and Virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans.
TNP analogues inhibit the virulence promoting IP3-4 kinase Arg1 in the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans.
October 2022
Additional information
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4207-4115
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=nPe1O64AAAAJ&hl=en
USYD link – https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/our-people/academic-staff/julianne-djordjevic.html
Related News
Current grants
| NHMRC: Ideas grant | 2020-2023 | Fungal IP7-protein interaction and invasive fungal disease: a dangerous liaison. |
| Western Sydney Local Health District/University of Sydney/Industry Partner:Biodiem Australia | 2021-2024 | NSW Health PhD Partnership Program: Arg1 as a new antifungal drug target |
| University of Sydney Drug Discovery Initiative | 2023 | Understanding the mechanism of action of a novel antifungal drug target |
Affiliations
Western Sydney Local Health District, Westmead Hospital, University of Sydney
Professional Associations and Organisations
| July 2023-present | Australian Society for Microbiology | Fellow |
| Jan 2023-present | University of Sydney | Drug Discovery Initiative (DDI) steering committee member |
| 2019 Oct-June 2023 | Australian Society for Microbiology | Professional member |
| 2018 June-present. | Sydney ID, University of Sydney. | Host-pathogen interactions theme leader of Fungisphere (a node of Sydney ID) |
| 2015-present | University of Sydney, FMH | Principal Research Fellow/Associate Professor (honorary appointment) |
| 2010-present | University of Sydney- School of Medical Sciences | Undergraduate lecturer (3rd year) |
Awards and recognition
| WISE Awardee 2008/2015/2016/2019/2021 |
