Background

Betty received her BSc from Victoria University of Technology with majors in physics and went on to receive First Class Honours and her PhD degree in Optoelectronics for the study of microscopic characterisation of complex structured optical devices. Betty held a postdoctoral research fellow position within both the ARC Laureate Fellowship award and the Human Frontiers research program, Centre of Micro-Photonics, Swinburne University of Technology, where she developed a super resolution microscope based on the principles of photo-activated light microscopy and applied the design to develop imaging techniques for the characterisation of both biological and photonic media. Most recently Betty joined the Burnet Institute/MMI as a microscopy specialist.

Research Interests

• Development of new imaging tools to study cellular processes
• Fibre Bragg gratings and sensing
• Super-resolution microscopy
• Single molecule fluorescence
• Optical physics

Appointments

• 2012: Member, Optical Society of America
• 2012: Member, Australian Optical Society
• 2012: Member, ARC/NHMRC Fluorescence Applications in Biotechnology and Life Sciences Network
• 2012: Member, Australian and New Zeland Society for Cell and Developmental Biology
• Member, Technical Program Sub-committee (Nanophotonics), IQEC/CLEO Pacific RIM 2011, 25 August – 1 September 2011, Sydney Australia
• Editorial assistant to Journal of Biophotonics Special Issue
• Editorial assistant to Journal of Optics, Ultrafast Biophotonics Special
• Attended the International Congress on Biophotonics as a ‘stakeholder’ on behalf of the Centre director of CMP

Positions

• 2015: Adjunct Research Associate at Monash University
• 2015: Specialist Microscopist at Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health (Burnet Institute)
• 2015 – 2013: Microscopy Specialist at Coherent Scientific
• 2012 – 2008: Postdoctoral Fellow/Research Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology
• 2007 – 2003: Demonstrator/Instructor at Victoria University

Qualifications

• 2010: Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Optics/Optical Sciences, Microscopy, Victoria University
• 2004: Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Physics, Optics/Optical Sciences, Victoria University.
• 2003: Bachelor of Science, Optoelectronics, Victoria University

Awards

• 2010: US provisional patent – Application Number: 61/322611; Filed 9 April 2010; “Optical Nano-Microscopy”; Swinburne University of Technology. The invention relates to processes, apparatuses, systems and computer-readable storage configured for optical-microscopy, e.g., for monitoring and characterizing particles (e.g., quantum dots), and/or providing localization at higher resolution than the optical diffraction limit.

• 2009: Emerging Research Projects grant, Fluorescent Applications in Biotechnology and life sciences (FABLS) support scheme that was funded by the sources of Australian Research Council/National Health and Medical Research Council ARC/NHMRC and Macquarie University and received the award.

Publications (18)

2022 (2)

• The Plasmodium falciparum parasitophorous vacuole protein P113 interacts with the parasite protein export machinery and maintains normal vacuole architecture.
  Bullen HE, Sanders PR, Dans MG, Jonsdottir TK, Riglar DT, Looker O, Palmer CS, Kouskousis B, Charnaud SC, Triglia T, Gabriela M, Schneider MP, Chan JA, de Koning-Ward TF, Baum J, Kazura JW, Beeson JG, Cowman AF, Gilson PR, Crabb BS
  Mol Microbiol. 2022 Apr; 117(5):1245-1262
• A revised mechanism for how Plasmodium falciparum recruits and exports proteins into its erythrocytic host cell.
  Gabriela M, Matthews KM, Boshoven C, Kouskousis B, Jonsdottir TK, Bullen HE, Modak J, Steer DL, Sleebs BE, Crabb BS, Koning-Ward TF, Gilson PR
  PLoS Pathog. 2022 Feb; 18(2):e1009977

2021 (3)

• Super-resolution microscopy reveals arrangement of inner membrane protein complexes in mammalian mitochondria.
  Palmer CS, Lou J, Kouskousis B, Pandzic E, Anderson AJ, Kang Y, Hinde E, Stojanovski D
  J Cell Sci. 2021 Jun; 134(13):jcs252197
• Characterisation of complexes formed by parasite proteins exported into the host cell compartment of Plasmodium falciparum infected red blood cells.
  Jonsdottir TK, Counihan NA, Modak JK, Kouskousis B, Sanders PR, Gabriela M, Bullen HE, Crabb BS, de Koning-Ward TF, Gilson PR
  Cell Microbiol. 2021 Mar; 23(8):e13332
• Novel Virus-Like Particle Vaccine Encoding the Circumsporozoite Protein of Plasmodium falciparum Is Immunogenic and Induces Functional Antibody Responses in Mice.
  Kurtovic L, Wetzel D, Reiling L, Drew DR, Palmer C, Kouskousis B, Hanssen E, Wines BD, Hogarth PM, Suckow M, Jenzelewski V, Piontek M, Chan JA, Beeson JG
  Front Immunol. 2021 Mar; 12:641421

2019 (1)

• Display of malaria transmission-blocking antigens on chimeric duck hepatitis B virus-derived virus-like particles produced in Hansenula polymorpha.
  Wetzel D, Chan JA, Suckow M, Barbian A, Weniger M, Jenzelewski V, Reiling L, Richards JS, Anderson DA, Kouskousis B, Palmer C, Hanssen E, Schembecker G, Merz J, Beeson JG, Piontek M
  PLoS One. 2019 Sep; 14(9):e0221394

2018 (4)

• The Rare Anaphylaxis-Associated FcgammaRIIa3 Exhibits Distinct Characteristics From the Canonical FcgammaRIIa1.
  Anania JC, Trist HM, Palmer CS, Tan PS, Kouskousis BP, Chenoweth AM, Kent SJ, Mackay GA, Hoi A, Koelmeyer R, Slade C, Bryant VL, Hodgkin PD, Aui PM, van Zelm MC, Wines BD, Hogarth PM
  Front Immunol. 2018 Aug; 9:1809
• Modified Organosilica Core-Shell Nanoparticles for Stable pH Sensing in Biological Solutions.
  Robinson KJ, Huynh GT, Kouskousis BP, Fletcher NL, Houston ZH, Thurecht KJ, Corrie SR
  ACS Sens. 2018 May; 3(5):967-975
• Spatial organisation of protein export in malaria parasite blood stages.
  Charnaud SC, Jonsdottir TK, Sanders PR, Bullen HE, Dickerman BK, Kouskousis B, Palmer CS, Pietrzak HM, Laumaea AE, Erazo AB, McHugh E, Tilley L, Crabb BS, Gilson PR
  Traffic. 2018 Apr; 19(8):605-623
• Establishment of a yeast-based VLP platform for antigen presentation.
  Wetzel D, Rolf T, Suckow M, Kranz A, Barbian A, Chan JA, Leitsch J, Weniger M, Jenzelewski V, Kouskousis B, Palmer C, Beeson JG, Schembecker G, Merz J, Piontek M
  Microb Cell Fact. 2018 Feb; 17(1):17

2014 (1)

• Non-Destructive Three-Dimensional Optical Imaging of a Fiber Bragg Grating
  X. M. Goh; S. S. Kou, B. P. Kouskousis, N. M. Dragomir, S. F. Collins, G. W. Baxter, A. Roberts
  Photonics J. 2014 May; 6(5):1-7

2013 (2)

• Super-resolving single nitrogen vacancy centers within single nanodiamonds using a localization microscope.
  Min Gu, Yaoyu Cao, Stefania Castelletto, Betty Kouskousis, Xiangping Li
  Opt Express. 2013 Jul; 21(15):17639-17646
• Numerical Investigation on the effets of fabrication conditions on fiber Bragg grating spectra using the phase mask technique.
  B. Kouskousis, D. J. Kitcher, S. Collins, A. Roberts and G. W.
  Appl Optics. 2013 Jul; 52(14):3338-3344

2012 (1)

• Variations of the growth of harmonic reflections in fiber Bragg gratings fabricated using phase masks.
  C. M. Rollinson, S. A. Wade, B. P. Kouskousis, D. J. Kitcher, G. W. Baxter and S. F. Collins
  J Optics Soc Amer A. 2012 Jul; 29(7):1259-1268

2010 (1)

• Super-resolution imaging and statistical analysis of CdSe/CdS Core/Shell semiconductor nanocrystals.
  B. Kouskousis, J. van Embden, D. Morrish, S. M. Russell and M. Gu
  J Biophotonics. 2010 Jul; 3(7):437-445

2009 (1)

• Fabrication of a pi-phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating at twice the Bragg wavelength with a standard phase mask.
  S. P. Yam, Z. Brodzeli, B. P. Kouskousis, C. M. Rollinson, S. A. Wade, G. W. Baxter and S. F. Collins
  Optics Letters. 2009 Aug; 34(13):2021-2023

2008 (1)

• Quantitative phase and refractive index analysis of optical fibers using differential interference contrast microscopy.
  B. Kouskousis, D. J. Kitcher, S. Collins, A. Roberts and G. W. Baxter
  Applied Optics. 2008 Jul; 47(28):5182-5189

2006 (1)

• Quantitative investigation of the refractive-index modulation within the core of a fiber Bragg grating.
  B. P. Kouskousis, C. M. Rollinson, D. J. Kitcher, S. F. Collins, S. A. Wade, N. M. Dragomir, A. Roberts and G. W. Baxter
  Optics Express. 2006 Oct; 14(22):10332-10338

News Articles (1)

2022 (1)

• New malaria treatments essential as drug resistance grows