Each year more than one million people in the US alone suffer serious nerve injury significantly impairing quality of life and costing more than US$7 billion. This research will develop nerve conduits based on polymers and the natural constituents of nerve to provide an alternative to the current practice of nerve grafting. It is envisaged that this conduit will provide an effective platform for nerve repair and will expedite the development of regenerative platforms for other neural tissues.
Multimodal Electrically Conducting Bionic Implant For Long-distance Oriented Axonal Regeneration
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Neurotrauma, defined as an injury to the central nervous system, is a debilitating medical condition affecting over 3 million people annually worldwide. Loss of function following injury is largely due to the limited potential of nerve cells to regenerate. I will develop a bionic platform that conducts electrical signals and delivers growth promoting proteins thereby enhancing the directed regeneration of nerve cells necessary to bridge the gap caused by the injury and restore organ function.
Self-assembled Hydrogels As A Model For Neurodegeneration
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$594,644.00
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease which currently affects over 340,000 Australians. Often, symptoms of AD are not apparent until the disease is well advanced, limiting chances of successful treatment. In this project, hydrogels made from biocompatible peptides will be used to grow neural cell culture models to study the development of the disease in its early stages. This will help to develop new diagnostic tools for the early detection of AD.
Novel Targeted PEG Nanoparticles For Cancer Treatment And Monitoring
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$606,979.00
Summary
We will develop novel targeted cancer therapies based on next generation nanoparticles. These particles will deliver highly potent drugs to tumours with less adverse effects to healthy organs. The ability to image the therapeutic can be used to detect diseases at early, potentially curable stages, identify patients likely to respond to certain treatments, and predict response to therapy. Our project has the potential to increase the survival of patients suffering from the most deadly cancer.
Immune-modifying-particle-induced Tregs Induce Remission In Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$512,440.00
Summary
Multiple Sclerosis is a debilitating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Disease is the result of inflammatory monocyte-derived dendritic cells that migrate from the blood into the brain, where they stimulate T cells to attack myelin sheaths around neurons. Our novel therapy, known as immune modulating micro-particles reduces monocyte migration and disease in a mouse model, we hypothesize, by inducing immunosuppressive T regulatory cells that control attacking T cells in MS.
Nanostructured Porous Silicon For Ophthalmic Implants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$536,657.00
Summary
Blindness exerts major physical, emotional and economic constraints upon the sufferer. Our goal is to develop novel nanostructured porous silicon-based implants to improve outcomes for patients prone to recurrent episodes of inflammation in the eye, or with visual loss following ocular trauma or infection. Treatments are available, but are not always effective. Porous silicon is a non-toxic, non-inflammatory, biodegradable material that can be loaded with drugs or cells for transfer to the eye.
Mechanosensitive Channels: Antimicrobials, Channelopathies And Nanovalves For Drug Delivery
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$673,953.00
Summary
Liposomal drug delivery systems (LDDS) are one of the most advanced particulate drug carriers in modern medicine. The ultimate goal of this project is to optimize a nanotechnology approach for improved control of therapeutic drug delivery for chemotherapy. The approach is using bacterial mechanosensitive channel MscL designed to act as a molecular nanovalve for localised drug release.
Nanomedicines Immunotargeting: Hitting The Target Or Lost In Translation ?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$413,042.00
Summary
Nanomedicines are some of the most exciting novel approaches to improving the way we detect, manage and treat cancers. This cross-disciplinary project aims to provide a rigorous understanding of how nanomedicines penetrate solid tumour tissues. To validate in vitro tumour model developed in the project, in vivo studies will be carried out in a mice model. The penetration and distribution of nanomedicines inside tumour tissues after intravenous administration will be determined.
Novel Silver Nanoparticle Coatings For The Prevention Of Infection Of Biomedical Implants And Devices
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$455,305.00
Summary
This project targets infections associated with implants and biomedical devices such as catheters, pacemaker leads, knee and hip implants, by the development and evaluation of coatings delivering antibacterial silver ions. The novel coating method is more uniform and reproducible and can be applied to a wide range of biomedical implants and devices. The novel coatings will be tested for antimicrobial effectiveness and safety using cell and tissue culture methods and animal clinical studies.