Mosquito-borne alphaviruses such as Ross River and chikungunya viruses cause widespread epidemics and exert extreme pressure on the public health systems of affected regions. Alphaviruses spreads to joints and triggers a severe disease in those affected. There are no effective treatments or vaccines. The project will investigate virus-host interaction at the bite site. The outcome will be new knowledge to treat infection at the mosquito bite site to prevent joint disease.
Novel Insights Into The Pathobiology Of Alphavirus Infections
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$827,660.00
Summary
Infections with mosquito-borne viruses are increasing at an alarming rate worldwide. Ross River virus is endemic in parts of Australia, PNG and Pacific islands, while chikungunya virus is distributed globally and causes recurrent pandemics that involve millions of people. These viruses cause severe musculoskeletal disease for several months after infection. This project aims to establish how these viruses interact with the human host to cause disease and may provide a basis for new treatments.
New Insights Into Viral Inflammatory Disease Mechanisms And Approaches To Therapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$631,010.00
Summary
This fellowship aims to establish how viruses cause disease, including how they evade the immune response to persist and cause disease for prolonged periods. My vision is that knowing how the virus and the immune system interact to determine disease severity will assist in devising new treatments and prevention programs to lessen the impact of viral diseases in Australia and worldwide.
Australian Centre For Research Excellence In Aboriginal Sexual Health And Blood Borne Viruses
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,496,848.00
Summary
Despite efforts to improve sexual health and blood borne virus outcomes for Aboriginal people over the last twenty years, this area lacks national coordination, has critical research gaps and requires a boost of research capacity to address the burden of diseases. This CRE will address research gaps, using novel, multidisciplinary methods and using unique research translation methods to ensure policy and practice benefits from the CRE outcomes.
The Role Of Capsid Protein Nucleolar Localisation In Chikungunya Virus: Implications For Vaccine Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$520,520.00
Summary
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a globally widespread mosquito-borne alphavirus capable of causing considerable human morbidity and mortality. With no CHIKV vaccine or antiviral available this proposal aims to develop a live attenuated CHIKV vaccine, rationally designed by investigating the host cell nucleolar trafficking of CHIKV capsid protein. This vaccine has the potential to provide cross-protection against additional arthritogenic alphaviruses endemic to Australia such as Ross River virus.
Resolving Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Transmission
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$745,213.00
Summary
To increase the breadth of HIV prevention strategies, it is imperative that we biologically understand how HIV enters our bodies. Through two unique clinical cohorts, we will determine why circumcision is protective and how a commonly acquired sexual transmitted infection (human papilloma virus) can increase HIV transmission.
Sympathetic Control Of Cutaneous Blood Flow And Blood Pressure In Human Spinal Cord Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$242,002.00
Summary
While spinal cord injury can cause devastating changes in the nervous system paralysis and loss of sensation relatively little is known about changes to the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is intimately involved in the ongoing control of blood pressure, blood flow and temperature control. Loss of sympathetic control can occur following spinal cord injury. Interruption of descending pathways can result in partial or complete loss of sympathetic outflow from the thoracol ....While spinal cord injury can cause devastating changes in the nervous system paralysis and loss of sensation relatively little is known about changes to the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is intimately involved in the ongoing control of blood pressure, blood flow and temperature control. Loss of sympathetic control can occur following spinal cord injury. Interruption of descending pathways can result in partial or complete loss of sympathetic outflow from the thoracolumbar segments. Complete decentralization can result in autonomic dysreflexia (autonomic hyperreflexia), in which sensory stimuli originating below the lesion evoke a reflex increase in sympathetic drive to the blood vessels, causing them to constrict. Because of this, blood pressure may rise suddenly and remain at such high levels that stroke and (occassionally) cardiac arrest may occur. This phenomenon, autonomic dysreflexia, is considered a medical emergency. The typical subjective signs of autonomic dysreflexia include a throbbing headache, tingling in the head or nasal congestion; sweating and flushing above the lesion are clinical signs that prompt medical staff to measure blood pressure and to locate the source of sensory irritation (usually a distended bladder or impacted colon, sometimes a pressure sore or ingrown toenail). Commonly, however, subclinical episodes go undetected, and this phenomenon of silent dysreflexia is of increasing concern. This project will develop means of assessing the integrity and state of the sympathetic nervous system below a lesion in patients with spinal cord injury and characterize the firing properties of reflexly activated sympathetic neurones.Read moreRead less
Arbovirus Activation And Modulation Of NLRP3 Inflammasome
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$779,720.00
Summary
This project aims to establish how mosquito borne viruses such as Ross River and dengue viruses interacts with the human host to cause disease, including how the virus evades the host’s immune response to persist and cause disease for prolonged periods. Knowing how differences in the virus and the host’s immune system interplay to cause asymptomatic to severely disabling disease will assist in devising new treatments and prevention programs to lessen the impact of these diseases in Australia.
Exploring The Role Of Respiratory Virus Infections In Childhood Asthma Exacerbations
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$596,649.00
Summary
The PEAK study will explore the reasons children get worse asthma symptoms when they get colds. These reasons examined include the asthma medications taken (or not taken), allergies and exposure to allergens and the type of virus involved. The study follows the children over the whole school term and uses a new way to sample virus by collecting it in the breath, this is more comfortable than old methods and can be done at home.