A Cellular Identity Crisis: Deciphering How Mammary Epithelial Cells Form And Maintain Their Identity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$843,826.00
Summary
The ability to regenerate human organs from adult cells efficiently and without error is a major goal of biomedical research in Australia, with significant economic benefits. As one of the most regenerative organs in a woman's body, the breast is an excellent model to study mechanisms that underpin tissue growth and regrowth. Moreover, as these pathways are often hijacked by cancer, this research has important implications for the development of new targeted therapies to treat breast cancer.
Integrating Biology And Medicine To Develop 3D-structure Guided Drug Design For Treatment Of Cardiovascular Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$978,832.00
Summary
Calcium channel inhibitors are commonly prescribed for the treatment of heart disorders such as angina, hypertension, arrhythmias and hypertrophic heart disease. This class of drugs is one of the leading causes of drug-related fatalities. The impediment to designing better drugs is a lack of understanding of the 3 dimensional (3D) structure of the calcium channel. We will enable for the first time a 3D structure blueprint for the design of safe and highly selective calcium channel therapeutics.
Neural Circuits Which Limit Alcohol And Soft Drink Intake
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$523,949.00
Summary
Alcohol and soft drinks are ubiquitous, and often harmful, particularly in excess. This project will examine the specific roles of fluid and food satiation neural circuits in suppressing intake, to determine whether either or both could be therapeutic targets for alcohol/soft drink overconsumption, especially as cessation aids for binge-drinking behaviour.
Probing Changes In G Protein-coupled Receptor Signalling Networks During Breast Cancer Progression
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$892,733.00
Summary
The b2-adrenoceptor is a protein receptor that enables cells to respond to hormones. In breast cancer, this receptor causes more aggressive tumour cells to metastasise faster in response to stress. This proposal aims to understand why this response occurs in only very aggressive cells, and to identify how we can better target blocking drugs to this receptor. This could allow us to design better drugs with fewer side effects.
Neuronal Regulation Of Systemic Mitochondrial Stress
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$865,605.00
Summary
Mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells. They generate energy from the food we eat and air we breathe. However, excess nutrients can cause mitochondrial stress and damage that lead to disease. The objective of this research is to understand how the brain regulates mitochondrial stress responses throughout the body. Therefore, this project will identify stress-response processes that are directly relevant to health and disease.
Investigating The Consequences Of Dysregulated Lipogenesis In Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,647.00
Summary
Reprogramming of cellular metabolism is a hallmark of cancer. As such, there has been growing interest in developing strategies to exploit metabolism for therapeutic gain. Our ability to do this is dependent on a thorough understanding of the mechanisms by which dysregulation of cellular metabolism contributes to tumour progression. In this project, we seek to the investigate the fundamental mechanisms by which aberrant activation of lipid metabolism contributes to the tumourigenic process.
Betacellulin: Defining A Novel Sub-type In Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$907,515.00
Summary
Schizophrenia is a severe lifelong mental disorder affecting 0.7% of the world population with only partially effective symptomatic treatments. Its cause is unknown and thus cures cannot be developed currently. A promising candidate is betacellulin a growth factor which is very reduced in the brain and blood of people with schizophrenia. Little is known about its role in the brain and this project seeks to identify its relevance to schizophrenia as a step to develop new treatments.
Finely Tuned Glutamate Receptor Inhibitors As Novel Therapeutics For Neurodegenerative Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,168,829.00
Summary
Neurodegenerative disorders are among the leading causes of death and disease burden. New drugs are needed to treat both symptoms and disease progression. This project aims to understand the properties of different drug-like compounds to inhibit proteins on the surface of brain cells (glutamate receptors) to impact disease progression and symptoms in a preclinical disease models. The project will yield a better understanding of how best to target glutamate receptors for therapeutic effect.
A Novel, Actionable Pathway Promoting Metastasis Of Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$708,272.00
Summary
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is particularly aggressive and lacks targeted therapies, limiting treatment to chemotherapy. A protein termed PEAK1 drives TNBC but has remained 'undruggable'. Recently, we identified an enzyme, termed CAMK2D, that acts downstream of PEAK1 and mediates its effects. In this grant we will characterize the mechanism of CAMK2D and determine the effect of a drug that blocks its action. This may lead to a new targeted and personalized treatment for TNBC.
Validating CaMKK2 As A Rational Treatment Target For Bipolar Disorder
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$688,175.00
Summary
Bipolar disorder is a disabling, chronic mental illness that profoundly impairs the ability of affected individuals to function in daily life. Existing treatments for bipolar disorder are inadequate and lack the necessary efficacy and tolerability required for long-term therapy. This project will validate the enzyme, CaMKK2, as a rational treatment target for bipolar disorder, which will guide the development of more effective and safer drugs to improve patient outcomes.