The Structural Basis For Promiscuity Of Drug Binding To HERG K+ Channels
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$713,035.00
Summary
Special proteins called ion channels control the electrical activity of the heart. Drugs that block ion channels can have the unwanted side-effect of altering the rhythm of the heart beat and causing sudden cardiac death. Extensive efforts are made to screen for this problem during drug development but it is still an inexact science. Here we will use high resolution imaging technologies to get a better understanding of how drugs bind to ion channel proteins.
Structural And Functional Analysis Of A Cancer-linked Co-regulator Complex
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$729,571.00
Summary
We seek to understand the mechanisms by which genes are switched on and off throughout our lifetime. A number of multi-component protein machines are involved in this process but their make-up and mechanism of action is not understood. We will investigate the structure and function of one of these machines that has been strongly linked to cancer.
Many drugs modulate the function of proteins imbedded in cell membranes. Extensive research has been undertaken to better understand drug interactions with these proteins to improve drug therapies, but there has been relatively little progress in understanding the role of the cell membrane. This project will investigate how the cell membrane influences protein function and then use this information to develop novel drugs for the treatment of neurological disorders.
The Structural Basis For Glutamate Transporter Function
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,144.00
Summary
Glutamate transporters are vacuum cleaners in the brain that suck the neurotransmitter glutamate into cells. When the glutamate vacuum breaks down or becomes blocked, glutamate levels outside cells increase, leading to cell death in the brain. This process underlies the damage in many brain diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. The aim of this project is to understand the mechanism of the glutamate vacuum cleaner so we can develop therapeutics to fix it when it breaks down.
Neuropathic pain is particularly difficult to treat and existing medications have considerable side effects. This project will develop a new set of glycine transport inhibitors that have the potential to provide pain relief without side effects.
Glycine Transporters regulate the concentration of glycine in the spinal cord and brain. It has been suggested that elevating glycine levels in these regions may be useful in treating pain and schizophrenia. This project will provide the basis for the development of new glycine transport inhibitors that may be used to treat these conditions.
Four Dimensional Epigenome Remodelling: Implications For Endocrine Resistance In Breast Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$828,560.00
Summary
Patients with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer receive endocrine therapy, however half fail to respond and relapse. Endocrine resistant breast cancer currently represents the most significant challenge to breast cancer treatment. We suggest that three-dimensional epigenetic remodelling is an underlying mechanism that determines endocrine sensitivity that we will exploit as a novel therapeutic strategy to effectively treat patents with recurrent disease.
Designing offices well. This project aims to describe, quantify and analyse the impact of workspace design on workers’ satisfaction, productivity and health. The Australian market is the fastest adopter of Activity-Based Working (ABW) in the world and impacts arising from this workspace typology on workers will be significant now and in the next decade. This project will develop benchmarking for ABW offices, techniques for monitoring cognitive performance in situ, and design guidelines for healt ....Designing offices well. This project aims to describe, quantify and analyse the impact of workspace design on workers’ satisfaction, productivity and health. The Australian market is the fastest adopter of Activity-Based Working (ABW) in the world and impacts arising from this workspace typology on workers will be significant now and in the next decade. This project will develop benchmarking for ABW offices, techniques for monitoring cognitive performance in situ, and design guidelines for health promotion. By shifting attention to design features that actually perform well, this project will provide the empirical basis needed to transform the way workspaces are designed now and in the future. It will therefore lead to greater productivity in and among workplaces.Read moreRead less
Stage acoustical quality in auditoria: measurement, simulation, prediction and design. This project asks what acoustic qualities make a concert hall stage outstanding for musicians, and how can these qualities be achieved? It involves a collaboration between acoustics researchers in Australia and Korea, with complementary expertise in lab and field studies of auditorium stages.
Assessing Architectural Aesthetic Character: An ‘Intelligent’ Approach. This project aims to develop ground-breaking insights and software to improve the assessment of architectural aesthetic character by Australia’s designers, councils and courts.
Combining empirical, neurophysiological and machine-learning approaches, this project expects to provide a new level of robustness and repeatability in administrative and legal assessments of building aesthetics.
Planned outcomes include: (i) a uni ....Assessing Architectural Aesthetic Character: An ‘Intelligent’ Approach. This project aims to develop ground-breaking insights and software to improve the assessment of architectural aesthetic character by Australia’s designers, councils and courts.
Combining empirical, neurophysiological and machine-learning approaches, this project expects to provide a new level of robustness and repeatability in administrative and legal assessments of building aesthetics.
Planned outcomes include: (i) a unique quantitative understanding of aesthetic assessment and (ii) a world-first method for measuring and comparing the character of buildings.
This research has the potential to reduce the substantial cost of disputes and provide more certainty and efficiency in the architectural design, approval and appeal processes.
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