Dynamics Of Malaria Transmission Stages In Host And Vector: Bottlenecks And Their Impact Transmission And Parasite Population Diversity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$780,554.00
Summary
The adoption of malaria elimination as the long-term goal requires malaria programs to shift their focus from controlling the burden of malaria disease & deaths to the interruption of transmission itself. This will be impossible without an improved understanding of the processes involved and novel tools directly targeting transmission. We therefore plan to conduct an in-depth examination of bottlenecks to malaria transmission in Papua New Guinea, the country with the highest malaria burden in ou ....The adoption of malaria elimination as the long-term goal requires malaria programs to shift their focus from controlling the burden of malaria disease & deaths to the interruption of transmission itself. This will be impossible without an improved understanding of the processes involved and novel tools directly targeting transmission. We therefore plan to conduct an in-depth examination of bottlenecks to malaria transmission in Papua New Guinea, the country with the highest malaria burden in our region.Read moreRead less
MECHANISMS AND MARKERS OF TUBERCULOSIS TRANSMISSION WITHIN AUSTRALIA
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$799,978.00
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) kills nearly 2 million people each year. The emergence of drug resistant TB in the Asia-Pacific region poses a particular threat to Australia, due to frequent population mixing and ongoing TB transmission that may facilitate its spread within vulnerable communities. The proposed study will develop advanced tools to monitor and limit TB transmission within Australia. It will also provide novel insight into the evolution of the global TB epidemic and key factors that sustain it.
Impact Of Somatic Versus Dendritic Inhibition On Neuronal Output
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,047,686.00
Summary
The brain is made up of literally billions of neurons connected in complex networks. These neurons come in two primary flavors - excitatory and inhibitory - which work in balance. Too much excitation and the brain becomes epileptic, too much inhibitory and we go into a coma. This proposal focuses on the role of specific inhibitory cell types in regulating brain function, and has relevant to a range of neurological disorders from epilepsy, to schizophrenia to depression.
A DENDRITIC SUBSTRATE FOR THE CHOLINERGIC CONTROL OF NEOCORTICAL OUTPUT
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$898,340.00
Summary
The forebrain cholinergic system controls neocortical activity and cognitive function. This project will investigate the mechanisms by which the cholinergic system controls neocortical circuit activity in rodent models using advanced optical and electrical recording methods. The results will provide a foundation for the understanding of how dysfunction of the cholinergic system results in cognitive decline in humans, and identify new targets for improved treatment of human cognitive impairment.
Achieving More Effective Weight Loss With Intermittent Energy Restriction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,373,874.00
Summary
Part of the difficulty in achieving lasting weight loss is that the body responds to dieting with compensatory changes in appetite, metabolic rate & blood hormone levels. We have shown in men that alternating phases of energy restriction with periods of greater food intake markedly improves weight loss by overcoming this “famine reaction”. This study will examine if the intermittent diet also produces more effective weight loss in women, and whether it is applicable to the wider community.
Role Of Dendritic Information Processing In Visual Circuit Computations
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$895,244.00
Summary
Vision is the primary sensory modality in man, and its disturbance carries an enormous socio-economic burden. The dynamic operations of the neuronal assemblies that underlie vision are poorly understood, partly because of an incomplete description of the computational properties of visual neuronal circuits. The aims of the application are to mechanistically dissect defined computational operations of visual neural circuits using advanced electrophysiological and optical recording techniques.
Understanding Mitochondrial DNA Segregation And Transmission.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$512,449.00
Summary
We inherit our mitochondrial DNA from our mothers. Mutations to mitochondrial DNA can give rise to severely debilitating diseases that can be passed from one generation to the next. The aims of this application are to understand how mutant mitochondrial DNA is selected for; when it affects energy production during development; and to ensure that certain reproductive strategies do not result in the adverse transmission of mitochondrial DNA that will affect subsequent generations.
Preventing Infections In Young Infants With Azithromycin In Labour (PreYIAL): A Blinded Placebo-controlled Randomised Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,491,051.00
Summary
Approximately one million babies die from infection each year with almost all deaths occurring in poor countries. Many of these infections are acquired from the mother around labour. Skin infection rates are very high in Pacific island countries. Our study in Fiji will determine whether a single dose of antibiotic in labour reduces infant skin infections. We will also assess the effect on maternal and infant infection rates, and the carriage of common bacterial.
Malaria In Pregnancy: Exposure, Immunity And Complications
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$549,723.00
Summary
Increasing malaria control efforts may lead to lack of exposure needed to develop immunity. We will use plasma samples from Africa, PNG and Asia, and measures of immunity we have developed, to discover (1) which are the most important protective immune responses and (2) how are these affected by changing exposure or new drugs. Overall, we hope to identify markers of protective immunity that can be used to identify women at most risk of malaria in pregnancy and its complications
Genomics Dissection And Prevention Of Bacterial Transmission Events
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$891,290.00
Summary
This project aims at improving public health capacity to limit the spread of infectious diseases in hospital and community settings. The multi-disciplinary team of investigators will link epidemiological data with the finest resolution data from bacterial genomes in order to pinpoint events of infection transmission between individuals. Two high-burden pathogens (golden staph and food-borne Salmonella) will be used as exemplars of infectious diseases with different biology and modes of spread.