Explaining The Dark Matter Of Genome-wide Association Studies For Complex Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$453,098.00
Summary
Common diseases, such as psychiatric disorders and cardiovascular disease, are caused by the interplay of genetic and envirionmental factors. In the last 4 years, very large studies have been conducted to associate genetic factors with risk of disease, but these studies have not accounted for known familial risk. We aim to use data on very distant relatives to explain why. Understanding the genetic basis of common disease is crucial to guide future experiments and for developing new treatments.
Post-market Surveillance Of Medicine-related Adverse Events
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$99,248.00
Summary
Observational studies using administrative data are an important complement to spontaneous reporting systems for detecting medicine-related adverse events after they go to market, as they reflect real-world use of medicines; yet, they require rigorous methodological approaches to avoid bias. This project will review the existing methodologies for detecting adverse events in administrative data and apply them to Australian data.
Integrating Statistical Imputation Of HLA And KIR Alleles Into Studies Of Disease In Diverse Human Populations
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$415,218.00
Summary
Immune system genes are strongly implicated in many infectious and autoimmune diseases, as well as cancer. Some of these genes have many possible types due to natural selection in response to pathogens. This variability makes typing these genes very expensive. Developing accurate and inexpensive methods to type these genes is vital in understanding the role they play in susceptibility and progression of disease and will be important for the development of better diagnostic tests and treatments.
Population Based Genetic Testing For High-risk Breast And Ovarian Cancer Predisposition Genes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,112,985.00
Summary
Inherited mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 confer a very high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Importantly, once carriers are identified, effective strategies are available that can dramatically reduce the risk of cancer. We will perform genetic testing of a healthy western population to identify breast/ovarian cancer genes before the women develop cancer. Population-based screening could significantly reduce the incidence of these diseases.
In the study of common disease, it is becoming apparent that it is not only an individual's DNA sequence that can encode susceptibility to disease, but also chemical modifications to that sequence. Despite the importance of these chemical modifications in the development of disease, there has been no comprehensive survey of the extent which they are transmitted across generations in humans. This proposal will investigate how one of those modifications, DNA methylation, is inherited.
Objectives: 1. Collect background data on shipping operations to establish the incidence of magnitude of ballast water discharge. 2. Determine the influence of season on species composition and survival of the introduced organisms. 3. Establish practicable methods of control
Catch Analysis And Productivity Of The Deep-water Dogfish Resource In Southern Australia
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$95,940.00
Summary
Upper slope dogfishes have been suggested as an alternate resource that could be harvested by some sectors of the SSF; some operators are already targeting these species and this is likely to increase in the future. If ITQs are introduced in the SSF, fishers are likely to have an incentive to target species not under quota control. The dogfish resource is likely to receive increased attention from shark fishers under ITQs and the fact that it is a targeted fishery suggests it could become rapidl ....Upper slope dogfishes have been suggested as an alternate resource that could be harvested by some sectors of the SSF; some operators are already targeting these species and this is likely to increase in the future. If ITQs are introduced in the SSF, fishers are likely to have an incentive to target species not under quota control. The dogfish resource is likely to receive increased attention from shark fishers under ITQs and the fact that it is a targeted fishery suggests it could become rapidly over-exploited if no catch controls are introduced. Deep-water dogfish are also caught by trawl, both in the SET and the Great Australian Bight (GAB), and are also taken by dropline. Agreement needs to be sought between sharkMAC, SETMAC, GABMAC and the SEFNTCC on appropriate management of dogfish (Future management options for the Southern Shark Fishery - a report prepared for AFMA by FERM). The five year strategic plan for the SSF incorporates projects on alternate resources, although they are currently listed as a low priority. However, as noted by the Southern Shark Fishery Assessment Group (report to SharkMAC from SharkFAG 24.4.1997) an implication of introducing quotas into the SSF is that there are inadequate data for stock assessment of species other than school and gummy shark.
Trawl surveys of the outer shelf and upper slope off New South Wales have documented a very significant reduction in catch rates of squalid sharks over the last 20 years (Ken Graham, NSW Fisheries Research Institute, personal communication). There is also anecdotal information from fishermen targeting dogfish in New South Wales and Western Australia that catches have declined in the original fishing areas. Evidence from other regions where these deep-water species are fished for their liver oils such as the Philippines, New Guinea and the Azores suggests that local populations can be fished down relatively quickly.
It is possible that deep sea squalid sharks have, because of their suspected low productivity, declined to a similar extent to the orange roughy stocks, now 10-20% of initial levels. This raises the question of the sustainability of present catches. Dogfish are an important component of the deep-water ecosystem and under the Federal Fisheries Act AFMA has a stated objective to manage Commonwealth fisheries in accordance with principles of ecologically sustainable development (ESD). AFMA sees this objective as requiring it to manage fisheries so as to minimise the impact of fishing on biological diversity and ecosystem habitat. Objectives: 1. Estimate the annual retained and discarded catch of deep-water dogfish by geographical area and depth strata within the Southern Shark, Western Australian shark, South East Trawl, Great Australian Bight Trawl and South Australian dropline fisheries. 2. Examine dogfish catch and effort data by region and depth strata for changes in catch rate with time 3. Determine population structure (size distributions and sex ratio) of principle dogfish species by region and depth strata 4. Assess the biological productivity of the major upper and deep slope dogfish species from data on age, growth and reproduction 5. Obtain qualitative estimates of the mortality of the discarded component of the dogfish catch Read moreRead less
Implementation Of A New, Inexpensive And High-throughput Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption / Ionization _ Time Of Flight Mass Spectrometry Test For Superior Detection Of Fragile X Syndrome In Targeted Diagnostics And Newborn Population Screening.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$254,175.00
Summary
Background: The Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited intellectual disability. There are now a number of treatments for FXS. However, often this disorder is not clearly recognized. We have developed a novel FXS test that could resolve this issue. Our objective is to develop a commercial package that describes suitability of our test for diagnostic use. If successful this could potentially leading to improvement in the prognosis for FXS children through early treatment int ....Background: The Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited intellectual disability. There are now a number of treatments for FXS. However, often this disorder is not clearly recognized. We have developed a novel FXS test that could resolve this issue. Our objective is to develop a commercial package that describes suitability of our test for diagnostic use. If successful this could potentially leading to improvement in the prognosis for FXS children through early treatment intervention.Read moreRead less
New Computational Methods For The Analysis Of Whole-genome Data
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$151,516.00
Summary
A complete understanding of the mechanisms underlying common diseases can only be achieved if all pathways at which genetic variation contributes to disease risk are identified. Most available methods to identify such predisposing genetic variation are adequately powered only when analysing data for many thousands of samples. We will develop more powerful statistical methods that can increase our ability to identify disease genes from large-scale association studies.
Fisheries Biology Of Blue-throat Wrasse (Notolabrus Tetricus) In Victorian Waters
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$106,500.00
Summary
In recent years a market has been established for live blue throat wrasse. The total catch has risen rapidly from less than 10 tonnes during the early 1990s to almost 60 tonnes in 1995/96. The number of fishers targeting wrasse has also increased with 50 Victorian fishers taking wrasse by hand-line during 1995/96 compared to less than 5 in 1989/90.. Given the life history of the species the possibility of rapidly over-fishing wrasse in Victoria waters cannot be discounted. A number of fishe ....In recent years a market has been established for live blue throat wrasse. The total catch has risen rapidly from less than 10 tonnes during the early 1990s to almost 60 tonnes in 1995/96. The number of fishers targeting wrasse has also increased with 50 Victorian fishers taking wrasse by hand-line during 1995/96 compared to less than 5 in 1989/90.. Given the life history of the species the possibility of rapidly over-fishing wrasse in Victoria waters cannot be discounted. A number of fishers who target the blue throat wrasse have already raised concern that in recent years catch rates have declined and the size of fish has decreased.
Currently there is no information available on the biology and population dynamics of blue throat wrasse in Victorian waters. In view of this there is a great need to further our knowledge and understanding of the species. To ensure that the fishery is sustainable, accurate information on the biology is required so that long term management strategies can be introduced. Objectives: 1. To describe the biology of and fishery for blue throat wrasse in Victorian waters. 2. To provide the scientific data necessary for rational management of the resource. Read moreRead less