Investigating Caloric Vestibular Stimulation As A Novel Therapeutic Intervention For Chronic Pain, Mania And Depression.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,963.00
Summary
Chronic pain, mania and depression are common health problems worldwide and represent an enormous burden of illness. Current treatments may be costly, invasive and have serious side-effects. In the proposed project, demonstration of therapeutic benefit with a novel, simple method of brain stimulation without such limitations could change how these disorders are managed. Moreover, the findings would be of substantial significance in developing countries where treatments are often non-existent.
Advancement Of A Personalised Approach To Minimising Infective Complications In Cancer Care
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$265,138.00
Summary
Managing infections in patients with cancer have become more difficult and unpredictable because of new generation cancer therapies. Measuring the response of the immune system (immune profiling) will allow us to predict which patients will develop infection so that action such as vaccination can be taken to reduce their risk. This program will refine immune profiling to personalise infection care for cancer patients and to introduce it into hospital practice.
Monocytes On Patrol – Key Mediators Of Renal Injury In Glomerulonephritis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$772,888.00
Summary
The glomerulus is the filtering component of the kidney. In many diseases, it can be the target of an inappropriate inflammatory response. As part of this response, white blood cells accumulate in the glomerulus where they cause damage. In this project, we make use of special microscopes to examine the glomerulus during an inflammatory response, with the aim of understanding the actions of white blood cells present in glomeruli and how they cause inflammation and damage the glomerulus.
Attenuating Severe Infections In Chronic Inflammatory Diseases Through Modulation Of Transforming Growth Factor-β Activity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$611,793.00
Summary
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are characterised by enhanced TGF? expression, which is accompanied by susceptibility to recurrent viral and bacterial infections. Such infections exacerbate lung inflammation in these patients, generally requiring emergency department treatment. This project proposes to clarify the therapeutic potential of TGF? inhibitors to reduce the impact of viral infections in patients with COPD and asthma.
MicroRNA Pathway Control Of Immune Cell Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$631,370.00
Summary
The immune system is comprised of many different cell types, each with a specialised function. Many are short-lived and must be continually replenished throughout life. Abnormalities in this process underlie many human diseases, including immunodeficiency, autoimmunity and cancer. My laboratory seeks to understand the molecular pathways that control development of immune cells and to identify the defects that lead to disease.
Designing new generation adjuvants for allergy and parasite vaccines. Allergy vaccines have the potential to provide a permanent cure against many allergic diseases, currently affecting 20-30 per cent of people in developed countries. This project will study how allergy vaccines work and how we can improve their effectiveness and safety.
The Relationship Between Maternal And Infant Dietary Intake Of Fermentable Fibre, Gut Microbiota, Short Chain Fatty Acids And Allergic Disease And Asthma: A Population-derived Birth Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$871,700.00
Summary
The proposed study will involve the Barwon Infant Study (BIS) cohort of 1074 infants to provide the first systematic investigation of the hypotheses that the epidemic of allergic disease and asthma in many parts of the world relates to the paucity of fermentable fibre in the modern diet, and that the protective effect of fermentable fibre is mediated by changes in the organisms that colonise the gut and the metabolites that they produce.
Methylation-sensitive T Cell Genes And Childhood Food Allergy.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$461,232.00
Summary
Australia has the highest reported prevalence food allergy in the world. Despite this, little is known about how allergy develops. Mounting evidence implicates environmentally induced disruption of the genetic blueprint via a process known as epigenetics. We are combining the strengths of food challenge proven food allergy with assessment of immune functioning & cutting edge genomics, to extensively characterise the pathways leading to food allergy in children.
The Mechanisms Of Epithelial Cell Survival That Govern Thymus Function
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$620,967.00
Summary
The thymus is an organ dedicated to the production of crucial immune cells, called T lymphocytes. Cancer treatments, such as radiation or chemotherapy, destroy thymic function and impair immune recovery in patients. We aim to uncover molecular processes that govern the life and death decisions of cells in the thymus. Our goal is to then use this information to develop treatments to protect this critical organ from damage and improve immune recovery following radiation or chemotherapy.
Dissecting the Parameters for the Generation of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Immunity. This project aims to identify mechanisms by which antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells, prime CD8+ T cells to generate effector and memory populations at the molecular level. The specific intention is to identify reagents capable of licensing dendritic cells, and examine the down-stream gene products/pathways generated by these signals using microarray analyses. Such knowledge will provide new insight i ....Dissecting the Parameters for the Generation of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Immunity. This project aims to identify mechanisms by which antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells, prime CD8+ T cells to generate effector and memory populations at the molecular level. The specific intention is to identify reagents capable of licensing dendritic cells, and examine the down-stream gene products/pathways generated by these signals using microarray analyses. Such knowledge will provide new insight into CTL generation by providing greater understanding of how multicellular systems function both at the cellular and molecular level.Read moreRead less