The Therapeutic Role Of Complement Inhibition In ANCA Associated Glomerulonephritis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,964.00
Summary
ANCA associated vasculitis is an inflammatory disease involving the kidney filters which is a major cause of chronic kidney failure. Current drugs to treat it are toxic. Less toxic treatments are required. In this study we will explore the potential for new treatments targeting complement (a normal blood protein involved in inflammation) to attenuate this disease in mice. We hope to define the role of complement in this disease and the benefits of inhibiting it before we use it in humans.
Schizophrenia is classified among the world’s top ten enduring disabilities. Hearing voices are a profound and distressing symptom, which have proven difficult to successfully treat. We plan to use the latest brain imaging techniques and genetic testing to develop the most comprehensive understanding of hearing for voices to date. These data are vital to the development of novel tailored treatment for patients who hear voices.
Phagocytic Clearance And Immune Activation In Malaria
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$564,644.00
Summary
Macrophage white blood cells clear malaria infected cells by eating them, by three routes- by recognising ANTIBODIES or COMPLEMENT on the cell surface, or by the cell BINDING directly to the macrophage. Each has different results, such as amounts of cytokines produced. Cytokines clear malaria; in excess they can cause fatal immune pathology. We will investigate how variations in amount of antibody and complement and route of uptake of malaria infected cells might determine malaria outcome.
Novel Vasoactive Pathways In Liver Disease; Experimental And Clinical Studies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$535,333.00
Summary
Cirrhosis of the liver due to chronic hepatitis and other common liver diseases is now a major cause of illness and death in Australia. This project will examine how a hormone system called the renin angiotensin system contributes to the development of liver damage in these diseases. We will study whether drugs targeting this system can be used to reduce liver scarring and prevent the development of cirrhosis and its complications.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100501
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$342,119.00
Summary
Where is the justice? Theorising the legacy of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. This project seeks to advance theories that explain the social and political effects of international criminal tribunals. It is widely claimed that international tribunals, in addition to providing legal justice, work to enhance the rule of law, respect for human rights and national reconciliation in post-conflict contexts. Taking the Khmer Rouge Tribunal as its case, this project aims to critically analyse such claims by i ....Where is the justice? Theorising the legacy of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. This project seeks to advance theories that explain the social and political effects of international criminal tribunals. It is widely claimed that international tribunals, in addition to providing legal justice, work to enhance the rule of law, respect for human rights and national reconciliation in post-conflict contexts. Taking the Khmer Rouge Tribunal as its case, this project aims to critically analyse such claims by interrogating the non-judicial legacies of documentation, memorialisation and the provision of collective reparations. Knowing more about these key non-judicial legacies and how tribunals enhance the rule of law, human rights and national reconciliation, may help inform the design of tribunals worldwide.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the impact of obesity on knee load over time in those who have undergone optimal surgical re-alignment after total knee replacement . This project investigates the impact of obesity on alignment and knee load over time in those who have undergone total knee replacement. This information is critical for understanding whether obesity results in increasing knee load after surgery which can lead to more rapid wearing of the knee surfaces and an earlier need for revision surgery.
Conserving Carbon in the Extractive Frontiers of Insular Southeast Asia: Risks or Opportunities? Increasingly global climate change governance uses market-based mechanisms to offer forest users financial incentives to maintain forest carbon in the frontiers of Southeast Asia. At the same time, these forest landscapes are rapidly being converted for ‘boom crop’ production such as oil palm and rubber. However, little is known about how carbon governance intersects with such monocropping to affect ....Conserving Carbon in the Extractive Frontiers of Insular Southeast Asia: Risks or Opportunities? Increasingly global climate change governance uses market-based mechanisms to offer forest users financial incentives to maintain forest carbon in the frontiers of Southeast Asia. At the same time, these forest landscapes are rapidly being converted for ‘boom crop’ production such as oil palm and rubber. However, little is known about how carbon governance intersects with such monocropping to affect local livelihoods, property rights and social relations. This project examines how the global market-driven approach, REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Environmental Degradation and Deforestation+), governs forest carbon vis-à-vis commodity production, how this impacts rural livelihoods, and influences the viability of climate change governance. Read moreRead less
Unaffordable housing: impacts on socio-economic conditions and wellbeing . The project plans to explore how the current housing affordability crisis is shaping population wellbeing and socioeconomic outcomes. Housing affordability is a key driver of health-related inequalities – the dramatic rise in the cost of housing in the past decade is forcing people to make hard decisions about location and quality of housing. This project aims to provide a new framework for analysing housing affordability ....Unaffordable housing: impacts on socio-economic conditions and wellbeing . The project plans to explore how the current housing affordability crisis is shaping population wellbeing and socioeconomic outcomes. Housing affordability is a key driver of health-related inequalities – the dramatic rise in the cost of housing in the past decade is forcing people to make hard decisions about location and quality of housing. This project aims to provide a new framework for analysing housing affordability's long-term impact on wellbeing and socioeconomic outcomes by merging concepts from life course epidemiology on the importance of the timing, sequence and accumulation of exposure, to transition points at critical life stages from the social sciences. It plans to develop information to contribute to public discourse and improve policy in the area.Read moreRead less
Understanding brain mechanisms that control autonomic function. This project aims to understand the how the brain regulates sympathetic nerve activity, thereby increasing our understanding of the biology and function of nascent neurons on the adult brain stem. This challenges the current notion that new neurons are only made during development. The project will also determine how brain inflammation impacts blood-brain barrier function and affects sympathetic nerve regulation. The basic fundament ....Understanding brain mechanisms that control autonomic function. This project aims to understand the how the brain regulates sympathetic nerve activity, thereby increasing our understanding of the biology and function of nascent neurons on the adult brain stem. This challenges the current notion that new neurons are only made during development. The project will also determine how brain inflammation impacts blood-brain barrier function and affects sympathetic nerve regulation. The basic fundamental insights and conceptual advances into how autonomic function is controlled by the brain will provide a better understanding of these fundamental processes and will contribute to Australia’s priority research areas to improve health and advance product development.Read moreRead less
Engineering heart tissue by manipulating the physical and cellular culture environment in bioreactors. This work using cell culture systems to generate heart tissue outside of the body contributes to the development of advanced technologies in cardiac tissue engineering. The knowledge obtained will lead to new medical applications in heart repair and reconstruction to enhance human health and well being.