Modelling The Evolution Of Hepatitis C Virus By Integrating Large Sequence- And Immunological-databases.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$289,980.00
Summary
Two hundred million people are infected with the Hepatitis C virus. There is no vaccine and the rate at which new strains of the virus arise enable it to evade the human immune system. This study aims to decipher how new viral strains are generated and transmitted, thereby enabling the development of new vaccines.
Protecting The Efficacy Of Antimalarial Therapies With Novel Approaches To Suppress The Emergence Of Drug Resistance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,768.00
Summary
The global campaign to eliminate malaria is under serious threat from the continuing emergence and spread of Plasmodium falciparum parasites resistant to antimalarial drugs. However in acquiring resistance to one drug, the parasite can become more susceptible to other antimalarials. This project aims to 1) test the ability of drug pairs with opposing selection forces to suppress resistance in vitro and 2) define the physiological and molecular basis of these opposing evolutionary forces.
Investigating The Altered Landscape Of Enteric Viruses Causing Severe Gastroenteritis In Australian Children Following Rotavirus Vaccine Introduction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,644.00
Summary
The rotavirus vaccines were introduced in Australia in 2007, decreasing rotavirus disease. Rotavirus strains naturally evolve during replication, however, high vaccine coverage in the population creates a new environment with different evolutionary pressures where strains not protected by the vaccines may emerge and become dominant. The diminished circulation of rotavirus may create an environment where other viruses capable of causing childhood gastroenteritis may increase.
Using Next-generation Sequencing Technology To Explore The Genetic Basis Of Human Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$278,463.00
Summary
This project will use powerful new DNA sequencing technologies to analyse the genes that underlie common diseases such as diabetes, arthritis and cancer in a large and diverse set of human DNA samples, and to find mutations in Australian patients suffering from rare genetic muscle disorders. This approach will provide novel information about the evolutionary origins and genetic basis of common disease and identify new genes that cause inherited muscle diseases.
The Identification Of Thoracic Targets For Prevention And Intervention In Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$316,449.00
Summary
The persistence of breathing problems from infancy to later life is a complication of premature birth with lifelong consequences. Breathing problems often occur together with lung disease, but prematurity can also affect heart and blood vessel development, and weakness of the main breathing muscle. We will find out how much the heart, lungs and diaphragm contribute to breathing problems in babies; helping us to better predict, diagnose and treat severe breathing problems in babies born preterm.
Design Of Cas9 Nucleases With Reduced Basal DNA Binding And Enhanced Recombinase Activity For Human Genome Engineering
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$385,761.00
Summary
Cas9 has recently emerged as a transformative tool for genome engineering. The enzyme is guided by a short RNA to pair with a DNA sequence of interest and to introduce a break. This DNA break becomes a substrate for repair pathways: Non-Homologous End-Joining or Homologous Recombination. The rate of HR is typically lower, limiting the efficiency of insertion of new DNA. The project aims to determine these reasons for limited rates of HR, and to improve these rates through protein engineering.
Defining Regional Lung Mechanics To Improve Lung Protective Ventilation Strategies In Newborn Infants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$287,321.00
Summary
Over 3000 newly born infants require mechanical ventilation in Australia every year. The majority are very premature infants. About 30% of ventilated infants develop serious ventilator induced lung injury. Minimising such lung injury with improved techniques of ventilation which can protect the lung from injury will reduce the considerable short and long term health burden of this population.