Faecal Microbiota Transplantation For Active Ulcerative Colitis - A Randomised Controlled Trial: Clinical, Microbial & Immune Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,126.00
Summary
This is a placebo controlled clinical trial to see whether giving healthy donor faeces to people with active ulcerative colitis can get them into remission. We will also examine how long the donor microbiome stays in the recipients stool, and examine the effects of faecal transplantation on the immune response in the lining of the colon in recipients.
Improving and manipulating the immune adjuvant properties of recombinant fowlpox vectors. Unbalanced immune responses may cause or worsen common and important diseases such as infections, allergies, cancers and autoimmunity. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) is the only immune active product or cytokine that safely skews an aberrant immune response to a healing type of response. Fowlpox viruses (FPV) provide safe and effective human vaccines. Engineering FPV to make both a relevant antigen and a cytokine is ....Improving and manipulating the immune adjuvant properties of recombinant fowlpox vectors. Unbalanced immune responses may cause or worsen common and important diseases such as infections, allergies, cancers and autoimmunity. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) is the only immune active product or cytokine that safely skews an aberrant immune response to a healing type of response. Fowlpox viruses (FPV) provide safe and effective human vaccines. Engineering FPV to make both a relevant antigen and a cytokine is proprietary technology. With our commercial partner and using experimental mice, we will test the concept that FPV making a model antigen and IL-4 initiate and/or maintain beneficial Type 2 responses. A successful outcome will guide clinical FPV-based vaccine development for the treatment of important human and veterinary diseases.Read moreRead less
Immunisation to protect against transmissible cancers in Tasmanian devils. This project aims to identify the immune escape mechanisms that the transmissible cancers, Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) use to avoid being killed by the immune system. Since the discovery of the second transmissible cancer (DFT2) mystery surrounds whether the devils immune system can respond to this cancer, hence this project will investigate the immune response to DFT2. The final aims are to develop a vaccine with ....Immunisation to protect against transmissible cancers in Tasmanian devils. This project aims to identify the immune escape mechanisms that the transmissible cancers, Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) use to avoid being killed by the immune system. Since the discovery of the second transmissible cancer (DFT2) mystery surrounds whether the devils immune system can respond to this cancer, hence this project will investigate the immune response to DFT2. The final aims are to develop a vaccine with the potential to protect healthy devils and cure devils with DFTD.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989226
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,000.00
Summary
Multi-photon imaging for infection, immunity, and self recognition. This proposal will address a gap in our imaging capabilities, allowing us to visualise the movement of immune cells and infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses within living tissues. This will immensely improve our capacity to understand interactions between the immune system, invading organisms and the rest of our body. The intravital imaging system will provide novel insights into how the immune system works, which will ....Multi-photon imaging for infection, immunity, and self recognition. This proposal will address a gap in our imaging capabilities, allowing us to visualise the movement of immune cells and infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses within living tissues. This will immensely improve our capacity to understand interactions between the immune system, invading organisms and the rest of our body. The intravital imaging system will provide novel insights into how the immune system works, which will benefit the design of vaccines, the treatment of cancer, and our understanding of allergy. This state-of-the-art facility will also provide vital training in an emerging technology that will have application in many areas of biology.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347358
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$478,000.00
Summary
Adelaide high-speed cell sorter and analyser facility. Cell sorting and flow cytometric analysis represent powerful and essential tools in modern cell and molecular biology. The applicants seek to develop a core facility within Adelaide University housing a high-speed Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter and a high-speed flow cytometric analyser. Such a facility is not currently available to researchers in Adelaide. These high-speed machines will allow studies on rare cells and subcellular compon ....Adelaide high-speed cell sorter and analyser facility. Cell sorting and flow cytometric analysis represent powerful and essential tools in modern cell and molecular biology. The applicants seek to develop a core facility within Adelaide University housing a high-speed Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter and a high-speed flow cytometric analyser. Such a facility is not currently available to researchers in Adelaide. These high-speed machines will allow studies on rare cells and subcellular components, currently not possible on other machines and meeting the demand for access to this sophisticated equipment is vital for cell and molecular biologists in Adelaide to continue advances in genomics and proteomics.Read moreRead less
Priming The Maternal Immune Response To Resist Inflammatory Disorders Of Pregnancy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$920,972.00
Summary
Preeclampsia and preterm birth are common conditions affecting >15 million pregnancies annually. An underlying cause is the mother’s immune response, which can react adversely to the fetus causing an inflammatory reaction. This project seeks to find ways to strengthen the maternal immune system beginning before conception. The work will provide insights upon which to advise intending parents and will inform development of new treatments options to protect susceptible women.
The Male Partner Contribution To Pregnancy Immune Tolerance Deficit In Women
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,462,925.00
Summary
A complication-free pregnancy and birth of a healthy infant depends on adequate preparation of the mother's immune system to tolerate the 'foreign' fetus, Both the mother and the father contribute to establishing optimal immune tolerance. This project will determine the links between specific agents in male seminal fluid and the female immune response, and will make progress towards new diagnostic tests and treatment options for unexplained subfertility and gestational disorders.
Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. This project aims to develop a multicomponent vaccine system to deliver equal effectiveness against several disease targets in a single administration. New and innovative vaccine design strategies incorporating economical commercial production processes are urgently needed for new and existing human and animal health applications. A vaccine capab ....Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. This project aims to develop a multicomponent vaccine system to deliver equal effectiveness against several disease targets in a single administration. New and innovative vaccine design strategies incorporating economical commercial production processes are urgently needed for new and existing human and animal health applications. A vaccine capable of targeting multiple diseases by a single injection is an obvious way to expedite future vaccine development and deployment. However, the recipient’s immune system can repress equivalent responses to these multicomponent vaccines. This project’s research is expected to address these problems, and underpin the future commercial development of this vaccine platform.Read moreRead less
Neuroimmune Interactions In Functional And Organic Gastrointestinal Diseases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$419,180.00
Summary
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are chronic, incurable diseases of the lower gastrointestinal tract with unknown causes and poor treatment options. Both the immune and nervous systems are altered in GI disease, but have traditionally been studied in isolation. My research investigates how the neuro-immune axis is altered in these diseases, using animal models and human tissue samples to identify novel treatment options for these debilitating diseases.
Tapasin And Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Antigen Presentation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$226,650.00
Summary
An effective T cell response (cellular immune response) to infections is vital to a functional immune system. Normally, proteins are cleaved into small molecules called peptides and these peptides are in turn presented by Major Histocompatibility Complex molecules to T cells. However, we have only partial understanding of what determines the choice of peptides that are finally presented to T cells. Recent research suggests that a molecule called tapasin may also influence the choice of peptides. ....An effective T cell response (cellular immune response) to infections is vital to a functional immune system. Normally, proteins are cleaved into small molecules called peptides and these peptides are in turn presented by Major Histocompatibility Complex molecules to T cells. However, we have only partial understanding of what determines the choice of peptides that are finally presented to T cells. Recent research suggests that a molecule called tapasin may also influence the choice of peptides. This research proposal aims to examine the role of tapasin in this regard. A thorough understanding of the basic principles of peptide presentation to T cells is crucial to the design of effective vaccines. Furthermore it will also broaden our understanding of immunological responses to cancer, autoimmune diseases and infections.Read moreRead less