Design and Development of HIV-1 Integrase Inhibitors Based on a Natural Product Lead. HIV/AIDS is a significant health problem with over 40 million people infected with HIV worldwide. Resistance to current drugs is rising rapidly and new therapeutics are urgently needed. This project will bring together local expertise in organic synthesis and virology in order to develop new and better treatments for HIV/AIDS. Ultimately, Australians with HIV may benefit directly from anti-HIV compounds produce ....Design and Development of HIV-1 Integrase Inhibitors Based on a Natural Product Lead. HIV/AIDS is a significant health problem with over 40 million people infected with HIV worldwide. Resistance to current drugs is rising rapidly and new therapeutics are urgently needed. This project will bring together local expertise in organic synthesis and virology in order to develop new and better treatments for HIV/AIDS. Ultimately, Australians with HIV may benefit directly from anti-HIV compounds produced and may also benefit from advances in our understanding of this elusive virus resulting from the project.Read moreRead less
Defining domains within Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae surface proteins that interact with host extracellular matrix: efficacy testing of candidate vaccines in swine. Over 90% of Australian commercial pig production facilities are affected by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, the causative agent of swine enzootic pneumonia. This disease causes economic losses in Australia of over $20 million per annum and up to $1 billion per annum in major swine rearing countries worldwide. This project will determine the p ....Defining domains within Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae surface proteins that interact with host extracellular matrix: efficacy testing of candidate vaccines in swine. Over 90% of Australian commercial pig production facilities are affected by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, the causative agent of swine enzootic pneumonia. This disease causes economic losses in Australia of over $20 million per annum and up to $1 billion per annum in major swine rearing countries worldwide. This project will determine the protective efficacy of new generation vaccines against M. hyopneumoniae, which aim to block the colonisation process and prevent disease .Read moreRead less
Mosquito-borne alphaviruses such as Ross River and chikungunya viruses cause widespread epidemics and exert extreme pressure on the public health systems of affected regions. Alphaviruses spreads to joints and triggers a severe disease in those affected. There are no effective treatments or vaccines. The project will investigate virus-host interaction at the bite site. The outcome will be new knowledge to treat infection at the mosquito bite site to prevent joint disease.
Novel Insights Into The Pathobiology Of Alphavirus Infections
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$827,660.00
Summary
Infections with mosquito-borne viruses are increasing at an alarming rate worldwide. Ross River virus is endemic in parts of Australia, PNG and Pacific islands, while chikungunya virus is distributed globally and causes recurrent pandemics that involve millions of people. These viruses cause severe musculoskeletal disease for several months after infection. This project aims to establish how these viruses interact with the human host to cause disease and may provide a basis for new treatments.
What is killing the honeybees? The role of RNA viruses. This project aims to determine if the Varroa mite, the most important parasite of honeybees, selects for virulent strains of RNA viruses. Before Varroa’s inevitable arrival in Australia, this project will disentangle the effect of Varroa and the bees’ immune system on the evolution of virulence of bee viruses. Australia’s honeybees are Varroa-naïve and don’t carry virulent viruses. There is a known association between Varroa and colonies dy ....What is killing the honeybees? The role of RNA viruses. This project aims to determine if the Varroa mite, the most important parasite of honeybees, selects for virulent strains of RNA viruses. Before Varroa’s inevitable arrival in Australia, this project will disentangle the effect of Varroa and the bees’ immune system on the evolution of virulence of bee viruses. Australia’s honeybees are Varroa-naïve and don’t carry virulent viruses. There is a known association between Varroa and colonies dying from viruses; however, it is not known what is cause and effect. This project will clarify Varroa’s exact role in the evolution of virulence in RNA viruses. The intended outcome is increased knowledge allowing the design of an effective treatment to prevent the death of honeybee colonies.Read moreRead less
Prevention and treatment of chlamydiosis and cryptococcosis in koalas. This project aims to generate increased understanding of the aetiology and pathogenesis of the two most prevalent and debilitating infectious diseases of koalas to make improved decisions regarding therapeutic intervention, prevention and management. Chlamydiosis, caused by two chlamydial bacteria, affects koala fertility, urinary tract function and eyesight. Cryptococcosis, caused by the fungus Cryptococcus gattii, may resul ....Prevention and treatment of chlamydiosis and cryptococcosis in koalas. This project aims to generate increased understanding of the aetiology and pathogenesis of the two most prevalent and debilitating infectious diseases of koalas to make improved decisions regarding therapeutic intervention, prevention and management. Chlamydiosis, caused by two chlamydial bacteria, affects koala fertility, urinary tract function and eyesight. Cryptococcosis, caused by the fungus Cryptococcus gattii, may result in koala morbidity and death. Planned therapeutic trials, prevention strategies and the development of optimal husbandry strategies will provide knowledge that will lead to reduced koala morbidity through improved understanding of the interactions amongst infectious pathogens, the animal host and the environment.Read moreRead less
Coproantigen detection tests for diagnosis of intestinal parasitic nematode infection. The aim of this project is to develop new tests for detection of hookworm and Strongyloides, two common intestinal worm infections of humans. These tests offer the potential to replace current tests, namely stool microscopy and serodiagnosis, both of whose performance is unsatisfactory due to deficiencies in sensitivity, specificity and operator convenience. The tests will rely on monoclonal antibodies to dete ....Coproantigen detection tests for diagnosis of intestinal parasitic nematode infection. The aim of this project is to develop new tests for detection of hookworm and Strongyloides, two common intestinal worm infections of humans. These tests offer the potential to replace current tests, namely stool microscopy and serodiagnosis, both of whose performance is unsatisfactory due to deficiencies in sensitivity, specificity and operator convenience. The tests will rely on monoclonal antibodies to detect parasite products in stool. Such testing technology is amenable to configuration in a robust format, suitable for large-scale manufacture. Given the worldwide prevalence of these parasites, the tests will have a market potential of international significance.Read moreRead less
Fighting disease on farms: how do vaccinations drive evolution of new pathogen strains? Vaccinating against some types of infectious diseases can drive evolution of new variants of the pathogen. This project will show how bacterial populations evolve in response to vaccination in farms, leading to new vaccination strategies and improved vaccine formulations to better control diseases that are caused by highly variable bacteria.
Improving the diagnosis, management and control of chlamydial infections in Australian livestock. Chlamydial diseases, such as arthritis and encephalomyelitis, are associated with significant economic losses for Australian livestock producers. Effective surveillance and management of Chlamydia infections is problematic due to: the absence of epidemiological data; the lack of an accurate and easily interpretable diagnostic test; and the lack of an available vaccine. This project aims to evaluate ....Improving the diagnosis, management and control of chlamydial infections in Australian livestock. Chlamydial diseases, such as arthritis and encephalomyelitis, are associated with significant economic losses for Australian livestock producers. Effective surveillance and management of Chlamydia infections is problematic due to: the absence of epidemiological data; the lack of an accurate and easily interpretable diagnostic test; and the lack of an available vaccine. This project aims to evaluate factors associated with chlamydial disease in Australian livestock and thereby improve on-farm diagnosis. With the concomitant development of a chlamydial vaccine for sheep, this project aims to provide veterinarians and producers with important tools to reduce the on-farm impacts of chlamydial disease.Read moreRead less
Targeting the undruggable: epitope mapping using Phylomers peptides to modulate activity of Transcription Factors. This project aims at expanding the pool of drug targets, by extending drug screening to protein-protein interaction networks. This project aims to assemble a novel technical platform to detect binding between proteins, using a combination of cell-free protein expression, AlphaScreen and single-molecule fluorescence. This pipeline has great potential to accelerate the exploration of ....Targeting the undruggable: epitope mapping using Phylomers peptides to modulate activity of Transcription Factors. This project aims at expanding the pool of drug targets, by extending drug screening to protein-protein interaction networks. This project aims to assemble a novel technical platform to detect binding between proteins, using a combination of cell-free protein expression, AlphaScreen and single-molecule fluorescence. This pipeline has great potential to accelerate the exploration of protein networks, and provides also a generic platform for drug screening on difficult targets. The project intends to screen Phylogica's libraries of peptides called Phylomers to discover tight binders to a Transcription Factor, Sox18. The objective of this project is to determine which Phylomers can disrupt specific interactions between Sox18 and its binding partners involved in lymphangiogenesis.Read moreRead less