The Older Australian Twins Study (OATS) Of Healthy Brain Ageing And Age-related Neurocognitive Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$940,960.00
Summary
Ageing is associated with cognitive decline and dementia. It is still not completely understood what relative contributions genes and environment play in these. This project is an extension of the Older Australian Twins Study to examine genetic and environmental factors associated with late life brain changes and dementia, and will establish an internationally significant cohort for novel discovery.
Deciphering The Transcriptional Program That Instructs Lymphatic Endothelial Cell Fate.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$541,950.00
Summary
Lymphatic vessels are essential to maintain fluid balance in most tissues of the human body. Further the lymphatic vasculature plays a central role during cancer and contributes to tumour metastasis. Despite this integral function in health and disease little is known about the molecular programs that coordinate gene expression to build a functional vasculature. This research project will address this gap in our knowledge and will open up new therapeutic avenues for lymphatic vascular disorders
Structural And Functional Analysis Of A Cancer-linked Co-regulator Complex
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$729,571.00
Summary
We seek to understand the mechanisms by which genes are switched on and off throughout our lifetime. A number of multi-component protein machines are involved in this process but their make-up and mechanism of action is not understood. We will investigate the structure and function of one of these machines that has been strongly linked to cancer.
Dual Targeting Of The Androgen Receptor For Effective And Durable Control Of Lethal Prostate Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$946,177.00
Summary
Preventing binding of androgens to the androgen receptor is the mainstay treatment for advanced prostate cancer, but resistance inevitably develops and the disease becomes lethal. We will develop a new drug that targets a part of the androgen receptor unrelated to its androgen binding function to overcome resistance to current therapy. As this drug will be effective in all stages of prostate cancer, it has high potential to improve survival outcomes for men with prostate cancer.
Identifying New Targets For Primary School Mental Health Interventions Using Population Data
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$798,882.00
Summary
This project assesses the mental health and well-being of ~87,000 children aged 10 years in New South Wales, and links this information (anonymously) with data on school-based mental health interventions, and data on health, education, and welfare collected from birth. We will identify factors that promote mental health and reduce ill-health. We hope to improve child health by developing new ways to detect early vulnerability for ill-health, and by identifying new health promotion opportunities.
Parental Supply Of Alcohol To Children: Associations With Early Adult Health – “binge” Drinking, Alcohol-related Harms, Aggression, And Alcohol Use Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,143,477.00
Summary
We will investigate of the impacts of parental supply of alcohol between 13-18 years, on early adult alcohol use (19-23 years). We will follow an existing cohort of ~1,810 parent-child dyads, and assess the development of alcohol use, disorders, harms and aggression. We will investigate the impacts of: parental supply of sips vs drinks; supervised vs unsupervised supply; and modifying effects of contexts of supply and mediators (such as peer, child factors, etc.) controlling for confounders.
Cryptococcal Meningoencephalitis - Fungal Determinants Of Invasion Of The CNS
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$587,634.00
Summary
Meningitis and brain infection (meningoencephalitis) due to the fungus Cryptococcus, affect over 1 million patients with AIDS annually, especially in developing countries; with more than 600,000 deaths. It is not known how Cryptococci cross from the blood stream into the brain; this must be elucidated in order to prevent and/or control this devastating infection. This project will determine how cryptococci influence host blood cells to act as “Trojan horses” and/or release products that initiate ....Meningitis and brain infection (meningoencephalitis) due to the fungus Cryptococcus, affect over 1 million patients with AIDS annually, especially in developing countries; with more than 600,000 deaths. It is not known how Cryptococci cross from the blood stream into the brain; this must be elucidated in order to prevent and/or control this devastating infection. This project will determine how cryptococci influence host blood cells to act as “Trojan horses” and/or release products that initiate invasion of brain tissue and meningitis.Read moreRead less
The Genetic And Environmental Determinants Of Amyloid Deposition In Older Individuals: An Amyloid Imaging Study Using The Twin Design
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$643,267.00
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease is characterised by the deposition of amyloid plaques in the brain. We don’t fully understand how amyloid deposition occurs and what contribution is made by genetic and environmental factors. Amyloid deposition in the brain can now be quantified during life using positron emission tomography. In this study, we will examine brain amyloid in twins, which will determine what proportion of the pathology is attributable to environmental factors that may be modifiable.
The Biology Of Risk For Bipolar Disorder: Genetic Effects In A High-risk Longitudinal Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$856,412.00
Summary
Bipolar disorder is a severe mood disorder affecting over 350,000 Australians. Some children of bipolar disorder patients will also become ill, although currently we have no tools to predict which of these genetically at-risk young individuals will eventually develop symptoms. This study will use genetic information plus brain structural changes to predict which at-risk individuals are likely to become ill. This study will help elucidate early clinical and biological markers of bipolar disorder.
Signalling Pathways And Fungal Virulence – The Inositol Polyphosphate Kinase Pathway In Cryptococcus Neoformans
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$545,189.00
Summary
Bloodstream fungal infections kill millions of people per year world-wide and are costly to treat. A potentially fruitful strategy for developing new, urgently-needed drugs to fight these infections, is to target signalling pathways, which in fungi, are essential for establishing infection. This proposal investigates how one such pathway, the inositolpolyphosphate kinase pathway, allows fungi to establish infection and will determine which components are suitable targets for drug development.