Prof Mackay, through this Australia Fellowship, proposes to gain new knowledge on immune responses, by exploring these radical new ideas on inflammation and the role of diet and gastro-intestinal microflora. In addition, he hopes to develop new treatments for human diseases, by integrating new and powerful technologies and approaches for the generation of bio-therapeutics. Finally, genetically engineered mice will be pivotal in this process, and will enable the discovery of a new generation of m ....Prof Mackay, through this Australia Fellowship, proposes to gain new knowledge on immune responses, by exploring these radical new ideas on inflammation and the role of diet and gastro-intestinal microflora. In addition, he hopes to develop new treatments for human diseases, by integrating new and powerful technologies and approaches for the generation of bio-therapeutics. Finally, genetically engineered mice will be pivotal in this process, and will enable the discovery of a new generation of medicines not possible a couple of years ago. The Australia Fellowship will draw on considerable cross-discipline interactions, to produce powerful new directions in medical research. For instance, there is considerable evidence, but poor understanding, of how the immune system is regulated by metabolism or the role of stem cells in tissue remodelling associated with inflammation, or the delicate interplay between the immune system and cancers.Read moreRead less
I am an immunologist working on the molecular basis of immune responses, particularly inflammatory responses. My research also focuses on mechanisms of cell migration, and cytokines and chemokines for immune responses. My research also has considerable re
Develop New Approaches To Cancer Diagnosis And Treatment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,000,000.00
Summary
Apoptosis is the dominant focus of our planned studies, because its impairment is both a critical step towards malignancy and a barrier to effective treatment. Arguably, the laboratory heads within our division and our collaborators from the Structure Biology Division at WEHI constitute the world’s strongest group with this focus. Our accumulated experience in this field from its renaissance in 1988 and the many unique materials they have created superbly position us to answer the fundamental qu ....Apoptosis is the dominant focus of our planned studies, because its impairment is both a critical step towards malignancy and a barrier to effective treatment. Arguably, the laboratory heads within our division and our collaborators from the Structure Biology Division at WEHI constitute the world’s strongest group with this focus. Our accumulated experience in this field from its renaissance in 1988 and the many unique materials they have created superbly position us to answer the fundamental questions and translate them into new therapeutic approaches. Our team’s second focus, the links of stem cells to cancer, is also of great importance, because the rare stem cells in the tumour may dictate therapeutic outcome. This Fellowship aims to addresses fundamental issues with enormous potential for medicine. It builds on productive ongoing research by a team with diverse complementary expertise, a record of effective interaction, high momentum and a history of path-breaking discoveries. I plan to maintain and further develop our Division (the Molecular Genetics of Cancer Division at WEHI) as one of the strongest teams for cancer research and development of cancer therapies in the world. Our division contains several laboratories that are highly interactive and complimentary in their approaches and research interests. I plan to strengthen the already highly productive laboratories in our division and to develop some new ones (see below under ‘proposed team’). I plan to increase work of our division to also include studies on other solid tumours (e.g. colon cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer). This Fellowships aims to greatly enhance cancer research and hopefully also clinical practice in Australia. This should enhance the reputation of Australia as a country with recognized excellence in medical research and clinical practice. I am also confident that our division will continue to educate outstanding PhD graduates and postdoctoral fellows who will in due course become independent researchers and develop into future leaders in medical research in Australia and-or overseas.Read moreRead less
I am an epidemiologist, primarily interested in environment and health (including the risk factors for autoimmune diseases, and the strongly-emerging issue of climate change and health). My other two continuing research interests are in diet, nutrition an
I am a clinician-scientist investigating the immunopathogenesis of rhematoid arthritis in order to discover and develop new forms of therapy and prevent disease complications. I am interested in improving patient care through research on patient educatio