Life-saving chemo/radio-therapy commonly renders women and girls who survivor cancer infertile or sterile. We have discovered a new means of preserving the fertility of female mice exposed to chemo/radio therapy. In this project we will apply these advances to human ovarian tissue/eggs for the first time. We have access to these rare tissues for research purposes. This project will develop new approaches to fertility preservation for cancer survivors.
A Prospective Study Of Language Impairment And Recovery Following Surgery For Brain Tumours
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$861,342.00
Summary
This multi-site project will investigate the incidence and nature of post-operative language difficulties (aphasia) in patients following surgery for left hemisphere primary brain tumours. It will provide comprehensive data concerning risk factors for post-surgical aphasia in Australian patients, in addition to important information about the brain lesions responsible for its various clinical presentations. This information will be used to generate recommendations for clinical practice.
Female Reproductive Health Preservation By Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) And Sirtuin2 (SIRT2)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,983.00
Summary
Cancer treatment can be severely toxic to women’s eggs. Increasing numbers of women who survive cancer therefore become infertile and prematurely deprived of hormonal support whilst still in their reproductive years. This project will use state-of-the-art techniques to interrogate newly uncovered pathways that can protect eggs from treatment-induced injury thereby greatly improving the quality of life for female cancer survivors.
Improving Sexual Health In Men With Prostate Cancer: Randomised Controlled Trial Of Exercise And Psychosexual Therapies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$583,416.00
Summary
Sexual dysfunction is one of the most common and distressing side effects of prostate cancer. Despite being a critical survivorship care issue, there is a clear gap in knowledge surrounding the optimal treatment of sexual dysfunction in men with prostate cancer. This project examines whether exercise aids in the management of sexual dysfunction and explores if an integrated treatment model incorporating pharmacological, exercise and psychosexual therapies maximises improvement in sexual health.
Banking On The Future: Establishing Evidence For Policy, Protocols, And Patient Care Relating To Storage Of Reproductive Material Before Treatment For Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$588,023.00
Summary
Cancer treatment can cause infertility. Patients may freeze sperm, eggs, embryos, or ovarian tissue before cancer treatment for later use in fertility treatment. There are no national guidelines specific to this procedure, no generally accepted policies for services, inadequate knowledge about its outcomes, and limited understanding of the needs and expectations of patients who undergo it. This research will address these knowledge gaps and thus contribute to the wellbeing of cancer patients and ....Cancer treatment can cause infertility. Patients may freeze sperm, eggs, embryos, or ovarian tissue before cancer treatment for later use in fertility treatment. There are no national guidelines specific to this procedure, no generally accepted policies for services, inadequate knowledge about its outcomes, and limited understanding of the needs and expectations of patients who undergo it. This research will address these knowledge gaps and thus contribute to the wellbeing of cancer patients and survivors.Read moreRead less
Building Tissue Engineered Flaps For Surgical Reconstruction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$548,453.00
Summary
As a result of serious trauma, burns or cancer surgery, large areas of new skin may be required. Of the three major skin layers - epidermal and dermal replacements are available clinically, but the third layer - the underlying fat tissue layer is yet to be developed. This project has devised a novel product to rapidly recreate the skin fat layer and additionally rapidly grow new blood vessels in these layers which will enable excellent skin coverage in all forms of major skin loss.
Cancer Anorexia/cachexia: Mechanisms For Anorexia And Appetite Regulation By Tumour Derived MIC-1/GDF15
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$643,060.00
Summary
We have recently discovered that MIC-1 is a new appetite suppressive agent which when overproduced in some diseases like cancer, causes severe weight loss. This project sets out to determine the mechanisms it employs in regulation of appetite centres in the brain.
Developing A Vaccine To Protect Against Hypervirulent Strains Of Group A Streptococcus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$536,850.00
Summary
Epidemic invasive GAS disease is associated with the emergence of the globally disseminated M1T1 clone and is linked to the mutation in the CovR/S regulator. This mutation leads to over- expression of SpyCEP and inhibits recruitment of neutrophils to the site of infection. Inclusion of an immunogenic fragment of SpyCEP into our current vaccine would enhance its efficacy and lead to the development of a vaccine with a wider coverage and better protective efficacy against hypervirulent GAS strains
Identifying The Missing Heritability Of Breast Cancer.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$461,104.00
Summary
One of the strongest risk factors for the development of breast cancer is having a close relative with the disease. Some advances have been made in understanding the specific genetic factors that underlie this susceptibility but these known genetic factors only explain about a third of the overall familial effects. This research will utilise our prior research, international research resources, new technology and supercomputing to identify the majority of genetic factors associated with breast c ....One of the strongest risk factors for the development of breast cancer is having a close relative with the disease. Some advances have been made in understanding the specific genetic factors that underlie this susceptibility but these known genetic factors only explain about a third of the overall familial effects. This research will utilise our prior research, international research resources, new technology and supercomputing to identify the majority of genetic factors associated with breast cancer susceptibility.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Aspirin In The Prevention Of Colorectal Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,725,799.00
Summary
ASPREE is a large, phase 3 clinical study of health participants over the age of 70 years who have been randomized to either continuous low dose aspirin or placebo for an average of 5 years. This grant is concerned with collecting long-term follow-up for an additional 5 years, especially for evidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) as well as the exploration of potential mechanisms of action by which aspirin may prevent the development of CRC.