Periconceptional Alcohol Exposure: Effects On The Embryo And Fetus And Disease Risk In Adulthood
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$555,780.00
Summary
It is known that consuming large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy can have deleterious effects on fetal growth and development. Less is known about the effects of consumption of alcohol just around the time of conception. This project will use animal models to explore if alcohol can alter development of the very early embryo and whether this has long term consequences for the health of offspring after birth.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100468
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,144.00
Summary
Decentralisation in India and Indonesia: how non-government organisations affect citizens' encounters and experiences of local level governance. This project critically examines how local non-government organisations affect decentralisation in India and Indonesia. It offers new understandings of the potential for development agencies to transform the meanings, practices and identities that shape how citizens experience local governance.
The Role Of Non-coding RNAs In Development And Disease.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,872.00
Summary
We have discovered a new mechanism by which genome activity is regulated. This project will test the hypothesis that this mechanism is critical for cell growth and embryonic development. It has the potential to identify new causes of birth defects and may also be relevant to understanding the etiology of other diseases such as cancer, resulting in improvements in diagnosis and management of disorders that present a major health care burden.
How do teachers learn to enact the Australian Curriculum? A question of policy in practice. This project aims to show how teachers learn to engage with the new curriculum in the context of increasingly standardised national and international educational reforms. This is significant for determining whether the 'Australian Curriculum' will result in its projected benefits. This project aims to reveal how policy support for the new curriculum influences teacher learning in diverse schooling setting ....How do teachers learn to enact the Australian Curriculum? A question of policy in practice. This project aims to show how teachers learn to engage with the new curriculum in the context of increasingly standardised national and international educational reforms. This is significant for determining whether the 'Australian Curriculum' will result in its projected benefits. This project aims to reveal how policy support for the new curriculum influences teacher learning in diverse schooling settings in a broadly neoliberal, global context.Read moreRead less
Psychosocial Predictors Of Developing Breast Cancer In Women From High Risk Breast Cancer Families
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,109,214.00
Summary
Over the past 20 years, studies have highlighted the possible roles of stressful life events and distress, possibly mediated by social support and personality, in causing or speeding up the development of breast cancer. This possibility is of strong concern to consumers. To date, there have been few well designed, prospective studies of this issue. Furthermore, no previous studies have specifically targeted women at increased risk because of their family history. In recent years, it has become p ....Over the past 20 years, studies have highlighted the possible roles of stressful life events and distress, possibly mediated by social support and personality, in causing or speeding up the development of breast cancer. This possibility is of strong concern to consumers. To date, there have been few well designed, prospective studies of this issue. Furthermore, no previous studies have specifically targeted women at increased risk because of their family history. In recent years, it has become possible to identify 2 breast cancer genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2). Female carriers of mutations in these genes with a strong family history have an estimated lifetime risk of between 35% and 85%. The Kathleen Cuningham Consortium for Research into Familial Breast Cancer (kConFab) was established 11 years ago to coordinate the collection of genetic, epidemiological and clinical data in Australian and New Zealand families with a dominantly inherited predisposition to breast cancer. Due to the high rate of breast cancer diagnoses in this group, and the systematic recruitment of large numbers of high risk women by kConFab, there is a unique and temporary opportunity to conduct a rigorous study to resolve this question, with sufficient numbers involved. The study is a world first, and will provide the best data to date in this area. If the study demonstrates a relationship between psychosocial factors and the development of breast cancer in women from high risk breast cancer families, subsequent identification of vulnerable individuals and the implementation of appropriate interventions may have a real impact on reducing morbidity and mortality in this population. Furthermore, the results may have implications for all women in reducing breast cancer incidence.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100086
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Teachers' learning in complex times: theorising teacher professional development practices under globalised policy conditions. This project investigates the effects of national standardised testing on the professional development practices of teachers in rural and urban schools in varied Socio-Economic Status communities in Australia. The project will indicate whether and how such testing influences teachers' learning, and subsequent student learning, in these different types of settings.
One of the most critical steps in embryonic development is the assembly of the different tissue components into a three-dimensional structure in order to build a major body part of the foetus. In the development of the head, this form-shaping process undertaken by different cell populations is coordinated by genetic activity that is triggered by signals received by cells. The objective of our research is to understand how one of the many signalling mechanisms, WNT signalling, works in making the ....One of the most critical steps in embryonic development is the assembly of the different tissue components into a three-dimensional structure in order to build a major body part of the foetus. In the development of the head, this form-shaping process undertaken by different cell populations is coordinated by genetic activity that is triggered by signals received by cells. The objective of our research is to understand how one of the many signalling mechanisms, WNT signalling, works in making the head and face of the embryo. We will study the development of embryos of mice in which mutations have been introduced experimentally in genes that code for factors of the WNT signalling pathway. Understanding the complexity of tissue interactions and the interplay of molecular mechanisms of head formation in the embryo is a major challenge. However, knowledge of the processes in animal models will contribute to a better delineation of the role of signalling in normal head development. It will also help to direct the focus of future clinical investigations to the most relevant genetic determinants of birth defects of the head and face, which is present in about 8 per 10,000 births in Australia.Read moreRead less
Chimeric Virus-like Particles (VLPs) Displaying H1, H3 And H5 Haemagglutinins - Construction And Immunogenicity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$207,543.00
Summary
Virus-like particles (VLPs) provoke strong immune responses in the body. We have developed a novel VLP system that allows the production of VLPs containing foreign vaccine antigens of much larger size than previously possible, and have shown that these VLPs provoke strong immune responses in mice without the use of adjuvants. The capacity of these VLPs is large enough to accommodate the most important vaccine antigen of influenza, the haemagglutinin (HA) molecule. We will test whether VLPs can b ....Virus-like particles (VLPs) provoke strong immune responses in the body. We have developed a novel VLP system that allows the production of VLPs containing foreign vaccine antigens of much larger size than previously possible, and have shown that these VLPs provoke strong immune responses in mice without the use of adjuvants. The capacity of these VLPs is large enough to accommodate the most important vaccine antigen of influenza, the haemagglutinin (HA) molecule. We will test whether VLPs can be produced containing each of the three most important HA types _ H1 and H3 that are currently circulating in man, and H5 (avian) that is considered a pandemic threat. VLPs will be tested for their ability to induce neutralizing antibody and cellular immune responses in mice, and for their ability to protect ferrets from influenza infection. If successful, the HA-VLP system would provide a method for the rapid production of new influenza vaccines using large-scale fermentation technology as for hepatitis B and many other vaccines, rather than eggs or cell culture as used for current influenza vaccines.Read moreRead less