Genetic And Bioinformatic Analysis Of Complex Human Diseases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$8,752,567.00
Summary
Some human diseases are common in families; examples include prostate cancer, blood cancers, epilepsy and diabetes. Therefore, close relatives of individuals with a disease have an increased risk of being affected by this disease, implying a genetic basis. Finding the cause of these diseases is difficult, we will be developing novel approaches to the identification of genes responsible for these diseases. This is the first step towards the development of treatments for affected individuals.
Neourobiology Of Human Epilepsy: Genes, Cellular Mechanisms,network And Whole Brain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$17,652,824.00
Summary
The team is comprised of neurologists, molecular geneticists, physiologists and brain imaging specialists and leads the world in the discovery of the genetic causes of epilepsy. They will continue to identify genes underlying epilepsy and study how genetic variations result in development of seizures. Advanced brain imaging will be used to understand the effects of genetic variation on brain structure and function. This study may lead to new diagnostic methods and treatments for epilepsy.
Molecular Determinants Of Risk, Progression And Treatement Response In Melenoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$12,947,193.00
Summary
Melanoma is a major Australian health problem. It is the third most common cancer in men and women and has a disproportionately heavy impact on productive years of life because it is the common cause of cancer death in younger adults. The investigators are all associated with the Melanoma Institute Australia, incorporating the Sydney Melanoma Unit (SMU). MIA is the world’s largest clinical service dedicated to the treatment of melanoma, treating >1500 new melanoma patients annually and mainta ....Melanoma is a major Australian health problem. It is the third most common cancer in men and women and has a disproportionately heavy impact on productive years of life because it is the common cause of cancer death in younger adults. The investigators are all associated with the Melanoma Institute Australia, incorporating the Sydney Melanoma Unit (SMU). MIA is the world’s largest clinical service dedicated to the treatment of melanoma, treating >1500 new melanoma patients annually and maintains a repository of clinical data on melanoma and a large melanoma tissue bank. The Program has also recruited large numbers of people from the community, as well as people with a strong family history of melanoma, in order to study its causes. It aims to utilise these internationally-recognised resources to develop a scientific basis for 1) improved management of individuals at high risk for development and progression of melanoma, and 2) improved treatment of patients with early and disseminated melanoma, in an era of rapid change in the prospects of successfully treating this dangerous cancer. The Program will do this by consolidating and extending its existing collaborative research, supported by NHMRC since 2006.Read moreRead less
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is threatening the health of this nation and if unchecked will cripple our health care system. There are several problems: (1) The incidence of T2D is growing and we do not fully know why; (2) T2D involves defective insulin action but how insulin works normally is still unclear; (3) much research in this area is performed in laboratory cells or animals and the translation of this research to the human disease is yet to be fully realised; and (4) current therapies and diagno ....Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is threatening the health of this nation and if unchecked will cripple our health care system. There are several problems: (1) The incidence of T2D is growing and we do not fully know why; (2) T2D involves defective insulin action but how insulin works normally is still unclear; (3) much research in this area is performed in laboratory cells or animals and the translation of this research to the human disease is yet to be fully realised; and (4) current therapies and diagnostic markers for early disease prediction are inadequate. Our goal is to make progress in each of these areas.Read moreRead less
Molecular Determinants Of Risk, Progression And Treatment Response In Melanoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$8,381,820.00
Summary
Melanoma is a major Australian health problem. NSW figures for 2002 show it to be the second most common cancer in men and women. It has a disproportionately heavy impact on productive years of the life of young Australians because it is the commonest cancer in those aged 15-45 years. The investigators are all associated with the Sydney Melanoma Unit (SMU), the world�s largest clinical service dedicated to the treatment of melanoma, treating >1200 new melanoma patients annually. We have also ....Melanoma is a major Australian health problem. NSW figures for 2002 show it to be the second most common cancer in men and women. It has a disproportionately heavy impact on productive years of the life of young Australians because it is the commonest cancer in those aged 15-45 years. The investigators are all associated with the Sydney Melanoma Unit (SMU), the world�s largest clinical service dedicated to the treatment of melanoma, treating >1200 new melanoma patients annually. We have also recruited large cohorts of individuals with high susceptibility to melanoma, both familial and population-based, throughout southeastern Australia. We aim to utilise these unique, internationally-recognised resources to develop a scientific basis for 1) improved management of individuals at high risk for development and progression of melanoma, and 2) improved treatment of patients with early and disseminated melanoma. We will base this on consolidation of existing collaborative research into molecular predictors of risk, progression and treatment response in melanoma.Read moreRead less
Molecular Regulation Of Blood Cell Production And Function
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$18,333,174.00
Summary
The blood-forming system is an intricately controlled balance of cell proliferation, maturation and functional activity that is essential for oxygen transport throughout the body, blood clotting, and effective immune responses. Defining the genes and molecules that orchestrate blood cell production and function is crucial, not only for understanding the role of blood in health, but for establishing the bases of blood cell disorders such as autoimmunity and leukaemia, and for devising new clinica ....The blood-forming system is an intricately controlled balance of cell proliferation, maturation and functional activity that is essential for oxygen transport throughout the body, blood clotting, and effective immune responses. Defining the genes and molecules that orchestrate blood cell production and function is crucial, not only for understanding the role of blood in health, but for establishing the bases of blood cell disorders such as autoimmunity and leukaemia, and for devising new clinical strategies for fighting these lethal diseases. This program is conducted by a large, established team of investigators that have made world-class contributions to understanding blood cell formation and function for more than 30 years. Their work established the modern era of molecular haematology via discovery and analysis of blood cell hormones (colony-stimulating factors or CSFs), their receptors and intracellular mediators, which resulted in development of treatments for millions of cancer patients. The program is a multidisciplinary, team approach to fundamental biological questions with a focus on potential clinical and commercial outcomes involving collaborations with clinical medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. Research will focus on meshing novel genetic approaches in mice with translation studies in humans to identify new validated targets for therapeutic intervention in blood cell diseases, as well as building on the team s expertise in cytokine action with emphasis on the actions of the suppressor of cytokine signalling (SOCS) molecules, a key family of proteins that controls cytokine actions.Read moreRead less
Roles Of Impaired Apoptosis And Differentiation In Tumourigenesis And Therapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$21,656,910.00
Summary
The ten scientific laboratories in this program have joined forces to investigate two ways in which tumours develop. Both are of particular interest, because they suggest new ways in which cancer might be overcome. Most of our tissues are continually renewed throughout life by production of new cells. Therefore many of the old cells in each tissue must die off to maintain the proper cell numbers. To eliminate cells that are no longer needed or have become damaged, the body has developed a remark ....The ten scientific laboratories in this program have joined forces to investigate two ways in which tumours develop. Both are of particular interest, because they suggest new ways in which cancer might be overcome. Most of our tissues are continually renewed throughout life by production of new cells. Therefore many of the old cells in each tissue must die off to maintain the proper cell numbers. To eliminate cells that are no longer needed or have become damaged, the body has developed a remarkable cell suicide process termed apoptosis. Unfortunately, however, occasionally a random accident to the genes in one of our cells prevents the machinery for apoptosis from being turned on. In that case, the cell will not die when it should and, by continually dividing, it may eventually give rise to a cancer. Since most cancer cells still retain most of the machinery for apoptosis, however, a drug that could switch on this natural cell death machinery would provide a promising new approach to cancer therapy. Identifying and developing such drugs is one major long-term goal of this program. The other focus of our program concerns stem cells. These are rare cells with the remarkable ability to generate an entire tissue. For example, one of our laboratories has identified stem cells that can generate all the cells in the breast. The almost unlimited regenerative capacity of stem cells has a built-in danger. If a stem cell acquires the ability to proliferate excessively, it can go on to form a tumour. Indeed, many cancer researchers now suspect that rare stem cells within a tumour cause its inexorable growth. If tumour growth is maintained by stem cells, it will be essential to develop new forms of therapy that target these rare cancer stem cells rather than merely the bulk of the tumour cells. This is another key long-term goal of our program.Read moreRead less