Identifying Target Genes For Novel Anti-epileptic Therapies In The Mouse
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$469,802.00
Summary
Epilepsy is a disease which affects 2-4% of the population. There are a wide range of drugs available to treat the condition but there is consistently 30-40% of patients who do not respond well to any of these drugs and who continue to have seizures. The reason that there are no drugs available for these people is that most of the drugs available have been designed along the same principles. A new set of principles is needed to develop new drugs which will be able to treat those people not respo ....Epilepsy is a disease which affects 2-4% of the population. There are a wide range of drugs available to treat the condition but there is consistently 30-40% of patients who do not respond well to any of these drugs and who continue to have seizures. The reason that there are no drugs available for these people is that most of the drugs available have been designed along the same principles. A new set of principles is needed to develop new drugs which will be able to treat those people not responding to current therapy. This project is designed to identify new biologic pathways which may be interrupted with drugs to prevent seizures in people with epilepsy. This project uses a procedure to induce mutations into genes in mice and then screens for mice which do not seize when challenged with a drug which generates seizures in mice. Genetic studies will identify the mutated genes and these will be used as potential targets for new therapies or will identify new biological pathway which should expand the use of future anti-epileptic drugs.Read moreRead less
How The Lateral Habenula Integrates Behavioral And Autonomic Functions: The VTA Dopamine Connection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$819,904.00
Summary
When adverse events occur, the lateral habenula, an old brain nucleus, helps calculate the wisest corrective action by contributing to the “brake” that controls the brain’s dopamine reward system. Our research will show how the lateral habenula links corrective changes in behavior with coordinated changes in temperature. Understanding this link will greatly contribute to understanding the brain mechanisms that regulate our physiology during stressful situations and as part of mental illness.
ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science. The ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science (SISS) builds Australia's capacity and capability for innovative, collaborative, cross-disciplinary effort to investigate the impacts of change on the behaviour and well-being of people and the fortunes of places. SISS theories and research tools permit the integration of diverse and complex databases, the generation of new synthetic datasets, the incorporation of spatial ....ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science. The ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science (SISS) builds Australia's capacity and capability for innovative, collaborative, cross-disciplinary effort to investigate the impacts of change on the behaviour and well-being of people and the fortunes of places. SISS theories and research tools permit the integration of diverse and complex databases, the generation of new synthetic datasets, the incorporation of spatial concepts into statistical analysis and modelling, powerful visualisation of information, and the building spatial decision support systems, to provide an improved evidence base and better informed decision-making to address the significant challenges facing Australia's people and its places.Read moreRead less
Improving the health and wellbeing of poorly housed Australians: understanding and responding to multiple housing deficit. Australia is currently in a housing crisis, with many escalating problems, including poor affordability, chronic undersupply, homelessness, insecurity in the private rental market and a shrinking public housing sector. While some Australians are unaffected, increasing numbers of already vulnerable people experience multiple housing problems. This project aims to develop a ne ....Improving the health and wellbeing of poorly housed Australians: understanding and responding to multiple housing deficit. Australia is currently in a housing crisis, with many escalating problems, including poor affordability, chronic undersupply, homelessness, insecurity in the private rental market and a shrinking public housing sector. While some Australians are unaffected, increasing numbers of already vulnerable people experience multiple housing problems. This project aims to develop a new theoretical framework for focusing on Australians who experience multiple housing problems. It aims to identify who will be affected, how this will play out on individual health and wellbeing, and how governments can best respond. It will provide essential evidence and intervention tools for understanding and improving the lives of the most vulnerable.Read moreRead less
Preclinical Evaluation Of The Novel Therapeutic Compound APP96-110 In An Ovine Model Of Traumatic Brain Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$874,734.00
Summary
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant cause of death and disability, and yet there are currently no effective treatments to improve outcome following such an insult. Our laboratory has developed a novel therapeutic compound, by identifying an endogenous neuroprotective molecule, in the amyloid precursor protein and then identifying the active site and modifying it to improve its efficacy. We will be testing this compound in our sheep model of TBI.
Identifying the diversity and evolution of loci associated with adaptation to aridity/heat and salinity in ancient cereal crops. This project will use ancient grains of wheat, barley and rye to find 'lost' genetic diversity at key genes associated with resistance to aridity, salt and disease. This project will make the proteins of key genes, and study their interaction with the environment over time by measuring ions in the grains to reveal the ancient environmental conditions.
Identification Of Genes For X-linked Mental Retardation.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$675,228.00
Summary
We propose to identify novel heritable causes of intellectual disability using 22 large and well-characterised families from Australia. In these families we have refined the location of the genetic defect to the chromosome X and excluded the contribution of all so far known genes. We will achieve this using the technology of massive parallel sequencing. At the completion of the project we will have identified novel causes of intellectual disability and devised tests to identify them.
Developing Zn-dense, high-yielding wheat by molecular marker technology. The objective of this project is to identify pathways leading to the accumulation of zinc — an important element for human nutrition — in wheat. The project aims to provide biochemical and molecular markers for breeding programs that will facilitate the selection of superior breeding lines for improved human nutrition and seed health. This project builds on studies using a wheat diversity panel with 90 000 gene-based single ....Developing Zn-dense, high-yielding wheat by molecular marker technology. The objective of this project is to identify pathways leading to the accumulation of zinc — an important element for human nutrition — in wheat. The project aims to provide biochemical and molecular markers for breeding programs that will facilitate the selection of superior breeding lines for improved human nutrition and seed health. This project builds on studies using a wheat diversity panel with 90 000 gene-based single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, where zinc–SNP associations were identified. The project also builds on recent studies that show particular metabolites and macronutrients around anthesis are linked to improved grain zinc concentration at maturity.Read moreRead less
Pathways to health and wellbeing through housing: a new causal understanding of relationships, processes and interventions. Does housing make Australians healthier or less healthy, how can we target housing assistance so that it improves individual health and wellbeing? This research answers these questions, it develops new methods for understanding the complex causal relationship between housing and health, and evidence of how housing can improve health and wellbeing.