Combining Immune Monitoring And Immunotherapy To Tackle Cytomegalovirus Infections In Solid Organ Transplant Patients
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$801,416.00
Summary
Clinical management of infectious complications in kidney and heart/lung transplant patients remains significant challenge. Although prophylactic/pre-emptive treatment with antiviral drugs have shown dramatic improvements in the control of these infections, long-term treatment with these drugs is associated with significant toxicity, the appearance of drug-resistant virus isolates and significant health cost. In this proposal we will develop novel strategies to identify high risk patients and tr ....Clinical management of infectious complications in kidney and heart/lung transplant patients remains significant challenge. Although prophylactic/pre-emptive treatment with antiviral drugs have shown dramatic improvements in the control of these infections, long-term treatment with these drugs is associated with significant toxicity, the appearance of drug-resistant virus isolates and significant health cost. In this proposal we will develop novel strategies to identify high risk patients and treat these patients with killer T cells.Read moreRead less
Immunological Therapies For Cancer And Autoimmunity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,928,323.00
Summary
The programme team comprises a group of leading scientists with a history of successful investigation into the mechanisms and treatment of diseases in which the immune system plays a role in their development. These include cancers of the cervix and blood system, and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes. Working together, the team have made discoveries that have led to testing and clinical development of new treatments for these diseases. In this programme, the te ....The programme team comprises a group of leading scientists with a history of successful investigation into the mechanisms and treatment of diseases in which the immune system plays a role in their development. These include cancers of the cervix and blood system, and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes. Working together, the team have made discoveries that have led to testing and clinical development of new treatments for these diseases. In this programme, the team aims to discover mechanisms regulating the immune response, and to exploit this knowledge to define new ways of switching on or off, specific immune responses. We will particularly seek to develop novel vaccines for chronic infections and autoimmune diseases, and to improve the safety of bone marrow transplantation.Read moreRead less
Multipathogen Adoptive Immunotherapy For Post-transplant Virus-associated Diseases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,074,188.00
Summary
This project is aiming to develop an “off-the-shelf” killer T cell therapy for transplant patients and patients with virus-associated malignancies. This therapy is based on a novel technology developed by our group which allows rapid expansion of killer T cells directed against multiple viruses.
Elucidating The Mechanism Of IL-2 Cytokine/antibody Mediated Transplantation Tolerance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$624,429.00
Summary
Organ transplantation is a life-saving treatment for end-stage organ failure. However, patients must take immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection, a lifetime of which increases the risk of infection and cancer. An alternative to drugs is to manipulate the immune system from within. We discovered a way to boost the immune ‘regulators’ so that they stifle the graft-destroying response. We are optimising this approach with the aim of transplanting organs without long-term immunosuppression.