Through this Australia Fellowship, Prof Keall and his tream will substantially improve the accuracy and effectiveness of radiation therapy for cancer by developing new techniques that will be able to ‘target’ a tumour in real-time and ‘concentrate fire’ on the most resistant and aggressive parts of it. Success in physiological targeting will create a paradigm shift in radiation therapy and could literally be a lifesaver. It’s a big challenge, but if this five-year research program succeeds, it w ....Through this Australia Fellowship, Prof Keall and his tream will substantially improve the accuracy and effectiveness of radiation therapy for cancer by developing new techniques that will be able to ‘target’ a tumour in real-time and ‘concentrate fire’ on the most resistant and aggressive parts of it. Success in physiological targeting will create a paradigm shift in radiation therapy and could literally be a lifesaver. It’s a big challenge, but if this five-year research program succeeds, it will pay big dividendsRead moreRead less
Mental illness is the largest single cause of disability in Australia. While mental illness is increasingly recognised as a disorder of the brain, a patient’s diagnosis, treatment and prediction of course of outcome is seldom guided by the results of a biological test. My research aims to combine the power of modern brain imaging and cutting-edge bioinformatics to enable a biological approach to the problem of mental illness.
Lipid Biology For Prediction And Prevention Of Psychotic Disorders And Persistent Depression In Young People
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$638,517.00
Summary
My vision for the next 5 years is to establish ?-3PUFAs as a first-line treatment for indicated prevention of psychosis and persistent depression, as an alternative to conventional antidepressants for the treatment of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms in adolescents and to build capacity in this area by training the next generation of researchers.
Age-related Macular Degeneration: A Cause And A Cure
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$828,300.00
Summary
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of vision loss and there is urgent need for an intervention to slow disease progression. AMD is characterised by debris accumulation in the retina and I will investigate if loss of function in cells that should clear this debris is a critical step in the development of AMD. I will trial a novel laser intervention to slow progression of disease and use basic science techniques to investigate the mechanisms of action of the laser.
Neurobiological ‘risk’ And ‘resilience’ Biomarkers Of Severe Mental Illness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$926,980.00
Summary
Mental disorders of childhood (schizotypal disorder, autism spectrum disorders) and adolescence (psychoses, schizophrenia) represent a major burden of disease. We will use sophisticated neuroimaging to examine trajectories of brain growth from childhood to adulthood and identify factors (stress, drugs, inflammation, genes) relevant to risk and resilience to developing these disorders. This will lead to novel early interventions to reduce or ameliorate these conditions.
Professor Paul Baird specialises in identifying and understanding how genetic changes associated with common eye diseases including age-related macular degeneration and keratoconus lead to vision loss and blindness. This fellowship will allow him to uncover novel genetic contributors in these diseases using next-generation molecular techniques. He will assess functionality of these variants, allowing him to translate these findings back to the clinic allowing personalised treatment options.
Outcome Prediction, Stratification And Novel Treatments In Individuals At Ultra High Risk Of Psychosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$774,540.00
Summary
The Ultra High Risk (UHR) criteria have been developed to identify people at high risk of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia so that treatments can be provided early to reduce risk and disability. However the some UHR people are at risk of other difficulties and disorders and others are not at risk of all. We need to improve our ability to distinguish between these groups so that treatment can be tailored according to risk, and develop new treatments that target underlying problems.
Understanding Illness Trajectories And Developing Novel Therapies For Individuals With Psychosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$640,210.00
Summary
Understanding how the psychosis impacts on the patient and family will enable better planning of services and treatment, and facilitate the introduction of new rehabilitation/therapy options for patients at first episode of psychosis and beyond.
Personalised Genomics In Precision Medicine Of Psychotic Illness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$631,370.00
Summary
This research program will utilise recent developments in genomic technology to make detailed high-resolution genetic maps of individuals with psychotic illness. Where conventional gene discovery approaches focus on differences at the population level this program will integrate the variation within individuals to determine the network architecture. This will be used to generate genetic profiles for personalised medicine and provide the basis for treatments that are tailored to individuals.
Maps, Models And Modifiers Of Brain Changes In Psychosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$715,210.00
Summary
Psychosis fundamentally alters one’s relationship with reality. Brain scans can map which parts of the brain are affected by psychosis, but they cannot identify the cellular processes that cause these changes. My fellowship aims to address this gap by integrating brain imaging with genetics and mathematical modelling to identify the brain circuits and molecules that impact risk for psychosis, and to develop targeted therapies to modify these dysfunctional circuits.