Clinical And Public Health Interventions For Preventing Cardiovascular Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$137,595.00
Summary
Professor Neal’s research has two main components – the first will identify new drug therapies for the management of diabetes and the second will provide new evidence about ways to improve the healthiness of the food supply in Australia.
Transformed Drug Policies: Integrating Empirical Evidence With Participatory Democracy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$782,370.00
Summary
In my 5 year research fellowship I will lead internationally relevant research on better policy options for illegal drugs, such as methamphetamine, heroin and cannabis. Drug policy can be driven by politics and the media, rather than research evidence. I will generate a cutting edge and fresh perspective with an agile approach to new research that takes into account the rapidly changing field of drug policy. This will provide policy makers with a new framework for evidence-based policy reforms.
I lead an internationally recognised research program that examines how governments can best respond to alcohol and illegal drugs – a significant health and social problem in Australia. My research generates new evidence to inform drug policy and I study how to translate research into meaningful information that governments can use. My aim is to improve how Australia responds; reducing the community harms and improving the health of those affected by alcohol and drugs.
Understanding And Preventing Adverse Developmental Effects Of Perinatal Infection/inflammation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$621,458.00
Summary
Exposure of babies to infection or inflammation within the womb is common and is associated with preterm delivery and illness in newborns. The biggest problem for these babies is lung disease due to inflammation of the lungs before birth and/or in response to lung injury after birth. We are investigating how inflammation alters lung development, and working on developing a novel cell therapy to prevent life-threatening newborn lung disease.
We will apply genome-wide approaches to identify the gene networks that regulate the self-renewal and the differentiation of muscle stem cells and their fusion to muscle fibres. These studies will deliver the first characterisation of the molecules and pathways implicated in these processes, which are essential steps of muscle growth.
Disorders of sex development (DSDs) are surprisingly common, and often result in infertility, genital abnormalities, gender mis-assignment and long-term psychological trauma. This research combines expertise in human molecular genetics, mouse developmental biology and protein chemistry to identify genes important for sex determination and development of the gonads, and discover how they contribute to DSD, in order to improve clinical care to patients with DSD.
Developmental Programming: Mechanisms And Interventions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$705,501.00
Summary
Disturbances during pregnancy can impact on developmental processes and result in increased risk of disease in later life. This project will examine the impact of perturbations such as maternal stress or alcohol consumption on the development of the placenta and fetal kidney. By gaining an understanding of how these organs are affected by prenatal insults, we are likely to be able to develop more effective intervention strategies to ensure all babies receive a healthy start to life.
I am a developmental biologist studying how transcription factors regulate developmental processes. I have a particular interest in the MYST family of co-activators, their role in regulating self-renewal and lineage determination in stem cells, their role in oncogenesis and targeting these proteins to develop new cancer therapeutics.
Mass Media And Tobacco Policies To Reduce Smoking Prevalence
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$727,685.00
Summary
Professor Wakefield's research program will investigate the impact of mass media campaigns and tobacco control policies on reducing population smoking prevalence. Her research will assess the effects of mass media campaigns, especially in low socioeconomic groups, and in low to middle income countries; the effects of plain cigarette packaging on the sensory experience of smoking; and the impact of advanced policies on tobacco marketing and cigarette pack labelling on smoking attitudes and behavi ....Professor Wakefield's research program will investigate the impact of mass media campaigns and tobacco control policies on reducing population smoking prevalence. Her research will assess the effects of mass media campaigns, especially in low socioeconomic groups, and in low to middle income countries; the effects of plain cigarette packaging on the sensory experience of smoking; and the impact of advanced policies on tobacco marketing and cigarette pack labelling on smoking attitudes and behaviour.Read moreRead less
Delineating Immune Circuits For Innate And Adaptive Immune Protection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$876,005.00
Summary
The immune system provides the essential frame-work to protect us against infection, disease and to heal tissues after trauma. This is achieved by a complex but elegant network of different types of white blood cells. Understanding the molecular wiring of these cells will provides fundamental insights to how the body fights pathogen infections and cancer and lays the foundation to therapeutic approaches to vaccination and disease treatments.