The Role Of Estrogen Signalling In The Development And Progress Of Neovascularisation In Macular Degeneration
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Age-related macular degeneration is a common eye disease. In the advanced stages of the disease, abnormal and leaky blood vessels form, causing permanent and severe vision loss. A novel treatment is the application of the sex hormone, estrogen, which could halt abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye. This project aims to confirm the protective effects of estrogen on eye health and whether mutations in estrogen-related genes alter the risk of vision loss due to abnormal blood vessel growth.
Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness, and its management is hindered by the lack of effective clinical measures of the disease. This project seeks to develop new clinical tests to take the “guesswork” out of its management – measures that can correctly identify those at high-risk of progression, accurately determine treatment efficacy and sensitively detect disease progression, thus preventing the irreversible loss of vision from this disease.
Assessing The Efficacy Of Safe And Simple Neuroprotective Treatments For Chronic Degenerative Conditions Of The Central Nervous System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$311,860.00
Summary
Current treatments for age-related diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) are limited. We have shown in animal models of acute CNS degenerations that treatment with saffron or low energy infrared light is strongly protective. This project will determine if these treatments prevent CNS damage and dysfunction in animal models of chronic degenerations and add to knowledge of how these treatments work. This research should lay the foundation for testing these novel treatments in humans.
Reverse Engineering The Mammalian Retinal Microcircuits Using Biological And Computational Approaches
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$385,814.00
Summary
This research aims to understand how the mammalian retina achieves its sophisticated sensory processing capabilities, using a collection of cutting-edge techniques. The research will: (1) improve our understanding of the operational principles of the brain; (2) link functional properties of retinal neurons to genetic expressions associated with diseases; and (3) refine bioelectronics that could be translated to clinical applications.
Stem Cell Bioinformatics For Eye Research: Mapping An Integrative Network Model Of Glaucoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$335,292.00
Summary
Biology has become data-driven, with a huge amount of data available but not enough researchers with bioinformatics skills to analyse it. By studying genetic architecture of eye cells generated from induced pluripotent stem cells of individuals with and without glaucoma, I aim to contribute to a better understanding of the underlying causes of glaucoma and equip myself with new bioinformatics skills to utilise in future eye research in Australia.
Localising Epileptic Discharges In The Brain Using Non-invasive Electro-magnetic Signal Analysis In Patients With Difficult-to-control Epilepsy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$179,782.00
Summary
Epilepsy is a leading cause of chronic morbidity in Australia. A fundamental problem in clinical practice is the accurate identification of the 'hotspot' zone in the brain that is generating epileptic discharges. These discharges can be detected non-invasively (over the scalp) and analysed with electro-encephalographic and magneto-encephalographic source localisation (EMSL) techniques. EMSL is not used in routine clinical practice because we await a large scale prospective study (the aim of this ....Epilepsy is a leading cause of chronic morbidity in Australia. A fundamental problem in clinical practice is the accurate identification of the 'hotspot' zone in the brain that is generating epileptic discharges. These discharges can be detected non-invasively (over the scalp) and analysed with electro-encephalographic and magneto-encephalographic source localisation (EMSL) techniques. EMSL is not used in routine clinical practice because we await a large scale prospective study (the aim of this proposal).Read moreRead less