Uncovering The Neural Mechanisms Of Obsessive-compulsive Disorder Using Brain Modelling
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$581,628.00
Summary
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an incurable mental illness and current therapies only mitigate its symptoms for a portion of individuals. Thus, there is a need to identify the neural causes of OCD to develop personalised therapies. We will combine mathematical modelling, computer simulations, and clinical and neuroimaging data to develop the first model of OCD. Outcomes from this study will enable targeted OCD research and the discovery of brain mechanisms supporting treatment response.
Tolerising Antigen-specific Immunotherapy For Type 1 Diabetes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,395,549.00
Summary
We have developed a new immunotherapy to treat the underlying causes of type 1 diabetes (T1D) while leaving the rest of the immune system intact. To use this in patients, we need better tests to know when immune therapy is working. We will develop new methods to design the therapy and tools to track the relevant immune cells in T1D that work in variable patient groups. The knowledge gained will speed the pace of development and increase the chance of success of immunotherapy in T1D.
Strain-level Characterisation And Visualisation Of The Mucosal Microbial Communities Associated With Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) For The Development Of Novel Biotherapeutics
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,181,878.00
Summary
Australia has one of the highest incidence rates in the world of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), a debilitating inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract. Cutting-edge molecular and visualisation technologies will be used to examine the role of the gut microbiome in IBD, and identify specific members of this community to be used as new therapies to suppress inflammation and improve outcomes for patients with IBD.
Biosensor Based Clinical-decision Support For Patients With Heart Failure
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$691,933.00
Summary
Heart Failure (HF) is a progressive disease and a major global public health concern. HF accounts for a substantial number of hospitalisations, major healthcare resource utilisation and costs. We aim to engineer biosensor platform to stratify the risk in HF patients will revolutionise current management of HF by providing the cardiologist information to risk stratify patients based on protein signature. This will lead to a substantial paradigm shift in clinical practice.
Harnessing Information Technology To Improve Self-management Behaviours And Health Outcome In People With Heart Failure: A Smarthome Ecosystem Living Lab Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,120,226.00
Summary
The burden of heart failure in Australia is substantial. Management of heart failure is complex and requires self-management of symptoms and behaviour change, which requires ongoing education and support to achieve. Current approaches for supporting self-management do not meet the needs of people with heart failure or the healthcare system. This Australian first project aims to co-design an intelligent smart home ecosystem (Smart Heart) to support the management for people with heart failure.
A Practice Change For Patients With Severe Chronic, Clinically Unexplained Gastrointestinal Symptoms: A Randomised, Controlled Intervention To Assess Efficacy And Cost-effectiveness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,276,080.00
Summary
Unexplained chronic gastrointestinal symptoms are extremely common and costly to the health system. Currently patients are managed in the hospital setting with the 'typical' face-to-face office-based model which sees the clinician spending valuable time gathering information and often treatments (e.g. allied health) delivered in a non-standard way. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of a new standard best-practice clinical model with a structured technology enabled management approach.
DEEP LEARNING AND PHYSIOLOGY BASED APPROACH TO DERIVE AND LINK OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNOEA PHENOTYPES AND SYMPTOMATOLOGY
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$402,978.00
Summary
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a highly prevalent nocturnal breathing disorder strongly related to daytime sleepiness, accident risk and reduced quality of life. However, the current severity index, the apnoea-hypopnoea index, poorly predicts daytime sleepiness and vigilance. In this project we elegantly combine physiological insight and artificial intelligence to develop and evaluate novel clinically applicable computational tools for detailed quantification of OSA severity and its symptoms.
Immunomodulatory Vaccines In The Treatment Of Peanut Allergy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$678,899.00
Summary
Peanut allergy is the most common cause of food-induced anaphylactic reactions in Australia and is a major burden to our healthcare system. Current clinical practice advice dietary avoidance to prevent fatal anaphylactic responses. We propose the use of an immunomodulatory vaccine to re-write the immune response to peanut antigens, from an allergic to a tolerant phenotype. This study will provide novel insights into rational approaches for manipulating immune memory to food allergens.