Measuring pain in livestock: mechanisms, objective biomarkers and treatments. This project aims to create an objective blood test to measure pain in livestock, and to create a new drug treatment for persistent pain by targeting the immunology of the brain and spinal cord. This project expects to generate new knowledge of the involvement of the neuro-immune system in the creation and maintenance of persistent pain and how this can be quantified through the innovative use of peripheral blood tests ....Measuring pain in livestock: mechanisms, objective biomarkers and treatments. This project aims to create an objective blood test to measure pain in livestock, and to create a new drug treatment for persistent pain by targeting the immunology of the brain and spinal cord. This project expects to generate new knowledge of the involvement of the neuro-immune system in the creation and maintenance of persistent pain and how this can be quantified through the innovative use of peripheral blood tests. Expected outcomes of this project include a blood test capable of quantifying the extent of current pain experience, and a cumulative life measure of pain an animal has experienced. This should provide significant benefits to the Australian livestock industry by improving best practice.Read moreRead less
Immunisation to protect against transmissible cancers in Tasmanian devils. This project aims to identify the immune escape mechanisms that the transmissible cancers, Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) use to avoid being killed by the immune system. Since the discovery of the second transmissible cancer (DFT2) mystery surrounds whether the devils immune system can respond to this cancer, hence this project will investigate the immune response to DFT2. The final aims are to develop a vaccine with ....Immunisation to protect against transmissible cancers in Tasmanian devils. This project aims to identify the immune escape mechanisms that the transmissible cancers, Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) use to avoid being killed by the immune system. Since the discovery of the second transmissible cancer (DFT2) mystery surrounds whether the devils immune system can respond to this cancer, hence this project will investigate the immune response to DFT2. The final aims are to develop a vaccine with the potential to protect healthy devils and cure devils with DFTD.Read moreRead less