Targeting TGF-beta proteins to control animal reproduction. This project aims to develop a suite of novel biologics to control fertility in female mammals. This project expects to demonstrate that targeting a single class of ovarian proteins will enhance or inhibit egg production. The expected outcomes of this project are to (1) transform the breeding of livestock animals, which should provide significant benefits to the agricultural industry, through increased herd/flock sizes, and (2) provide ....Targeting TGF-beta proteins to control animal reproduction. This project aims to develop a suite of novel biologics to control fertility in female mammals. This project expects to demonstrate that targeting a single class of ovarian proteins will enhance or inhibit egg production. The expected outcomes of this project are to (1) transform the breeding of livestock animals, which should provide significant benefits to the agricultural industry, through increased herd/flock sizes, and (2) provide a non-surgical method of contraception in companion/feral species, which should address the large unmet need for fertility control in these animals.
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Inflammation as an early form of maternal-fetal signalling in pregnancy. The project aims to understand the role of inflammatory signalling in marsupial pregnancy. This project is expected to explain why inflammation, a processes normally confined to injury and infection, is a part of reproduction in live-bearing mammals. Outcomes of this project include robust measures of the capacity for, impact of, and evolution of, inflammatory signalling in marsupial pregnancy. The project will provide new ....Inflammation as an early form of maternal-fetal signalling in pregnancy. The project aims to understand the role of inflammatory signalling in marsupial pregnancy. This project is expected to explain why inflammation, a processes normally confined to injury and infection, is a part of reproduction in live-bearing mammals. Outcomes of this project include robust measures of the capacity for, impact of, and evolution of, inflammatory signalling in marsupial pregnancy. The project will provide new knowledge about the unique biology of Australia's marsupial fauna.This project will provide significant benefits, including enhanced capacity for reproduction research in Australia, new international collaborations between Melbourne and Yale, and a new explanation for the puzzling role of inflammation in pregnancy.Read moreRead less
Use of quinone adducted peptides in the regulation of fertility. This project describes a novel strategy for the non-surgical induction of sterility in male and female mammals with applications in the fields of biotechnology, veterinary medicine and the humane control of pest animal species. The approach is dependent upon the known sensitivity of the germ line to oxidative stress. The strategy rests upon the demonstration that quinone-adducted peptides will selectively bind to non-renewable cel ....Use of quinone adducted peptides in the regulation of fertility. This project describes a novel strategy for the non-surgical induction of sterility in male and female mammals with applications in the fields of biotechnology, veterinary medicine and the humane control of pest animal species. The approach is dependent upon the known sensitivity of the germ line to oxidative stress. The strategy rests upon the demonstration that quinone-adducted peptides will selectively bind to non-renewable cell types in the ovary and testis and redox cycle at the cell surface generating a highly localised state of oxidative stress. This stress will then recapitulate the impact of radiation on reproductive tissues by selectively compromising the viability of the germ line, inducing a state of sterility.Read moreRead less