Probing Anaesthetic Effects with New Functional Imaging Paradigms. This project seeks new insights into the effects of anaesthetics on brain function and repair. Anaesthesia is used in small-animal imaging to immobilise the animal, but in many cases the anaesthesia itself affects the neurophysiological parameters under study. It has also been shown that many anaesthetics enhance recovery after brain injury in small animals. This project plans to exploit a novel functional brain-imaging technique ....Probing Anaesthetic Effects with New Functional Imaging Paradigms. This project seeks new insights into the effects of anaesthetics on brain function and repair. Anaesthesia is used in small-animal imaging to immobilise the animal, but in many cases the anaesthesia itself affects the neurophysiological parameters under study. It has also been shown that many anaesthetics enhance recovery after brain injury in small animals. This project plans to exploit a novel functional brain-imaging technique for conscious animals to gain new insights into the effects of anaesthetics on brain function and recovery from injury. The knowledge gained is expected to improve knowledge of anaesthetic action, guide future anaesthetic use in small animal imaging to improve the accuracy of image-derived research data, and help to clarify how anaesthetics confer neuroprotective effects in brain injury.Read moreRead less
Pharmacological modification of retinal and visual function and relation to control of refractive error. Myopia (short-sightedness) affects many hundreds of millions of people worldwide and can lead to blindness. Drug treatments that prevent myopia are being developed, however there is no efficient way of determining who is at risk of myopia or who will benefit from these treatments. This fundamental research project will determine the retinal and visual effects of pharmacologic agents that inhi ....Pharmacological modification of retinal and visual function and relation to control of refractive error. Myopia (short-sightedness) affects many hundreds of millions of people worldwide and can lead to blindness. Drug treatments that prevent myopia are being developed, however there is no efficient way of determining who is at risk of myopia or who will benefit from these treatments. This fundamental research project will determine the retinal and visual effects of pharmacologic agents that inhibit myopia, with the aim of determining an ocular measure that is related to myopia, which is altered by drugs that are known to slow myopia progression, and that could be used as an indication of an agent's likely effectiveness.Read moreRead less
Cellular Response To Modulation Of Iron Levels: Studies Examining ASK1, Thioredoxin And Ribonucleotide Reductase
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$33,055.00
Summary
Iron is crucial for many essential biological processes. Recently, I demonstrated that iron-depletion can affects signalling pathways that play important roles in cellular growth and death. This study is designed to investigate the cellular and molecular effects of iron depletion which currently remains unclear. My proposed research is crucial for understanding: (1) the effects of iron-deficiency and (2) for understanding the effects of iron chelators that are used for treating various diseases.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100055
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,000.00
Summary
State-of-the-art upgrade to multi-transmit multi-receive technology for research dedicated 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Projects requiring the proposed infrastructure are aligned with two National Research Priorities. The research will lead to new methods for imaging and detecting soft tissue changes, identifying developmental, cognitive and degenerative disorders, and pharmacological research. The understanding of the basis of physiological, cognitive and biochemical proces ....State-of-the-art upgrade to multi-transmit multi-receive technology for research dedicated 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Projects requiring the proposed infrastructure are aligned with two National Research Priorities. The research will lead to new methods for imaging and detecting soft tissue changes, identifying developmental, cognitive and degenerative disorders, and pharmacological research. The understanding of the basis of physiological, cognitive and biochemical processes which will be facilitated by the new equipment will contribute to the priority area Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and will underpin an array of subsequent medical research. The new equipment will extend capabilities and training in signal analysis, biomedical engineering and biomedicine, contributing to the priority area Frontier technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries.Read moreRead less
Exploring metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 bias, allostery and heteromers. This project aims to provide novel mechanistic and structural insights into metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) function. The mGlu5 is an essential regulator of neurotransmission and higher order brain functions including learning and memory. This project expects to expand knowledge of the fundamental biological processes engaged by mGlu5 through exploration of three novel paradigms of receptor activity: allostery, ....Exploring metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 bias, allostery and heteromers. This project aims to provide novel mechanistic and structural insights into metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) function. The mGlu5 is an essential regulator of neurotransmission and higher order brain functions including learning and memory. This project expects to expand knowledge of the fundamental biological processes engaged by mGlu5 through exploration of three novel paradigms of receptor activity: allostery, bias and heteromerisation. Expected outcomes also include generation of new pharmacological tools through interdisciplinary collaborative research between multiple institutions. There is significant expected economic benefit through commercialisation of new tools and facilitation of novel drug discovery.Read moreRead less
Molecular Pharmacology Of Chemokine Receptor Signalling In Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$371,770.00
Summary
Molecular pharmacology is the study of how hormones, neurotransmitters and pharmaceuticals interact with our cells through receptors, which transfer a signal across the cell membrane to change the function of that cell. Chemokine receptors are recognised to play a role in the development of many cancers. Understanding how these receptors work has enormous implications for improving our ability to develop better anti-cancer treatments with fewer side effects.
Cellular and Neurochemical Basis of Drug Addiction. Addiction to the major drugs of abuse, including heroin, amphetamines, cocaine, nicotine and alcohol damage the lives and cause premature death of more than 20% of Australians. Addiction produces long-term disruption of brain processes that lead to loss of control over urges to consume drugs and persistent cycles of relapse to drug taking. This research will apply new neurochemical approaches to discover mechanisms of disrupted brain function t ....Cellular and Neurochemical Basis of Drug Addiction. Addiction to the major drugs of abuse, including heroin, amphetamines, cocaine, nicotine and alcohol damage the lives and cause premature death of more than 20% of Australians. Addiction produces long-term disruption of brain processes that lead to loss of control over urges to consume drugs and persistent cycles of relapse to drug taking. This research will apply new neurochemical approaches to discover mechanisms of disrupted brain function that occur during development of addiction and relapse that are critical for development of better strategies to treat the disorder. Read moreRead less
Investigating the actions of anti-inflammatory pathways in chronic lung disease. There is an urgent need to develop better drugs for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) as patients become resistant to currently used anti-inflammatory drugs with disease progression. This research will uncover fundamental biology into an important class of anti-inflammatory receptor termed ALX/FPR2. This receptor normally coordinates the clearance of infection and injured tissue and subsequently switches ....Investigating the actions of anti-inflammatory pathways in chronic lung disease. There is an urgent need to develop better drugs for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) as patients become resistant to currently used anti-inflammatory drugs with disease progression. This research will uncover fundamental biology into an important class of anti-inflammatory receptor termed ALX/FPR2. This receptor normally coordinates the clearance of infection and injured tissue and subsequently switches off inflammation. Essential knowledge into why this receptor pathway fails to switch off inflammation will be determined. Furthermore, the development of targeting strategies to this receptor represents an innovative approach to blocking damaging and chronic airway inflammation.Read moreRead less
Targeting Small Airways To Overcome Resistance To Therapy In Asthma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$531,045.00
Summary
There is a pressing need to overcome resistance to current therapies for severe asthma. Targetting inflammation-induced changes in small airway contraction offers an alternative strategy. We have identified a novel bronchodilator that relaxes maximally contracted mouse small airways when current treatment is ineffective. We will demonstrate its efficacy in animal models mimicking key features of human asthma, and define new ways to improve outcomes in poorly-controlled asthma.
Unravelling The Binding And Activation Mechanism Of A Complex G Protein-coupled Receptor
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,041,638.00
Summary
The peptide hormone relaxin is currently in a Phase III trial for the treatment of heart failure. However the peptide is not a good drug as it can't be taken orally and is very expensive to produce. We will study the interaction of relaxin with its cell surface receptor and the mechanisms by which the receptor functions. The knowledge gained will aid in the design of smaller, more potent and orally active forms of relaxin for the treatment of heart failure