Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a condition which causes inflammation in many different organs and can lead to significant suffering and death. Glucocorticoids (GC) are very good at controlling inflammation, however they have severe side effects such as diabetes and bone thinning, and cannot be used long term. This project aims to investigate a protein “GILZ” in patients with SLE. GILZ may have similar anti-inflammatory effects to GC but may not be associated with the same side effects.
HtrA4-induced Endothelial Dysfunction In Early-onset Preeclampsia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$86,073.00
Summary
Preeclampsia (PE), a life-threatening disorder of pregnancy, is characterized by a sudden increase in blood pressure in association with wide-spread endothelial dysfunction. Placenta-derived factors are believed to cause PE development. Our recent studies have identified that HtrA4, a placenta-specific serine protease may contribute to endothelial dysfunction. This study will investigate the mechanisms of HtrA4-induced endothelial dysfunction.
Blood Pressure Effects On Placental Growth And Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$133,357.00
Summary
Diseases causing high blood pressure in pregnancy or preeclampsia are a major cause of complications in mother and infant. At present, the only treatment is delivery of the baby who may be premature or too small. Why preeclampsia develops is incompletely understood and the long term consequences of this disease for the mother includes doubling of the future risk of heart and kidney disease. This research will look at the placenta or afterbirth at a molecular level to better understand why this d ....Diseases causing high blood pressure in pregnancy or preeclampsia are a major cause of complications in mother and infant. At present, the only treatment is delivery of the baby who may be premature or too small. Why preeclampsia develops is incompletely understood and the long term consequences of this disease for the mother includes doubling of the future risk of heart and kidney disease. This research will look at the placenta or afterbirth at a molecular level to better understand why this disease occurs.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms Of Retinal Functional Hyperaemia In Humans With And Without Type 1 Diabetes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$117,526.00
Summary
Fenofibrate has been shown to reduce the progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with type 2 diabetes by up to 40%, however the mechanisms behind this result are poorly understood. This research will investigate measures of local and systemic endothelial dysfunction and levels of lipids and lipoproteins to determine how fenofibrate affects the progression of DR in patients with type 2 diabetes and in doing so form the basis of further basic and clinical research.
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are disorders of blood-forming stem cells characterised by low blood counts and progression to acute leukaemia. Epigenetics refers to changes in gene expression without changing the underlying DNA sequence. More than half of MDS have mutation/s in epigenetic regulators, providing evidence that epigenetics is an important contributor to the disease. The goal of this project is to better understand how epigenetics contribute to MDS and discovery of new therapies.
Facial palsy is a devastating condition which has a very significant psychological and cosmetic impact. A simple and effective treatment does not exist for facial palsy. Our research goal is use state-of-the-art technology to define the types and the severity of the underlying nerve injury so that effective treatments can be developed to treat this terrible disorder.
Application Of New Chemistry Approaches For Antimalarial Drug Discovery
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$74,263.00
Summary
Malaria kills approximately one million people annually. Currently there no vaccine and many of the available drugs are becoming less effective due the resistance of this highly adaptable parasite. My aim is to develop new chemical classes of drugs that inhibit different targets in the malaria parasite to the currently available drugs. In addition to this I aim to improve the present systems for assessing antimalarial drug effects using new chemical approaches and live parasite assays.
Mechanisms Of Gender Differences In Genetic Aortopathy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$122,686.00
Summary
This project will investigate the molecular mechanisms that underly the gender differences in phenotypic expression in young adults with genetic aortopathy.