Calling The Tune? Investigating Corporate Influences On Media Reporting Of Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$462,016.00
Summary
This project will examine and evaluate the relationships between Australian journalists and health-related industries (pharmaceutical, medical devices-diagnostics, complementary medicines, food and alcohol) in order to determine the extent to which, and ways in which, these relationships influence the health-related information received by health professionals and the Australian public. The project aims to inform strategies to improve industry and journalistic policy and practices.
Distribution Kinetics Of Opioids Used In Substitution Programs
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$196,527.00
Summary
Heroin addiction is a major national and international problem costing hundreds of millons of dollars to Australia alone. The major form of treatment is methadone taken as maintenance treatment once a day. While methadone is effective in most addicts, about one third of them complain that it does not last long enough and they either tolerate this inadequate form of treatment or are prescribed a newer drug as part of a clinical trial or drop out and revert to heroin. We have previously shown that ....Heroin addiction is a major national and international problem costing hundreds of millons of dollars to Australia alone. The major form of treatment is methadone taken as maintenance treatment once a day. While methadone is effective in most addicts, about one third of them complain that it does not last long enough and they either tolerate this inadequate form of treatment or are prescribed a newer drug as part of a clinical trial or drop out and revert to heroin. We have previously shown that the blood levels of methadone are important in determining its best use and specifically, that those addicts for whom methadone does not hold have a greater drop in their blood levels after methadone has been absorbed into the body. This drop in blood levels is mainly due to methadone's redistribution throughout the body. Very little is known about how methadone distributes and redistributes throughout the body but it appears that the lung is the most important organ. A number of questions need to be answered to improve methadone's use: 1. How quickly is methadone taken up into the lung compared to the brain; 2. Why is the lung able to take up and release a large amount of methadone; 3. How does decreased respiration influence the lung and brain uptake of methadone; 4. What happens when another drug is prescribed (such as an antidepressant) which reduces the lung uptake of methadone; 5. Do some of the newer drugs for heroin addiction have better lung distribution and binding properties. We will perform studies of the concentrations of methadone and newer drugs in sheep that will provide the scientific basis for answering these questions and permit better use of drug treatment for heroin addiction.Read moreRead less
Cancer arises through a combination of common DNA mutations which are associated with very poor survival in certain cancers. However, the cause of these mutations was always believed to be external factors (eg. UV light, toxins), Our exciting preliminary results show internal molecules, called circular RNAs, can drive these mutations and this project will investigate how this occurs and study whether targeting these molecules can reduce the incidence of cancers.
Circular RNAs As Genome Destabilisers In Human Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,163,220.00
Summary
Mutation of genes are hallmarks of both cancer and neurological disorders. My research group has identified roles for circular RNAs in both these processes. Now, we must close the loop by investigating the mechanism of these processes. This will inform not only why these genes are commonly mutated, but by exploiting the highly stable circular RNAs they may provide early prognostic/diagnostic biomarkers and even represent novel therapeutic targets for cancer and Huntington’s disease.
Targeting The Oncoprotein MDMX As A Novel Treatment For Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$561,672.00
Summary
Breast cancer (BrCa) is a leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. BrCas unable to respond to current therapies have the worst outcomes. We propose a novel strategy to treat these cancers, based on our new findings. Our two protein targets are: (1) MDMX, that we found drives BrCa with its partner, (2) mutant p53, which causes cancer spread. We plan to directly target these drivers of aggressive BrCas, using new drugs that individually show great promise in trials in a number of cance
Deciphering The Role Of DNA Methylation In The Regulation Of Alternative Splicing
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$865,494.00
Summary
When a gene is turned on, the messenger RNA must be correctly processed to generate functional proteins. This ‘splicing’ process is essential for normal cellular activity, and is disrupted in many human diseases. We have discovered that an epigenetic modification, DNA methylation (mC), may control splicing. This project will investigate how mC influences splicing and use new epigenome-editing tools to control it, in order to ultimately understand and treat diseases involving aberrant splicing.
Investigating The Role Of Aberrant Splicing (intron Retention) In Acute Myeloid Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,135,745.00
Summary
In 2013, we made a breakthrough discovery that certain parts of genes, previously considered “Junk DNA”, are actually carrying signals to control the amount of proteins produced in cells. Our preliminary work now suggests these signals controlling protein levels can be faulty in cancers. Here, we wish to determine whether these faulty signals could cause a deadly blood cancer called acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). We aim to decipher previously unknown causes of AML that will spur novel therapies.