Presentation Of Metabolite Antigens By MR1 Molecules: A Fundamental System Of Immune Priming
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$883,832.00
Summary
Our immune system constantly monitors our body for disease-causing microbes, such as bacteria that cause illnesses like pneumonia or tuberculosis. Our cells have a molecular alarm-system called 'MR1' which alerts white blood cells that an infection by microbes is occurring, however this process is not well understood. This grant will allow me to discover the cells and molecular pathways that govern the MR1 alarm system, which may lead to new treatments against common diseases in our community.
Dendritic cells are essential components of our immune systems. They are located throughout our body and provide the first line of defence against invading microbes. Dendritic cells sense the invader and send out signals to recruit our immune cells to the site of infection. Our research aims to understand how our dendritic cell network is set up and how it functions to promote our immune health.
Identifying Molecular Machinery In Dendritic Cells.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$687,500.00
Summary
Vaccines invoke immune responses that will protect a vaccinated host if they encounter infection. Vaccines can also be deployed to fight cancer. 'Dendritic cells' are the key immune cell responsible for vaccine immunity. While dendritic cells are pivotal to initiating vaccination, little is known about their internal machinery. This research proposal will identify new machinery for dendritic cell vaccine immunity that will serve as therapeutic targets to boost vaccination.
Exploiting Messenger RNA Export As A Novel Therapeutic Strategy To Treat Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$948,098.00
Summary
Novel therapies for cancers represent an area of unmet clinical need. We have identified a new biological pathway implicated in cancer, namely selective mRNA export. Compounds inhibiting other steps of the gene expression pathway are promising therapeutic candidates for cancer, yet mRNA export inhibitors do not exist. We propose to develop first-in-class inhibitors of mRNA export that selectively target transcriptionally addicted cancers with dysregulated RNA processing.
Pathways That Regulate Nuclear Export Of Circular RNA
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$933,327.00
Summary
An emerging and unusual class of RNA molecules, circular RNAs (circRNAs), is widespread and plays important roles in cancer initiation and progression. However, the pathways responsible for nuclear export of circRNAs are unknown. We propose here to systematically determine how circRNAs are exported from the nucleus and characterise the effect of modulating circRNA export pathways in cancer. This will enable us to determine whether circRNAs can function as a biomarker of patient response.