Development Of Resonance Energy Transfer Technologies To Detect GPCR Heterodimer Complexes In Living Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$205,555.00
Summary
G-protein coupled receptors are proteins at the surface of most cells in the body. They bind to drugs, transmitting signals into cells that change what cells are doing. Recent research indicates that different types of these proteins can interact with each other and when one of these protein combinations binds a drug, it acts differently to when the proteins act separately. The aim of our project is to find out which protein combinations exist and to find drugs that bind to them specifically.
Antibiotic resistance increases mortality and costs in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), but the impact of antibiotic therapy has not been adequately studied. We propose to characterise the behaviour of key elements of the bacterial microflora (resistant bacteria and major resistance genes) in response to antibiotics. We have developed new rapid diagnostics to harness these data and this proposal has the potential to greatly improve diagnostic speed and accuracy and thus clinical outcomes.
Development Of A Sensitive Point Of Care Diagnostic Assay For Troponin I
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$137,650.00
Summary
This research aims to develop a diagnostic for immediate monitoring of patients presenting with chest pain, with the presumption of heart attack. The novel diagnostic platform will enable the estimation of a key indicator of heart muscle damage to be performed within a ten to fifteen minute window. This will aid speedier diagnosis and propoer triage of patients presenting with chest pain.
I am a virologist exploiting basic and applied research on hepatitis viruses to develop biotechnology innovations in diagnostics and vaccines for a broad range of infectious diseases
Culture-independent Microbiology: Reducing Delays In The Diagnosis Of Severe Infections And Detection Of Antimicrobial Resistance From Days To Hours.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$949,589.00
Summary
Serious infections require early effective antibiotic treatment. To provide evidence that an antibiotic will be effective, current tests take 2-5 days and this leads to a reliance on broad spectrum antibiotics, which can cause harm. Our new diagnostic methods, can produce results in 4-6 hours. We will demonstrate the real-world benefit of these methods by assessing samples taken from patients with three high risk infections and compare our test to currently available results.
Novel Genes And Protein In Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Potential Basis Of A Serum-based Assessment Of Disease Sta
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,000.00
Summary
The most common cause of elevated liver function tests is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NALFD is a spectrum of disease ranging from steatosis, to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a condition associated with the development of fibrosis in the majority of individuals. Approximately 20% and 3% of adults are affected with NAFLD and NASH, respectively, and NAFLD is expected to become the next major liver epidemic facing the western world, far exceeding the prevalence of chronic infe ....The most common cause of elevated liver function tests is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NALFD is a spectrum of disease ranging from steatosis, to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a condition associated with the development of fibrosis in the majority of individuals. Approximately 20% and 3% of adults are affected with NAFLD and NASH, respectively, and NAFLD is expected to become the next major liver epidemic facing the western world, far exceeding the prevalence of chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus. We obtained liver biopsies from patients with NAFLD, 80% of whom had NASH, and determined the expression profile analysis of each subject using 19,200 element microarrays. Our data demonstrates the concordant differential expression of 130 genes, in subjects with NAFLD that were categorizes into 6 major metabolic and regulatory pathways. Many of these genes represented uncharacterised genes. Utilising an extensive bioinformatics approach we have been able to define the genes and their protein product. The use of these proteins as a diagnostic tool for the detection of NAFLD forms the basis of a provisional patent application. However, measurements of protein levels in tissue and sera from patients with NAFLD are needed for the development of a diagnostic method. Such information would also provide significant insight into the pathogenesis of NAFLD. The AIMS are: 1) Production of antibodies against proteins encoded by candidate genes Expression profile of candidate genes 3) Expression of proteins encoded by candidate genes in patients with NAFLDRead moreRead less
Improving Immunoassays For The Diagnosis Of Latent Tuberculosis Infection In Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$489,006.00
Summary
WHO highlights the urgent need for new tests for tuberculosis (TB). Diagnosis of latent TB infection (LTBI) is vital in children to prevent them developing active TB. A tuberculin skin test has long been used but is not always accurate. More accurate blood tests (immunoassays) have recently been developed which improve the diagnosis of LTBI in adults. However, we have shown that these assays do not work well in children. We aim to improve the performance of immunoassays for diagnosing LTBI in ch ....WHO highlights the urgent need for new tests for tuberculosis (TB). Diagnosis of latent TB infection (LTBI) is vital in children to prevent them developing active TB. A tuberculin skin test has long been used but is not always accurate. More accurate blood tests (immunoassays) have recently been developed which improve the diagnosis of LTBI in adults. However, we have shown that these assays do not work well in children. We aim to improve the performance of immunoassays for diagnosing LTBI in children.Read moreRead less