I am an orthopaedic surgeon and clinician-scientist based at Sydney’s largest children’s hospital. My goal is to improve treatments for children with traumatic injuries and bone deformity. I have worked in bone research for over 20 years. My current research interests are finding new treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections, treating genetic bone disease, and developing new medical devices to help children’s bones grow straight.
Delayed bone healing can be a considerable problem in both children and adults. Up to 10% of fractures fail to heal properly. An advanced understanding of the cellular responses in bone repair and their manipulation could improve the lives of many patients with orthopaedic problems. These studies will advance out knowledge of interventions to promote bone healing which could be translated rapidly into clinical care.
Using Mouse Models To Identify Better Therapies For Acute Leukemia And Myelodysplasia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Summary
Despite great advances in the understanding of the genes that cause cancers of the blood, cure rates for patients with acute leukemia, or a more indolent form called myelodyspslaia, has not improved significantly over the last 20 years, with the majority of patients dying from resistant or recurrent disease within 5 years. Our research will use mouse models of acute leukemia and myelodysplasia to identify the critical genetic pathways that drive these diseases and to design and test new therapie ....Despite great advances in the understanding of the genes that cause cancers of the blood, cure rates for patients with acute leukemia, or a more indolent form called myelodyspslaia, has not improved significantly over the last 20 years, with the majority of patients dying from resistant or recurrent disease within 5 years. Our research will use mouse models of acute leukemia and myelodysplasia to identify the critical genetic pathways that drive these diseases and to design and test new therapies that can be taken into clinical trials.Read moreRead less
Development Of Systemic Therapies To Improve Response And Prevent Resistance In The Treatment Of Melanoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$569,219.00
Summary
This program of research utilises the unique resources at Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA) to understand the biology of prolonged response and resistance to novel drug therapies used in metastatic melanoma, a cancer that now leads the field in the discovery of new targets for therapeutic manipulation. This program also aims to create new methods to efficiently test and develop drug therapy combinations in humans to improve patient outcomes further or prevent metastatic melanoma altogether.
Neurobiology Of Childhood Speech And Language Disorders: Advancing Diagnosis, Prognosis And Management
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$467,961.00
Summary
Half a million Australian children have a speech/language disorder, tripling their changes of poor academic outcomes, limited employment options and social isolation. Current speech therapy is outdated, focusing on symptoms and ignoring important evidence on underlying aetiologies. I will transform detection, diagnosis and treatment of speech/language disorders to optimise patient outcomes, by identifying and translating findings on genes and brain pathways leading to these conditions.
Major advances in cancer treatment has been made by identifying gene mutations in cancers to which the cancer is “addicted”, such that turning off the effects of the mutations leads to death of the cancer cells. Grant McArthur has been successful in applying this principle to rare types of sarcoma bringing his work to routine clinical practice globally. In this application he will investigate targeting the BRAF, KIT and MYC genes focusing on melanoma, a major cancer problem in Australia.
Immunopathogenesis And Manipulation Of The HIV Reservoir
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$494,732.00
Summary
Kelleher is a Clinical immunologist with a globally recognised, sustained track record of translational research which has impacted both on our understanding of HIV immunopathogenesis and on the way HIV infection is treated. He will conduct a series of studies that encompass basic scientific techniques through to pivotal pre-clinical and clinical studies that will provide a pathway towards control of HIV-infection without daily therapy.
Hepatitis C Vaccines: Preclinical To Clinical Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$474,244.00
Summary
Hepatitis C is one of the most common notifiable infectious diseases in Australia with 200,000 infected individuals and 10,000 new infections each year. Treatments currently available for hepatitis C are effective but also associated with significant side effects and expensive. The economic and health burden of hepatitis C infection and the high costs of emerging antiviral therapies makes the development of an effective vaccine for HCV imperative. This project aims to develop a vaccine for the p ....Hepatitis C is one of the most common notifiable infectious diseases in Australia with 200,000 infected individuals and 10,000 new infections each year. Treatments currently available for hepatitis C are effective but also associated with significant side effects and expensive. The economic and health burden of hepatitis C infection and the high costs of emerging antiviral therapies makes the development of an effective vaccine for HCV imperative. This project aims to develop a vaccine for the prevention of hepatitis C infection.Read moreRead less
Professor Elizabeth Elliott AM is an international leader in rare disease research, as Director of the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit and investigator on The Lililwan project in Fitzroy Valley's remote Aboriginal communities, WA. This will establish prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD); diagnose and manage affected children and support their carers; and provide data to inform service needs for FASD and prevention policy for alcohol use pregnancy.