Translation of evidence into pain management practices in acute care environments. This project addresses the urgent need to reduce the substantial pain experienced by patients following surgery by improving the clinical processes associated with the treatment of pain. Each year in Australia, six million people are admitted to hospital for surgery. A recent review of Australian research has shown that up to 40% of hospitalised surgical patients experience significant pain. Despite the availabili ....Translation of evidence into pain management practices in acute care environments. This project addresses the urgent need to reduce the substantial pain experienced by patients following surgery by improving the clinical processes associated with the treatment of pain. Each year in Australia, six million people are admitted to hospital for surgery. A recent review of Australian research has shown that up to 40% of hospitalised surgical patients experience significant pain. Despite the availability of effective treatment, pain after surgery is often under-treated and is one of the main postoperative adverse outcomes. A consequence of poor pain management is that patients experience unnecessary suffering, higher incidence of postoperative complications significant risk of developing chronic post-surgical pain.Read moreRead less
Impact of shear stress on vascular adaptations in humans. Large arteries are important for the delivery of blood and oxygen to organs such as the heart and brain. A primary physiological stimulus which controls the size and function of these crucial arteries is the magnitude of flow or, more accurately, shear force that the inner wall of the artery is exposed to. We have developed novel software which enables non-invasive assessment of arterial wall velocity, diameter and blood flow. We will ass ....Impact of shear stress on vascular adaptations in humans. Large arteries are important for the delivery of blood and oxygen to organs such as the heart and brain. A primary physiological stimulus which controls the size and function of these crucial arteries is the magnitude of flow or, more accurately, shear force that the inner wall of the artery is exposed to. We have developed novel software which enables non-invasive assessment of arterial wall velocity, diameter and blood flow. We will assess the impact of acute and chronic changes in wall flow and shear on arterial size and function. We will also develop new software which measures other aspects of artery wall behaviour. These basic human physiology studies have direct implications for assessment of artery health in humans.Read moreRead less
NOVEL THERAPEUTICS FOR AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE USING MOUSE SCREENING MODELS. The project aims to use experimental models of human autoimmune disease in the mouse for the testing of developmental isoflavonoid compounds produced by the Industry Partner, for protective effects against autoimmunity. The murine models proposed will duplicate human autoimmune cardiomyopathy, systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis, encompassing both organ-specific and systemic autoimmune diseases. Isoflavonoi ....NOVEL THERAPEUTICS FOR AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE USING MOUSE SCREENING MODELS. The project aims to use experimental models of human autoimmune disease in the mouse for the testing of developmental isoflavonoid compounds produced by the Industry Partner, for protective effects against autoimmunity. The murine models proposed will duplicate human autoimmune cardiomyopathy, systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis, encompassing both organ-specific and systemic autoimmune diseases. Isoflavonoid protection is anticipated from the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and oestrogenic characteristics of these compounds/Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0567658
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
A cross-disciplinary collaboration to develop a national system for real-time detection of Adverse Drug Reactions using linked Australian health data. Our aim is to use existing administrative health data in the evidence-based, cost-effective and privacy-respecting discovery of Adverse Drug Reactions. This research is of vital importance, since adverse reactions to medicines currently represent one of the leading causes of hospitalisation and death in Australia. In a groundbreaking collaboration ....A cross-disciplinary collaboration to develop a national system for real-time detection of Adverse Drug Reactions using linked Australian health data. Our aim is to use existing administrative health data in the evidence-based, cost-effective and privacy-respecting discovery of Adverse Drug Reactions. This research is of vital importance, since adverse reactions to medicines currently represent one of the leading causes of hospitalisation and death in Australia. In a groundbreaking collaboration, we have successfully shown that large linked, administrative data sets are sufficiently rich to enable discovery of adverse drug reactions, but our analytic tools are at an early developmental stage. The outcome of this project would be innovative, effective and sustainable analytic tools for the discovery of unexpected associations between drugs and medical events.Read moreRead less
Identification of Australian-bred apple and plum varieties with enhanced health attributes. Improved prevention could save Australia $4 billion annually in health care costs, mainly in the area of cardiovascular disease. A higher flavonoid intake has been estimated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by about 20%. Apples are important sources of flavonoids in the diet. The proposed project involves collaboration between the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia and the U ....Identification of Australian-bred apple and plum varieties with enhanced health attributes. Improved prevention could save Australia $4 billion annually in health care costs, mainly in the area of cardiovascular disease. A higher flavonoid intake has been estimated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by about 20%. Apples are important sources of flavonoids in the diet. The proposed project involves collaboration between the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia and the University of Western Australia. The aim is to identify progeny of both the apple and plum breeding programs that have elite levels of flavonoids and to demonstrate health benefits of a high-flavonoid apple. This could lead to significant benefits to Australian horticulture and to population health.Read moreRead less
Fluid mechanics and physiology of blockages in vascular systems. Vascular disease is a major health problem both in Australia and worldwide. In particular, cardiovascular disease is a major killer of adult Australians. Engineers and mathematicians working with biologists will gain a greater understanding of vascular diseases, a major health problem, including cardiovascular disease, which is one of the biggest killers worldwide, as well as tackling renal circulation problems, which are a signifi ....Fluid mechanics and physiology of blockages in vascular systems. Vascular disease is a major health problem both in Australia and worldwide. In particular, cardiovascular disease is a major killer of adult Australians. Engineers and mathematicians working with biologists will gain a greater understanding of vascular diseases, a major health problem, including cardiovascular disease, which is one of the biggest killers worldwide, as well as tackling renal circulation problems, which are a significant problem and may contribute to hypertension. Detailed measurement and prediction will be undertaken of the mechanical loading and response of cells to their microenvironment, an important first step to controlling pathological responses which lead to a variety of autoimmune problems.Read moreRead less
Engineering Imaging and Supercomputer Prediction of Biofluid Flows. The potential of the information gained from the lung imaging for improving the diagnosis and monitoring of adult respiratory diseases, such as emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis and asthma, is enormous. Abnormalities in the structure and function of the kidney circulation are likely key factors causing hypertension, so a detailed understanding of the kidney circulation is required before we can cure or prevent hypertension. The rese ....Engineering Imaging and Supercomputer Prediction of Biofluid Flows. The potential of the information gained from the lung imaging for improving the diagnosis and monitoring of adult respiratory diseases, such as emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis and asthma, is enormous. Abnormalities in the structure and function of the kidney circulation are likely key factors causing hypertension, so a detailed understanding of the kidney circulation is required before we can cure or prevent hypertension. The research underpinning cardiovascular and renal flows will assist in the understanding of hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which accounts for approximately 40% of all deaths in Australia and particularly high for dialysis patients. Read moreRead less
Advanced Bayesian Networks for Epidemiology. We will demonstrate the potential of advanced Artificial Intelligence for medical informatics by extending the capabilities of Bayesian Networks. Bayesian Networks excel when researchers need to combine causal and diagnostic reasoning in areas characterised by uncertainty. But they have one flaw which hinders their use: they do not yet easily mix continuous and discrete variables. We will extend them to handle such mixes, then demonstrate how much the ....Advanced Bayesian Networks for Epidemiology. We will demonstrate the potential of advanced Artificial Intelligence for medical informatics by extending the capabilities of Bayesian Networks. Bayesian Networks excel when researchers need to combine causal and diagnostic reasoning in areas characterised by uncertainty. But they have one flaw which hinders their use: they do not yet easily mix continuous and discrete variables. We will extend them to handle such mixes, then demonstrate how much they can improve on current methods for predicting, among other things, coronary heart disease (CHD).Read moreRead less