Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world affecting approximately 70 million people. Glaucoma can occur at any age but the commonest type occurs in middle to old age. The disease has a genetic basis and can be inherited. As a result we have been studying the genetics of the disease in two large families from Tasmania. We hope to identify the genes involved in disease causation using a number of genetic techniques. Once mutations in a disease gene have been identified from af ....Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world affecting approximately 70 million people. Glaucoma can occur at any age but the commonest type occurs in middle to old age. The disease has a genetic basis and can be inherited. As a result we have been studying the genetics of the disease in two large families from Tasmania. We hope to identify the genes involved in disease causation using a number of genetic techniques. Once mutations in a disease gene have been identified from affected individuals we will then be in a position to look for mutations in other family members and identify those individuals at risk of developing disease. Improvements in our understanding of how these genes are involved in disease causation will allow us to offer diagnostic testing to the wider community and develop better therapeutic interventions for treatment.Read moreRead less
Identifying Target Genes For Novel Anti-epileptic Therapies In The Mouse
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$469,802.00
Summary
Epilepsy is a disease which affects 2-4% of the population. There are a wide range of drugs available to treat the condition but there is consistently 30-40% of patients who do not respond well to any of these drugs and who continue to have seizures. The reason that there are no drugs available for these people is that most of the drugs available have been designed along the same principles. A new set of principles is needed to develop new drugs which will be able to treat those people not respo ....Epilepsy is a disease which affects 2-4% of the population. There are a wide range of drugs available to treat the condition but there is consistently 30-40% of patients who do not respond well to any of these drugs and who continue to have seizures. The reason that there are no drugs available for these people is that most of the drugs available have been designed along the same principles. A new set of principles is needed to develop new drugs which will be able to treat those people not responding to current therapy. This project is designed to identify new biologic pathways which may be interrupted with drugs to prevent seizures in people with epilepsy. This project uses a procedure to induce mutations into genes in mice and then screens for mice which do not seize when challenged with a drug which generates seizures in mice. Genetic studies will identify the mutated genes and these will be used as potential targets for new therapies or will identify new biological pathway which should expand the use of future anti-epileptic drugs.Read moreRead less
Estimation of non-additive genetic variance for complex traits using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphyisms and sequence data. Finding genes for traits of importance in agriculture, ecology and human health depends on understanding the genetic basis of these traits. This project will investigate whether variation in traits in humans, cattle and wild sheep are influenced by gene-gene interactions.
The genetic architecture and evolution of quantitative traits. Most important traits are controlled by many genes and by the environment, however there is little knowledge of how many genes are involved in these complex traits and what their effects are. This project will describe the number of genes and their effects for complex traits in humans and livestock and explain how these genes evolve.
Investigation and Prediction of the Novel Properties of Dendrimers. Dendrimers are a new class of highly branched polymers, which have, until now, been difficult to characterise by conventional means. This project will develop and apply molecular simulation techniques to reveal the chemical and physical properties of dendrimers and their interactions with other molecules. These novel molecules potentially have beneficial applications to areas such as drug delivery and electronic materials. Th ....Investigation and Prediction of the Novel Properties of Dendrimers. Dendrimers are a new class of highly branched polymers, which have, until now, been difficult to characterise by conventional means. This project will develop and apply molecular simulation techniques to reveal the chemical and physical properties of dendrimers and their interactions with other molecules. These novel molecules potentially have beneficial applications to areas such as drug delivery and electronic materials. The outcome of this work will assist in the exploitation of this beneficial application and will provide the basis for efficient processing.Read moreRead less
Genetic architecture and evolution of complex traits across populations. Most human traits have a genetic component and display substantial diversity within and among populations. How natural selection changes and maintains genetic variation in human traits is a long-standing question in evolution that the proposed project aims to answer. Using innovative statistical methods and largest genomic “big” datasets ever across populations of different ancestral backgrounds, this project expects to gen ....Genetic architecture and evolution of complex traits across populations. Most human traits have a genetic component and display substantial diversity within and among populations. How natural selection changes and maintains genetic variation in human traits is a long-standing question in evolution that the proposed project aims to answer. Using innovative statistical methods and largest genomic “big” datasets ever across populations of different ancestral backgrounds, this project expects to generate new knowledge on the roles of natural selection in shaping the genetic variation in traits and identify key factors that drive the differentiation of human populations. These outcomes will significantly improve our understanding on the evolution of human traits and adaptation of populations to changing environments.Read moreRead less
Metal catalysed reactions in organic synthesis. The major aim of this project is to develop highly efficient metal-catalysed routes to pharmaceuticals, e.g. new antibiotics and other commercially important organic molecules.
Particular attention will be paid to developing systems which facilitate the addition of readily available, cheap small molecules, e.g. hydrogen and carbon monoxide, to unsaturated organic molecules with high regio- and stereoselectivity.
Worldwide demand for enantiomeric ....Metal catalysed reactions in organic synthesis. The major aim of this project is to develop highly efficient metal-catalysed routes to pharmaceuticals, e.g. new antibiotics and other commercially important organic molecules.
Particular attention will be paid to developing systems which facilitate the addition of readily available, cheap small molecules, e.g. hydrogen and carbon monoxide, to unsaturated organic molecules with high regio- and stereoselectivity.
Worldwide demand for enantiomerically pure chiral molecules (i.e. one mirror-image form) continues to rise. New metal-catalysed asymmetric syntheses will help meet this challenge. Tandem metal-catalysed reactions will be used to prepare new heterocyclic compounds with potential as specific metal binding agents and biosensors.Read moreRead less
Biomimetic and Methodology Based Total Synthesis of Bioactive Natural Products. The proposal will study the synthesis of novel natural products that possess biological activities. Most significantly, this project will deliver compounds with anticancer activity. In addition, chemistry may be developed which could be utilised to synthesise a number of bioactive molecules. The rewards of the synthesis of compounds and application for the treatment of cancer and other diseases are enormous for the ....Biomimetic and Methodology Based Total Synthesis of Bioactive Natural Products. The proposal will study the synthesis of novel natural products that possess biological activities. Most significantly, this project will deliver compounds with anticancer activity. In addition, chemistry may be developed which could be utilised to synthesise a number of bioactive molecules. The rewards of the synthesis of compounds and application for the treatment of cancer and other diseases are enormous for the community and in the education and training of scientists.Read moreRead less
Total Synthesis of Novel Metabolites form Microorganisms. The main aim of this proposal is to achieve the chemical synthesis of a number of biologically active novel natural products isolated from microorganisms. This will involve the development of new methods as well as improvement on exisiting approaches developed so far. The targets will include the myxobacteria metabolites crocacins A, B and D and apicularen A, the streptomyces metabolites reveromycin A and spirofungin A and the fungal meta ....Total Synthesis of Novel Metabolites form Microorganisms. The main aim of this proposal is to achieve the chemical synthesis of a number of biologically active novel natural products isolated from microorganisms. This will involve the development of new methods as well as improvement on exisiting approaches developed so far. The targets will include the myxobacteria metabolites crocacins A, B and D and apicularen A, the streptomyces metabolites reveromycin A and spirofungin A and the fungal metabolite zaragozic acid C.
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Synthesis of Bioactive Metabolites from Myxobacteria. The crocacins and apicularens are two diverse groups of biologically active molecules isolated from myxobacteria. Crocacins A-D are dipeptides which show antifungal activity and are highly cytostatic in mammalian cell cultures. The novel macrolide apicularen A is highly active against a number of human tumour cell lines and shows promise as a new type of anticancer compound. The aim of this project is develop a methodology to synthesise these ....Synthesis of Bioactive Metabolites from Myxobacteria. The crocacins and apicularens are two diverse groups of biologically active molecules isolated from myxobacteria. Crocacins A-D are dipeptides which show antifungal activity and are highly cytostatic in mammalian cell cultures. The novel macrolide apicularen A is highly active against a number of human tumour cell lines and shows promise as a new type of anticancer compound. The aim of this project is develop a methodology to synthesise these novel compounds.Read moreRead less