Can Decision Analytic Modelling Promote Clinical Translation Of Personalised Medicine Markers For Oncology Drugs?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$69,893.00
Summary
Personalised medicine is an approach that has great potential to improve healthcare. There has been limited success to date, however, in utilising proposed tests in the clinical. It is proposed that use of mathematical models early in the development of personalised medicine tests will allow early understanding of the value that the test will have for patients and society. Such insight will help build a strong case to undertake the research required before personalised medicine can be more widel ....Personalised medicine is an approach that has great potential to improve healthcare. There has been limited success to date, however, in utilising proposed tests in the clinical. It is proposed that use of mathematical models early in the development of personalised medicine tests will allow early understanding of the value that the test will have for patients and society. Such insight will help build a strong case to undertake the research required before personalised medicine can be more widely used to improve treatment for cancer.Read moreRead less
Gene Expression And DNA Methylation In Barrett's Oesophagus And Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$383,655.00
Summary
The oesophagus (gullet) is the tube through which food and drinks pass from the mouth to the stomach. In Barrett's oesophagus, the normal lining of the lower oesophagus is replaced by an abnormal type of lining called intestinal metaplasia as a result of severe gastroesophageal reflux. Gastroesophageal reflux is one of the most common of all diseases, affecting up to a quarter of all adults, and Barrett's oesophagus itself occurs in 0.5 - 1% of the adult population. In a minority of patients wit ....The oesophagus (gullet) is the tube through which food and drinks pass from the mouth to the stomach. In Barrett's oesophagus, the normal lining of the lower oesophagus is replaced by an abnormal type of lining called intestinal metaplasia as a result of severe gastroesophageal reflux. Gastroesophageal reflux is one of the most common of all diseases, affecting up to a quarter of all adults, and Barrett's oesophagus itself occurs in 0.5 - 1% of the adult population. In a minority of patients with Barrett's oesophagus, further abnormalities in the cells lining the lower oesophagus occur, leading to dysplasia and adenocarcinoma (glandular cell type cancer). This project will provide the first comprehensive map of two of the most important genetic mechanisms (gene expression and DNA methylation) by which Barrett's oesophagus evolves into Barrett's dysplasia and adenocarcinoma. The specimens studied in this project differ from previous studies in that they are taken from the same patients at different times, as these patients' Barrett's oesophagus either remains stable or progresses to worse disease. Essentially all the known human genes will be studied and the relevance of genes identified as important will be confirmed using highly accurate methods. With this information, it may be possible to develop genetic tests that can predict which patients are at risk of developing worse disease including cancer. In other parts of this project, genes which influence the likelihood of survival for patients with oesophageal adenocarcinoma will be identified, a simple test to more accurately identify patients with cancer spread to lymph nodes may be developed, and a blood test to detect oesophageal adenocarcinoma will be tested.Read moreRead less
Identification Of Germline Variation That Predicts Progression Free Survival Following Chemotherapy For Advanced Ovarian Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$633,156.00
Summary
Women diagnosed with ovarian cancer typically undergo surgery, followed by chemotherapy. However, the efficacy of chemotherapy varies widely, with some women responding well, whilst others are exposed to the toxic effects of a treatment that does them little good. We aim to identify the genes which explain why there are differences in response. This will lead to more individualised chemotherapy and improved outcomes for women with ovarian cancer.
TIR Signalling Pathway Pharmacogenomics And Opioid Response: Beyond The Mu Opioid Receptor
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$246,396.00
Summary
This project will identify why some people respond poorly and others have toxic side effects to the major group of pain relieving medications, the opioids. The basis will be the genetics of the immune system and both acute postoperative and chronic cancer pain patients will be studied in this international pharmacogenetics project.
Obesity is a major global public health concern and there is a desperate need to identify new targets to treat obesity. By targeting the lesser investigated CART pathway and identifying the elusive CART receptor this could make a significant inroad to the understanding of the causes of appetite control and the development of obesity.
Identifying Unintentional Effects Of Medication Using Statistical Genetics Analyses Of Large-scale Genetic And Genomic Data
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$251,441.00
Summary
An increasing number of studies have highlighted unknown adverse effects of medication, for example, use of statins to lower cholesterol with increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The gold standard approach to confirm these effects is randomised control trials, which may not always be feasible or ethical, and are very expensive. This project aims to apply innovative statistical genetics approaches to (genetic and genomic) 'big-data' to predict unknown effects of commonly prescribed medications.
Tackling Heterogeneity In The Etiology Of Major Depressive Disorder
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,552,669.00
Summary
Professor Martin and his team will join an international effort to identify the first 50 genes that underlie depression. They aim to recruit 20,000 participants for this study and hope that the outcomes of their research will contribute not only to the development of better treatments for depression, but more targeted therapies for individuals affected.
Treatment Of Genetic Liver Disease By Homologous Recombination In Vivo, Coupled With A Pharmoco-genetic Strategy For Selective Expansion Of Genetically Repaired Hepatocytes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$920,836.00
Summary
This project seeks to exploit recent advancements in our ability to precisely “edit” and correct mutations underlying human genetic diseases. To improve therapeutic efficiencies of the system, we will deliver the technology using highly efficient virus-based systems and apply a novel post-repair selection process to preferentially repopulate the liver with gene-repaired cells. Demonstration of the strategy in a humanised mouse model will provide important preclinical data for human applications.