Immune Imprinting By Nanoparticles And Vaccines: New Principles And Translation Into The Clinic
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$631,010.00
Summary
Vaccines require adjuvants to be effective. Despite decades of research there is only one adjuvant approved for broad use in humans. Based on our prior findings I will engage new principles in nanotechnology, and deepen understanding of immune imprinting in various organs of the body including the lung, to develop 2nd generation broadly useful nanoadjuvants able to effectively treat cancer and malaria.
Human Dendritic Cell Subsets And Their Application For Immunotherapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$443,946.00
Summary
Immunotherapy is a promising non-toxic strategy for the treatment of many cancers, viruses and other diseases. It works by teaching the patient's own immune system to recognize and destroy the cancer. Specialized blood cells called dendritic cells are essential to this process but they are poorly understood in humans. I aim to investigate the function these cells and use this information to develop new treatments for cancer and viruses.
Characterization Of H. Pylori –specific CD4 T Cell Responses And The Evaluation Of The Basic Requirements For The Development Of An Effective Anti-H. Pylori Vaccine
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$313,161.00
Summary
H. pylori infect over half of the global population. Although infection results in asymptomatic gastritis in most cases 10 % develop gastric ulcers and cancer. Current vaccination strategies have failed to protect humans from infection. We aim to characterise the main immune cells involved in H. pylori infection, specifically the bacteria-specific CD4 T cells. We will then try to understand the basic requirements for a successful vaccine in order to develop new, improved anti-H. pylori vaccines.
TARGETING THE HUMAN CROSS-PRIMING DENDRITIC CELLS FOR IMMUNOTHERAPY
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$589,544.00
Summary
Specialized white blood cells called dendritic cells (DCs) are essential to inducing the immune system to eradicate cancers and viral infections in mice. We have defined human DC subsets and related their functional capacities to the mouse DC subsets. We will now identify the human DC subsets involved in the induction of cancer and viral immune responses and use this information to develop clinical therapeutic cancer vaccination trials.
My research is aiming to study how the immune system controls viral infections in transplant patients and use this information to bolster their immunity in a test tube, providing protection against a virus the patient is unable to fight after their transplant. We are also trying to develop new strategies to use patient's own blood cells which will be grown in the laboratory and returned to the patient, resulting in a full recovery.
A Novel Vaccine Formaultion To Prevent Birth Defects
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$530,922.00
Summary
Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is one of the TORCH infections (toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex) and is one of major cause of birth defects. Transmission of CMV infection from mother to unborn babies can lead to deafness, blindness, small head syndrome (microcephaly), seizures and mental retardation. There is an urgent need to develop an effective vaccine against CMV. This project is aiming to develop a novel CMV vaccine formulation for clinical testing in ....Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is one of the TORCH infections (toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex) and is one of major cause of birth defects. Transmission of CMV infection from mother to unborn babies can lead to deafness, blindness, small head syndrome (microcephaly), seizures and mental retardation. There is an urgent need to develop an effective vaccine against CMV. This project is aiming to develop a novel CMV vaccine formulation for clinical testing in humans.Read moreRead less
Understanding Influenza-specific T Cell Immunity In The Indigenous And Non-Indigenous Populations
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$49,202.00
Summary
Hospitalisation and mortality rates from influenza are high in the Indigenous population. There is an urgent need for one-shot universal vaccine that protects against seasonal and pandemic strains. To identify potential vaccine targets we firstly have to determine which viral proteins will induce a large protective immune response. These responses vary between ethnicities thus comparisons will be drawn between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to determine multiple vaccine candidates tha ....Hospitalisation and mortality rates from influenza are high in the Indigenous population. There is an urgent need for one-shot universal vaccine that protects against seasonal and pandemic strains. To identify potential vaccine targets we firstly have to determine which viral proteins will induce a large protective immune response. These responses vary between ethnicities thus comparisons will be drawn between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to determine multiple vaccine candidates that will be protective across ethnicities.Read moreRead less
Development Of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen As A Generic Vector For The Delivery Of Foreign CTL Epitopes.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$439,642.00
Summary
Many kinds of cancer and infections display unique proteins which the body's immune system can recognise as ' foreign', and mount an immune response which, if correctly harnessed, will kill the cancer or infected cells . A way to harness the immune response is to vaccinate with these unique proteins. However, new ways need to be found to deliver the unique proteins to produce the maximal possible anti- cancer or pathogen response, and one that is long lived. In particular one needs to stimulate ....Many kinds of cancer and infections display unique proteins which the body's immune system can recognise as ' foreign', and mount an immune response which, if correctly harnessed, will kill the cancer or infected cells . A way to harness the immune response is to vaccinate with these unique proteins. However, new ways need to be found to deliver the unique proteins to produce the maximal possible anti- cancer or pathogen response, and one that is long lived. In particular one needs to stimulate the cellular arm of the immune response to produce killer cells named CTLs which specifically kill cancer or infected cells. In this project we plan to use an already-licensed human vaccine - the Hepatitis B surface antigen vaccine , or HBsAG, - and genetically modify it to contain important regions of cancer or pathogen proteins termed 'epitopes'. We surmise that immunisation with these modified HBsAg will elicit powerful CTL responses which will killer cancer or infected cells.Read moreRead less
Co-administration Of DNA Encoding Co-stimulatory Molecules Enhances The Efficacy Of Immune Response To Foreign Antigen
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$182,000.00
Summary
Vaccines to prevent or treat infectious diseases and some cancers are urgently needed. Infected cells and some cancer cells display unique proteins which the body's immune system can recognises as 'foreign'. The body will then mount an immune response, which, if successful, will eradicate the infected or cancerous cells. Dendritic cells (DCs) initiate the body's immune response by instructing other immune cells to mount a response. For a vaccine to be successful it is important that the vaccine ....Vaccines to prevent or treat infectious diseases and some cancers are urgently needed. Infected cells and some cancer cells display unique proteins which the body's immune system can recognises as 'foreign'. The body will then mount an immune response, which, if successful, will eradicate the infected or cancerous cells. Dendritic cells (DCs) initiate the body's immune response by instructing other immune cells to mount a response. For a vaccine to be successful it is important that the vaccine activates the DCs in the right way. We propose to activate DCs by vaccinating with DNA encoding recently identified costimulatory molecules, as well as DNA encoding the foreign antigen. Our earlier work leads us to believe that this will enhance the immune response, and lead to a more effective state of immunityRead moreRead less