Development and Assessment of Chimaeric Feline Caliciviruses as Vaccines. Feline caliciviruses are major pathogens of cats worldwide, but current vaccines offer only incomplete protection. This project aims to develop novel recombinant vaccine strains that will generate more cross protective immunity and thus provide greater protection for vaccinated cats.
Development of an Attenuated Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus Vaccine. This project will develop novel methods for identification of genes involved in virulence of the important avian pathogen Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus and produce an attenuated, antigenically marked infectious laryngotracheitis virus vaccine strain by specific disruption and deletion of two or more genes in the virusÕs genome.
Infectious laryngotracheitis is a major disease of chickens throughout the world, but curre ....Development of an Attenuated Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus Vaccine. This project will develop novel methods for identification of genes involved in virulence of the important avian pathogen Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus and produce an attenuated, antigenically marked infectious laryngotracheitis virus vaccine strain by specific disruption and deletion of two or more genes in the virusÕs genome.
Infectious laryngotracheitis is a major disease of chickens throughout the world, but current vaccines retain some capacity to cause disease. The development of novel attenuated vaccines will thus enhance control of this important disease of poultry.Read moreRead less
The molecular pathogenesis of Equine rhinitis A virus, a major respiratory pathogen of horses. The equine industry in Australia is worth $15 billion a year. Equine respiratory disease costs Victoria, alone, $5-10 million per year. Equine rhinitis A virus is a major cause of acute febrile respiratory disease in horses. This project aims to develop an infectious clone to study the pathogenesis of the disease, and subunit antigens for use as vaccines. These reagents will increase our understand ....The molecular pathogenesis of Equine rhinitis A virus, a major respiratory pathogen of horses. The equine industry in Australia is worth $15 billion a year. Equine respiratory disease costs Victoria, alone, $5-10 million per year. Equine rhinitis A virus is a major cause of acute febrile respiratory disease in horses. This project aims to develop an infectious clone to study the pathogenesis of the disease, and subunit antigens for use as vaccines. These reagents will increase our understanding of the pathogenesis of ERAV and will lead to experimental vaccines which will be tested in horses.Read moreRead less
Studies on peripheral T cell memory. Success in vaccination depends on the ability of the immune system to remember prior encounter with an infectious agent. This immune memory appears to work well for certain infections but not others, essentially meaning that for these diseases, effective vaccines remain unavailable. This application describes experiments based on a new leukocyte or white blood cell population that has been overlooked in studies of immune memory. The work involves identifyin ....Studies on peripheral T cell memory. Success in vaccination depends on the ability of the immune system to remember prior encounter with an infectious agent. This immune memory appears to work well for certain infections but not others, essentially meaning that for these diseases, effective vaccines remain unavailable. This application describes experiments based on a new leukocyte or white blood cell population that has been overlooked in studies of immune memory. The work involves identifying how they are formed and how they behave within the body. This work will therefore contribute to the development and production of new-generation vaccines to these so far uncontrollable infectious diseases.Read moreRead less
Structural and functional investigations into a novel chemokine binding protein encoded by evolutionarily diverse alphaherpesviruses. The outcomes of this project will help control disease caused by alphaherpesviruses, including disease in livestock (horses and poultry) and wildlife (kangaroos and wallabies). This will enhance animal health and welfare and will also benefit the associated industries. Livestock industries are critically important to the Australian economy (equine and poultry indu ....Structural and functional investigations into a novel chemokine binding protein encoded by evolutionarily diverse alphaherpesviruses. The outcomes of this project will help control disease caused by alphaherpesviruses, including disease in livestock (horses and poultry) and wildlife (kangaroos and wallabies). This will enhance animal health and welfare and will also benefit the associated industries. Livestock industries are critically important to the Australian economy (equine and poultry industries annually contribute approximately $7.7 and $2.6 billion respectively to our GDP). Wildlife species are crucial to Australian ecosystems and feature in the Australian tourism industry. This project is expected to strengthen international research collaborations and further enhance Australia's reputation as a world-class leader in research and biotechnology.Read moreRead less
Equine rhinitis A virus; molecular pathogenesis and methods for control. The horse industry in Australia is primarily based in rural locations and is a major contributor to the national economy both in terms of direct economic contribution to gross domestic product and as a major employer of people in regional Australia. The research proposed in this project will improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of a virus that causes respiratory disease in horses that is related to the virus that c ....Equine rhinitis A virus; molecular pathogenesis and methods for control. The horse industry in Australia is primarily based in rural locations and is a major contributor to the national economy both in terms of direct economic contribution to gross domestic product and as a major employer of people in regional Australia. The research proposed in this project will improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of a virus that causes respiratory disease in horses that is related to the virus that causes foot and mouth disease in ruminants and swine. The technology developed during this project would have a global market.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of the potential of colostrum-derived anti-influenza antibody for the treatment and prevention of influenza. The project addresses a common disease problem, influenza, with a novel application of antibody technology. The technology may safely provide protection and cost effective treatment for those members of the community who are least protected by current approaches. The product can be cost-effective and readily available to enable the public to self medicate in high risk situation ....Evaluation of the potential of colostrum-derived anti-influenza antibody for the treatment and prevention of influenza. The project addresses a common disease problem, influenza, with a novel application of antibody technology. The technology may safely provide protection and cost effective treatment for those members of the community who are least protected by current approaches. The product can be cost-effective and readily available to enable the public to self medicate in high risk situations, or to be used as a public health tool in situtions to control outbreaks in those most susceptible to serious disease. The production system that enabled the creation of the technology is the advanced Australian dairy industry. Farmers with herds participating will receive a significant income benefit from, what was before, largely a waste product.Read moreRead less
Revealing the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of avian influenza virus. This project aims to understand how avian influenza virus (AIV) emerges, evolves and spreads in wild birds. AIV has the potential to devastate the poultry industry and cause human pandemics, but the factors that shape the genetic diversity of AIV in its wild bird reservoir are poorly understood. The project plans to combine genomic, ecological and phylogenetic approaches to reveal key aspects of AIV evolution, as well a ....Revealing the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of avian influenza virus. This project aims to understand how avian influenza virus (AIV) emerges, evolves and spreads in wild birds. AIV has the potential to devastate the poultry industry and cause human pandemics, but the factors that shape the genetic diversity of AIV in its wild bird reservoir are poorly understood. The project plans to combine genomic, ecological and phylogenetic approaches to reveal key aspects of AIV evolution, as well as the risk for future viral emergence. Using sampling sites in Australia and Antarctica, it plans to investigate AIV diversity, the evolutionary dynamics of AIV in wild birds and poultry, and the role played by environmental transmission in AIV ecology.Read moreRead less
Mosquito-borne viruses - how they cause disease and novel approaches to prevention. In Australia, Ross River virus (RRV) is the most common insect borne virus that affects human health. There were more than 60,000 confirmed cases of RRV between 1993 and 2008. While not fatal, the disease is responsible for significant morbidity that has both social and economic costs for the individual, their family and the community. This project has several national benefits. It will elucidate whether there is ....Mosquito-borne viruses - how they cause disease and novel approaches to prevention. In Australia, Ross River virus (RRV) is the most common insect borne virus that affects human health. There were more than 60,000 confirmed cases of RRV between 1993 and 2008. While not fatal, the disease is responsible for significant morbidity that has both social and economic costs for the individual, their family and the community. This project has several national benefits. It will elucidate whether there is an association between RRV strain and the severity of disease and if there are human factors that affect the seriousness of symptoms. Knowledge of both of these could provide new avenues for the design of prevention and treatment strategies.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100977
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$419,016.00
Summary
How ecology shapes the viromes of wild birds. This project will reveal the host factors associated with the diversity, evolution and dynamics of viruses using state-of-the-art metatranscriptomics in Australian wild birds. The structure of virus communities and their associated ecological drivers in wild animal hosts remain a black-box, even though they are the largest source of viral diversity in nature. This project expects to generate key insights into host-associated drivers of viral communit ....How ecology shapes the viromes of wild birds. This project will reveal the host factors associated with the diversity, evolution and dynamics of viruses using state-of-the-art metatranscriptomics in Australian wild birds. The structure of virus communities and their associated ecological drivers in wild animal hosts remain a black-box, even though they are the largest source of viral diversity in nature. This project expects to generate key insights into host-associated drivers of viral community dynamics and the subsequent effect of anthropogenic factors such as urbanisation and poultry production. Identifying host factors that affect viral ecology in wild birds will constitute a cornerstone in understanding the emergence of virulent viruses and/or their spread to poultry or humansRead moreRead less