A Nanostructured Drug Delivery Approach For Improved Colorectal Cancer Therapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,072.00
Summary
Based on nanotechnology a new medicine will be developed for chemotherapy drugs. Drugs that are currently only delivered by injection will be able to be taken as an orally dosed tablet. A novel therapy for colorectal cancer will be advanced with potential improved clinical outcomes and reduced side-effects, e.g. nausea and diarrhoea. Cancer patients will no longer need to visit the hospital for injection therapy and therefore reducing the burden on the health service.
Identification Of Cardiac Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Targets For Cardiotoxic Drugs
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$265,986.00
Summary
Anthracyclines are drugs which are used successfully in chemotherapy. Unfortunately, these drugs can lead to serious heart problems which sometimes result in death, and the mechanisms behind this remain elusive. Finding the specific targets of these drugs and how these drugs affect heart contraction may lead to designing drug cocktails which protect the heart from side effects.
Polymyxin-like Lipopeptide Antibiotics Of The Future
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$335,323.00
Summary
Polymyxins are now being clinically used as the ‘last-line’ therapy for infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative ‘superbugs’. For the first time our novel approach will interface chemistry and biology of the polymyxins with the purpose of creating a new generation of safer and more efficacious polymyxin antibiotics.
Regulation Of Drug Detoxifying UDP Glucuronosyltransferases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$590,945.00
Summary
Some organs in the body are particularly sensitive to fat-soluble chemicals taken in from the environment or present in food. They are also sensitive to hormones and other small molecule products of metabolism. Controlling the levels of these potentially toxic chemicals is essential in order to maintain the health of the organ. In this work we will investigate the regulation of detoxifying enzymes that protect these organs by inactivating and hastening the elimination of fat-soluble chemicals.
Development Of A New High Throughput Screen For Drug Binding To HERG K+ Channels
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$351,320.00
Summary
Inadvertent drug block of hERG, a potassium channel in the heart, can cause cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Screening for hERG toxicity has become a major hurdle for development of new drugs. We will use a mutant hERG protein that has enhanced drug binding to develop a high throughput test for hERG toxicity. Identification of dangerous drugs early in the drug discovery process will save the pharmaceutical industry millions of dollars in the costs of brining new drugs to market.
Understanding Australia’s Drug Use: Prescription Psychotropics, Recreational Drugs And Novel Emerging Psychoactive Substances
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$763,409.00
Summary
Australians are consuming record levels of drugs that affect their mood and behaviour, both prescribed and illicit. They are also consuming an increasing array of novel synthetic drugs, the effects of which are largely unknown. Professor Iain McGregor engages in innovative research that examines the drugs we take, their effects on the brain, and their risks and benefits. His team also develops new medications that may become future treatments for anxiety, depression and addictions.
Effects Of Ageing On Hepatic Drug Clearance And Mechanisms Of Drug Induced Liver Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$581,892.00
Summary
With increasing age, there is increase in disease, for which medications may provide benefit, and an increase in the risk of adverse drug reactions, even after considering the increase in medication use by older people. We will investigate how the liver clears drugs from the blood in old age. This will guide dosing of medications for older people. We will also study how drugs injure the liver in old age and test interventions to prevent this toxicity.
Human Arylamine N-acetyltransferase Regulation And Function - Effect Of Genetic Poymorphisms.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$421,980.00
Summary
How we handle chemicals that enter our bodies depends on a series of enzymes that are responsible for breaking down the chemicals and eliminating them. The activity of many of these enzymes varies between individuals so our responses to chemicals and drugs is different for each individual. Some of the enzymes vary because of inherited mutations, but others vary because of the diets we eat and the environment in which we live. This project will investigate a major enzyme called acetlytransferase ....How we handle chemicals that enter our bodies depends on a series of enzymes that are responsible for breaking down the chemicals and eliminating them. The activity of many of these enzymes varies between individuals so our responses to chemicals and drugs is different for each individual. Some of the enzymes vary because of inherited mutations, but others vary because of the diets we eat and the environment in which we live. This project will investigate a major enzyme called acetlytransferase that has been implicated as a risk factor in diseases such as cancer, asthma, liver cirrhossis and adverse drug reactions. We plan to look at the enzyme in cells and determine what environmental factors contribute to its variation between individuals, and how this impacts on the genetic mutations that have been found in its gene. From these studies, we will have a much better undersanding of how different people metabolise foreign chemicals, and should be able to predict those most at risk of certain diseases.Read moreRead less
Evaluation Of The Safety Of Lead Compounds For Allergic Asthma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$310,568.00
Summary
Asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory diseases in developed countries and is typically treated with corticosteroids which provide symptomatic relief and coarse non-specific treatment of the underlying disease. We are pursuing innovative therapies by targeting a different enzyme, HPGD2S, involved in the inflammatory mechanisms of asthma. We have developed potent, anti-inflammatory drug candidates and aim to profile the safety of these compounds before entering clinical studies.