Early Detection And Early Intervention For Cerebral Palsy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,088,220.00
Summary
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is Australia’s 5th expensive health condition. Early Detection and effective early interventions are vitally needed to improve long-term outcomes. This fellowship develops and tests novel interventions to optimise neuroplasticity by improving early detection and physical, cognitive, psychological and health outcomes in children with CP. Earlier accurate detection of CP will ensure effective treatments utilise critical periods of brain development.
Unified Prevention Of Substance Use And Mental Disorders.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,560,520.00
Summary
Substance use and mental disorders are among the leading causes of burden of disease in young people globally. Yet prevention and early intervention has not been prioritised in Australian research and policy.The major focus of my research will be on examining the effectiveness of new unified prevention programs.
Reducing Colorectal Cancer Burden In Young Adults: Precision Prevention And Early Detection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,449,800.00
Summary
Bowel cancer rate in young adults before age 50 is increasing worldwide including Australia. Since it is impossible to screen everyone, it is critical to identify who is likely to develop the disease, to optimise screening. Using the world's largest resource for young-onset bowel cancer, I will conduct studies to generate high-quality evidence to inform how to best prevent bowel cancer in young adults and translate into the policy and practice, to reduce colorectal cancer burden in young adults.
Transforming Access To Addiction Treatment: Overcoming System Barriers And Developing Effective Early Intervention Approaches
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,195,288.00
Summary
Addiction is one of the most highly stigmatised disorders in our community, resulting in a near two decade delay before people seek treatment. Although individuals with alcohol and drug problems present many times to health services, there are multiple missed opportunities for intervention. This research will identify opportunities to facilitate early help-seeking and treatment via insights through data linkage and machine learning, as well as testing novel telephone-based models of care.
Biology Of Speech Disorders: Advancing Diagnosis, Prognosis & Management
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,515,005.00
Summary
For 100 years, my field has focused on assessing and managing patients based on speech disorder symptomatology. We have ignored aetiology, preventing targeted care. My work will pioneer gene discovery to advance knowledge of the aetiology of human communication disorders, enabling targeted care to reduce disability. Proposed work will be directly translated to improve care and optimise outcomes in speech disorder via advancing detection, diagnosis and prognostic counselling of patients.
The Developing Microbiome As A Predictor And Modulator Of Mental Health Risk And Resilience: A Translational Gut-brain Axis Approach To Improving Childhood Mental Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$645,205.00
Summary
Most psychological problems start to emerge in childhood or adolescence, likely because the brain is most vulnerable while it is still growing. The latest research suggests that brain health is intimately linked to the gut. Could bacteria in the gut contribute to risk of (or resistance to) mental health problems in children? This project will investigate this question and the information gathered will then be used to trial new, gut-based, approaches to protect children’s mental health.
Pathways To Vision Following Lesions Of The Primary Visual Cortex
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,500,000.00
Summary
Lesions due to stroke or trauma in the occipital lobe cause blindness, which can be complete or restricted to part of the visual field. My work has identified areas of the visual brain that remain active after such lesions. I want to find out if these areas can be used to partially restore vision. This project will study the potential roles of different surviving areas, how brain cells rewire their connections in response to damage, and how rehabilitation programs work at the cellular level.
Mapping Neurodevelopmental Disorders In A Zebrafish Model
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,760,520.00
Summary
The way in which the brain develops differently in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism is hard to reveal in humans, but can be addressed in a zebrafish model. Using cutting-edge imaging and computational techniques, this project will investigate how neural representations of the world develop differently between normal zebrafish and zebrafish mutant for a gene that causes autism. This will provide new insights into the mechanisms of altered circuit development in autism.
Early Life Exposures And Chronic Disease: Mechanisms And Preventative Strategies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,714,215.00
Summary
The world is in the grips of an epidemic of chronic disease and exposure to pollution in early life is partly responsible. To change this situation we need to understand and mitigate the mechanisms linking early life pollution exposure to life-long disease risk. My research will provide direct evidence of how pollution increases disease risk and design and implement strategies to reduce this, with an emphasis on asthma, cystic fibrosis and chronic respiratory disease.
The Role Of Preconception And Perinatal Substance Use And Misuse In Childhood Social, Emotional And Behavioural Problems
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,562,250.00
Summary
This project will use perinatal and preconception data from three long-running Australian studies that have tracked the health and wellbeing of several thousand participants prior to parenthood. The aim is to understand how parental histories of substance use, and patterns of use during pregnancy, and in early life, shape offspring social, emotional and behavioural outcomes across childhood. Results will inform new approaches to preventing substance-related harms within and across generations.