This proposal is to build a new national resource for medical research that will both underpin and enhance the national health and medical research effort in Australia by systematically enabling world-class biobanking capacities and hence the population-based resources in WA for genetics epidemiological research. The WA DNA Bank will also provide national access to WA biospecimen resources, and will facilitate collaboration and research into national priority diseases of childhood and adulthood.
The Australian Twin Registry (ATR) is a volunteer registry of over 30,000 twin pairs willing to consider participation in health research. This national resource was established in the 1980s with NHMRC support because twin studies play a unique, powerful role in research on the impact of genetic and environmental factors on health. Over 400 studies have benefited. The ATR seeks on-going funding to remain internationally competitive and meet increasing demand due to advances in genetic research.
Our aim is to develop appropriate infrastructures necessary to facilitate access by researchers to the accumulated data, including questionnaires, direct physical measurements, blood, DNA and other tissues collected on over 40,000 people in the Health 2020 Cohort Study (Health 2020) and, subject to proposals being judged sufficiently meritorious by an approved peer review process and gaining HREC approval, to facilitate supervised access to participants as required.
Genetic Repositories Australia (GRA) will provide a central national facility for establishing, distributing and maintaining the long-term secure storage of human genetic samples (cell lines and DNA) from a variety of sources. No facility exists in Australia to provide these services yet they form a vital part of genetic and epidemiological studies. GRA will fill an essential �missing link� in the translation of population and family-based research into genetic and genomic studies. This will del ....Genetic Repositories Australia (GRA) will provide a central national facility for establishing, distributing and maintaining the long-term secure storage of human genetic samples (cell lines and DNA) from a variety of sources. No facility exists in Australia to provide these services yet they form a vital part of genetic and epidemiological studies. GRA will fill an essential �missing link� in the translation of population and family-based research into genetic and genomic studies. This will deliver new knowledge in health and disease and lead to improved health care outcomes.Read moreRead less
Australian Centre For Vertebrate Mutation Detection (ACVMD)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,611,794.00
Summary
Over the last 20 years, generation and analysis of genetically modified animals has proven to be an important step in the transition from in vitro studies of gene function to in vivo studies and eventually clinical research. The remarkable parallels between the human, mouse and zebrafish genomes means that there are now many examples of mutations that cause or modify disease in humans, and which lead to similar phenotypes when present in mice and zebrafish. Until recently, the prime method of in ....Over the last 20 years, generation and analysis of genetically modified animals has proven to be an important step in the transition from in vitro studies of gene function to in vivo studies and eventually clinical research. The remarkable parallels between the human, mouse and zebrafish genomes means that there are now many examples of mutations that cause or modify disease in humans, and which lead to similar phenotypes when present in mice and zebrafish. Until recently, the prime method of introducing mutations into specific genes of interest in the mouse (although still unavailable in the fish) was via homologous recombination, and the principal classes of mutations induced were large deletions or insertions. This type of mutation rarely occurs in humans. Rather, point mutations and single-nucleotide polymorphisms are the prevalent form of genetic variation. An alternative approach to the development of mouse models with the more relevant point mutations is TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes). The goal of this Enabling Grant is to make TILLING technology accessible to the Australian research community and in doing so promote movement of research from the in vitro setting into animal models of disease.Read moreRead less
A National Population-based Genetic Epidemiology, Biospecimen And Bioinformatic Resource
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,900,000.00
Summary
This proposal is to build a new national resource for medical research. The project will integrate human medical research resources (including DNA) in WA with the core WA Data Linkage System, with complementary initiatives in bioinformatics and biostatistics. The resulting unique facility will comprise one of the largest and best-characterised population-based enabling facilities for epidemiological and genetic epidemiological research in the world, and will considerably enhance the national res ....This proposal is to build a new national resource for medical research. The project will integrate human medical research resources (including DNA) in WA with the core WA Data Linkage System, with complementary initiatives in bioinformatics and biostatistics. The resulting unique facility will comprise one of the largest and best-characterised population-based enabling facilities for epidemiological and genetic epidemiological research in the world, and will considerably enhance the national research capacity.Read moreRead less
One Australian dies of Motor Neuron Disease (MND) every day. MND is likely to be due to a genetic susceptibility to an environmental agent such as a toxin or a virus. Recent advances in gene therapy have emphasised the urgent need to find the gene abnormalities in MND. We propose to set up an Australia-wide DNA Bank for MND to allow researchers to look for genetic abnormalities and environmental influences in this disease.
We plan to collect health information from Australian patients with arthritis to monitor the benefits and safety of new treatments. All patients being treated with the new injectable biologic agents and other patients taking conventional drugs will be invited to take part in the follow up program. We will measure the impact of arthritis on quality of life and physical function and the long-term effects of all arthritis drugs. This will be of immense value to the Australian community as this data ....We plan to collect health information from Australian patients with arthritis to monitor the benefits and safety of new treatments. All patients being treated with the new injectable biologic agents and other patients taking conventional drugs will be invited to take part in the follow up program. We will measure the impact of arthritis on quality of life and physical function and the long-term effects of all arthritis drugs. This will be of immense value to the Australian community as this data are not routinely available from any other source. It will help rheumatologists and patients make the best decisions regarding long-term arthritis treatments.Read moreRead less