We recently established the Centre for Neurogenetics and Statistical Genomics, a research centre within the Queensland Brain Institute. It was established to bring together a team of researchers with expertise in neurogenetics, neuropsychiatric genetics, statistical genomics and computational biology. During my Fellowship I will conduct research at this Centre to elucidate the genetic basis of neurogenetic diseases and psychiatric disorders, using genomic tools and data analysis.
I am a genetic epidemiologist focused on bowel cancer risk. I will develop a comprehensive model to estimate individual cancer risk by studying the effects of personal characteristics, cancer history, genetic factors and family history of cancer using large data sets from international consortia I helped establish. My research will enable targeting of screening to those most at risk and will aid the discovery of new causes for bowel cancer.
Translation Of Genetic Findings Into Improved Health Outcomes For Common Eye Diseases In Our Society
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$675,736.00
Summary
Associate Professor Paul Baird of the Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne specialises in identifying and understanding how genetic changes are involved in causing the commonest causes of vision loss and blindness in our society including age related macular degeneration, short-sightedness and glaucoma. His Fellowship will be used to better understand how genes and environment cause these diseases, allowing translation of findings intto new and improved treatments for patie ....Associate Professor Paul Baird of the Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne specialises in identifying and understanding how genetic changes are involved in causing the commonest causes of vision loss and blindness in our society including age related macular degeneration, short-sightedness and glaucoma. His Fellowship will be used to better understand how genes and environment cause these diseases, allowing translation of findings intto new and improved treatments for patients.Read moreRead less
Sudden Cardiac Arrest: Improving Detection Of Patients At Risk
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$838,845.00
Summary
Sudden cardiac death accounts for ~10% of deaths in our community. Many of these deaths occur in people who could otherwise have had many more years of productive life ahead of them. The aim of our research is to determine the underlying mechanisms so that we can develop better tools for detecting underlying problems before they become life threatening and potentially develop new treatments to modify the underlying causes.
In autoimmune diseases the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues. Although we know that both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the risk of disease, identifying these genes and the environmental factors involved is very difficult. Furthermore, we have almost no idea how these factors interact with each other, something we need to understand in order to predict the risk of disease and reliably identify possible therapies. These are the aims of this fellowship.
Utility Of Genetic Screening For Colorectal Cancer Risk Assessment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$631,370.00
Summary
Bowel cancer can be prevented by regular screening, however screening is not targeted to those most at risk and only 30% take up the offer. My research will determine how effective genetic testing of the general population might be as an innovative approach to target screening to those most at risk. I will use data from existing and funded studies that I lead, and will collaborate with colleagues in my research team that have the necessary expertise in this area, to address this question issue.
Professor Paul Baird specialises in identifying and understanding how genetic changes associated with common eye diseases including age-related macular degeneration and keratoconus lead to vision loss and blindness. This fellowship will allow him to uncover novel genetic contributors in these diseases using next-generation molecular techniques. He will assess functionality of these variants, allowing him to translate these findings back to the clinic allowing personalised treatment options.
Translating Gene Discovery For Key Diseases Into Clinical Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$772,490.00
Summary
The goal of the fellowship is capitalize on successful gene mapping studies for endometriosis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), melanoma and other complex diseases and conduct functional studies, cross-disease analyses, and genetic studies of response to treatment. These studies will identify specific genes responsible for increased disease risk to understand the biology of these diseases, their relationship with other diseases, and help improve disease management and clinical outcomes.
Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms And Early Intervention In Psychiatric Illness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$652,765.00
Summary
Schizophrenia and depression are devastating mental illnesses and a huge burden to society. Drug treatments can be beneficial, but many patients are either treatment-resistant or show severe side-effects. There is an urgent need for truly novel treatment strategies which should ideally prevent symptoms. The main aim of this project is to elucidate brain mechanisms involved in schizophrenia and depression development to inform clinical research about improved preventative treatment strategies.
Applying Next Generation Sequencing To Family Studies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$182,622.00
Summary
Recent advances in technology can determine the DNA composition of a person for much longer stretches of DNA, at a much cheaper cost. I use statistical analysis to identify regions of the human genome that harbour mutations that cause diseases such as epilepsy in families. These regions contain 5-15 million base pairs. We need to find the ONE base pair that causes disease. This application deals with the development of new tools to exploit new technology for the identification of mutations.