Regulation Of Heart Development And Regeneration By DNA Methylation.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$552,709.00
Summary
The adult mammalian heart has an extremely limited capacity for regeneration following a heart attack, which is in stark contrast to the robust regenerative capacity of the newborn heart. How and why mammals lose their ability to regenerate heart tissue after birth is not well understood. We propose a new approach to unravel the complex mechanisms that control gene expression during heart development in rodents and humans, which could provide new therapeutic avenues for heart regeneration.
The Dead Heart Project: When Is A 'dead' Heart Truly Dead?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,672,053.00
Summary
Best practice treatment for end-stage heart failure is heart transplantation, yet donor heart availability is deficient and limited by current practices. Using extensive basic and clinical research approaches, this project aims to increase donor heart quantity and quality by profiling current and novel donor heart sources, and extending donor heart storage time and quality using a novel transport device and therapeutic agents - thus increasing the number of successful transplant recipients.
Genome-wide Analysis Of Gene Regulatory Networks In Heart Development And Congenital Heart Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,263,954.00
Summary
Despite advances in surgical methods and hospital critical care, congenital heart disease (CHD) remains the leading cause of non-infectious death in children in the first year of life. Severe CHD requires multiple surgeries and a lifetime of emotional and financial burden. In this proposal we will use new molecular and genetic approaches to ask how the network of genes that normally participates in heart development is controlled by regulatory factors, and how the network is disturbed in CHD.
Exercise As Medicine For Heart Failure: A Novel Intervention To Improve Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$665,585.00
Summary
Heart failure (HF) is a common, debilitating and expensive disease; prognosis remains poorer than for the most cancers. 30,000 Australians are diagnosed every year and 300,000 live with the HF, at an annual cost of ~$1Billion. Exercise training is effective therapy in HF, because it reverses many of the problems that contribute to the reduced lifespan and impaired quality of life of patients with HF. We will test an exciting new type of exercise that promising greater benefit, at lower risk.
Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy And AV Node Ablation For Atrial Fibrillation In Heart Failure
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,274,979.00
Summary
Heart failure (HF) and Atrial Fibrillation (AF) are both significant health issues that often coexist. Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) is a proven therapy for HF with ventricular dyssynchrony (uncoordinated contraction of the left ventricle). While CRT reduces symptoms and improves survival in normal rhythm, there are mixed reports in patients with AF. This prospective randomised multicentre study, will assess the role of AV node ablation to improve outcomes in CRT in AF.
Probing The Cardiac Gene Regulatory Network In Development And Congenital Heart Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$518,118.00
Summary
In Australia, congenital heart disease (CHD) is the biggest killer of children under 5 years. Defects range from small holes to severe malformations requiring multiple surgeries and an uncertain future. Our appreciation of CHD mechanism is limited. Using cutting-edge technologies in genomics, biophysics and structural biology, we will study the mechanisms that lead to CHD at unprecedented resolution. Our project will progress the concept of personalized diagnosis and treatment of CHD.
METABOLOMIC INSIGHTS INTO THE PATHOGENESIS AND RISK ASSESSMENT OF UNSTABLE CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$876,896.00
Summary
Atherosclerosis (AS) is the single most common cause of cardiovascular disease and is the major contributor to the development of angina, heart attacks, coronary heart disease and stroke. Early identification and characterisation of the disease, is critical for effective treatment. In this project we will develop a new test to identify those individuals with unstable disease that are at greatest risk of a coronary event (heart attack).
The brain exerts a restraining influence over the heartbeat via the vagus nerves. This is known as cardiac vagal ‘tone’. It is strong when we are healthy but weak when we are sick. It has a positive influence on the health of the heart and perhaps the body generally. Vagal tone comes from the brain but, despite over 150 years’ research, nobody knows exactly where. Using a novel technique, we can track down its origins. This important basic knowledge may lead to ways to improve health.
Upscaling Cardiac Tissue Engineering: Differentiation Of IPS Cells, Enrichment And Bionic Approaches
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$709,758.00
Summary
Stem cell therapies to repair heart muscle are experimental methods which promise future clinical treatments. Our tissue engineering chamber model provides a protective environment for implanted cells and generates contracting heart tissue. Towards clinical application we will scale up the tissue volume produced by: improving cell supply with new stem cell technologies, design chambers for bulk cell implantation, adopt a bionic approach to cell pacing and apply the model into larger animals.
Cardiac Fibrosis In Hypertensive Heart Disease: Cellular And Molecular Mechanism
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$631,979.00
Summary
Cardiac fibrosis due to excess collagen accumulation in the heart is a major cause of heart failure associated with high blood pressure and greatly increases the risk of sudden death. At present there are no effective therapies to prevent cardiac fibrosis. Understanding how fibrosis develops and identifying the cells and factors responsible will lead to development of novel therapies for cardiac fibrosis.