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Stroke is a devastating disease causing mortality and morbidity on a massive scale, and which still has no treatment besides a clot-buster that cannot be used in 90% of patients. This research should provide a better understanding of stroke pathology and identify new therapeutic directions. It will elucidate an unappreciated but crucial role of specific immune cells in brain injury after stroke, and hopefully lead to new ways to limit brain injury and promote recovery from stroke.
Hypertension is the major driver of cardiovascular disease affecting over a billion people. The cause is increasingly lifestyle related (obesity and stress) and activation of the nervous system is a major contributor in all cases. My vision for the next 5 years is discover the key underlying mechanisms within the central nervous system and the kidney that are primarily responsible for increasing nervous activity and blood pressure.
Resistant Hypertension: Causes, Consequences, And Novel Therapeutic Approaches
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$713,517.00
Summary
Two thirds of all strokes and half of all coronary artery disease world-wide can be attributed to uncontrolled blood pressure. Patients with resistant hypertension are at specifically high risk. While the exact reasons remain obscure, work from my group suggests that sympathetic nervous system activation represents a common pathway. Based on these findings the ultimate goal of my research program is to develop novel and more effective treatment strategies for resistant hypertension.
Opposite poles of blood pressure disorders will be tested. The first is low blood pressure disorders causing blackouts while standing. My hypothesis is that the mechanism is subnormal reflex sympathetic nervous system responses (the sympathetic nervous system is the stimulant division of the automatic branch of the nervous system(. The second focus is patients with severe high blood pressure, with high sympathetic activity, who I will treat with a device silencing the nerves of the kidneys.
Poor diet is now the leading cause of death and disability in Australia and most of the rest of the world. This is because most people eat too much fat, sugar, salt and energy which increases the risks of obesity, diabetes and premature death from conditions like stroke, heart attack and kidney disease. This research will identify new ways to prevent diet-related ill health by making it easier for everyone to eat better, and by identifying new treatments for problems like diabetes.
My work focuses on the prevention of vascular disease. A major aim of mine is to improve outcome after stroke. We can test this by assessing whether individualised management plans provided to people with stroke will improve risk factors. Proper risk factor management reduces the risk of stroke recurrence. I also aim to reduce the burden of vascular disease in disadvantaged settings by finding out what risk factors are important in the development of these diseases in people living in poverty.
Interactions Between Vasoactive, Epigenetic And Immunogenic Pathways In The Development Of Diabetic Retinopathy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$664,584.00
Summary
In our community, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of vision loss in people of working age. As the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy increases, there is an urgent need to understand the factors that cause its development in order to develop new treatments. This proposal will explore the contribution of hormones, the memory of retinal cells to high glucose and stress, and the immune system to diabetic retinopathy. The goal is to develop new and improved treatments for Australians.
My projects are associated with three research themes: psychological stress, obesity and hypertension. While these projects may appear diverse they are linked, both in terms of the significant co morbidity that they share, and that the underlying pathologies are initiated and sustained, at least in part, by disturbances in sympathetic nervous regulation. My research program will focus on these conditions and, in their content, will aim to develop and implement improved treatment srategies in the ....My projects are associated with three research themes: psychological stress, obesity and hypertension. While these projects may appear diverse they are linked, both in terms of the significant co morbidity that they share, and that the underlying pathologies are initiated and sustained, at least in part, by disturbances in sympathetic nervous regulation. My research program will focus on these conditions and, in their content, will aim to develop and implement improved treatment srategies in these areas of major clinical need.Read moreRead less
I am a medically trained physiologist studying how the brain controls the delivery of oxygen to the body, the removal of carbon dioxide and the maintenance of normal acid level in the blood. This branch of physiology is well known to anyone who has studied 'ABC' in a first aid programme. My work concerns the coordination of the breathing and blood pressure centres in the brain. It is crucial in the understanding of diseases such as obstructive sleep apnoea and hypertension.
Birth is one of the greatest physiological challenges that we will ever experience and so it is not surprising that it is a period of high risk of death. Despite the risk, our understanding of how infants transition from fetal to newborn life is limited. My research is focused on improving our understanding of how infants make the transition at birth so that we can reduce the risks for these most vulnerable of humans. In particular, I want to improve outcomes for infants born very premature.