I will determine the efficacy and safety of crystalloid resuscitation fluids in conventional models of care. This is a fundamental and unresolved question in Intensive Care Medicine and will have an impact on clinical practice worldwide. I will also consolidate and enhance a series of projects to provide the next generation of clinician-researchers with high-quality research opportunities. These include projects in sepsis, traumatic brain injury, and endocrine function in critical illness.
Sepsis is a major cause of hospitalization and ICU admission in Australia population corresponding to more than 15700 new cases each year. Every year more than 3000 people die from sepsis in Australia which is greater than the annual national road toll and breast, prostate or colorectal cancer. The research outlined in this proposal to study the effect of steroids and vitamin D to improve patient’s recovery from sepsis and also understand the genetic basis behind their ability to survive sepsis.
Advances in positron emission tomography now allow specific pathological features of many brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease to be measured with a brain scan during life. This Fellowship will assist Professor Rowe and his team in their world leading work on new PET scanning techniques to improve diagnosis and assist the development of treatment for Alzheimer's and other degenerative diseases of the brain.