An Inside-out Approach To Muscosal Vaccination: MAdCAM Targeting
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$174,250.00
Summary
The mucosal surfaces are the entry site for many pathogens (eg. cholera, rotaviruses, helicobacter, SARS and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV infections). The ideal vaccine would elicit both systemic and mucosal immune response, enhancing immunity at this first line of defence. The oral route has formidable barriers to antigen uptake such as digestive enzymes, commensal microbes, mucous layers and gastric acid. Our strategy targets the vascular addressin found in immune tissues of the ....The mucosal surfaces are the entry site for many pathogens (eg. cholera, rotaviruses, helicobacter, SARS and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV infections). The ideal vaccine would elicit both systemic and mucosal immune response, enhancing immunity at this first line of defence. The oral route has formidable barriers to antigen uptake such as digestive enzymes, commensal microbes, mucous layers and gastric acid. Our strategy targets the vascular addressin found in immune tissues of the gut (called MAdCAM) so that the vaccine is linked to an antibody against MAdCAM. Thus for the first time we believe that a parenteral vaccine ie. injected im or iv (bypassing the oral barriers) can induce mucosal immunity.Read moreRead less
A New Scrambled Antigen Vaccine (SAVINE) Approach: Proof-of-concept In Non-human Primates For HIV-1
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$120,700.00
Summary
The specific aim of this proposal is to demonstrate, in non-human primates, proof–of-concept of a patented new platform vaccine technology (scrambled antigen vaccine or SAVINE) designed to encode all the protein sequences of an infectious agent, in this case HIV-1. These are arranged as equal-sized, overlapping fragments such that all potential T cell epitopes that are needed to induce broad T-cell-mediated immunity are maintained. The synthetically designed vaccine uses consensus sequences of H ....The specific aim of this proposal is to demonstrate, in non-human primates, proof–of-concept of a patented new platform vaccine technology (scrambled antigen vaccine or SAVINE) designed to encode all the protein sequences of an infectious agent, in this case HIV-1. These are arranged as equal-sized, overlapping fragments such that all potential T cell epitopes that are needed to induce broad T-cell-mediated immunity are maintained. The synthetically designed vaccine uses consensus sequences of HIV-1 to provide universal coverage of the major HIV-1 strains for a global population. The synthetic systematically designed HIV-1 vaccine will be delivered using our newly developed prime-boost immunisation regime that induces particularly high levels of cell-mediated immunity.Read moreRead less
A Novel Vaccine Platform For Trimeric Envelope Proteins: HIV-1 Envelope
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$139,250.00
Summary
Vaccines are urgently needed for the prevention of HIV/AIDS. The design of this vaccine candidate is based on the display of HIV-1 envelope spikes using a related primate retrovirus envelope with a more stable assembly to anchor the the spikes in a particle.
The DietAdvice Website A New Innovation For Dietitians In Clinical Practice.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$140,975.00
Summary
Due to the growing incidence of obesity within Australia, use of computer technology may be a method of targeting these people by increasing access to dietary services. Currently available dietary software in the Australian context only allows analysis of nutrient information. Thus when a dietitian sees a patient they must manually translate food intake to nutrient information, a largely time consuming exercise. DietAdvice is a website that was developed for people to enter in their own food int ....Due to the growing incidence of obesity within Australia, use of computer technology may be a method of targeting these people by increasing access to dietary services. Currently available dietary software in the Australian context only allows analysis of nutrient information. Thus when a dietitian sees a patient they must manually translate food intake to nutrient information, a largely time consuming exercise. DietAdvice is a website that was developed for people to enter in their own food intakes. The food information is sent to a dietitian who develops individualised dietary advice for them. A pilot study of the website has already found it to be feasible in the primary healthcare setting. Tested for 12 months the website was used by 224 patients from GP practices in the Illawarra region of NSW. Approximately 73% of patients were overweight and patients with a high BMI were 1.88 times more likely to use the website in the comfort of their home. Further research about the website however was needed. The research to follow on from the pilot study will aim to refine the DietAdvice website, leading towards its commercialisation for dietitians in clinical practice. The research will be broken into 3 phases. Phase 1 will involve a usability test of the website, assessing the underlying algorithms and testing it with dietitians in private practice. Phase 2 will see volunteers using the website on multiple occasions after being given pre-weighed amounts of food to eat. This will determine how reliable and accurate the information is; and phase 3 will evaluate whether the website is cost effective and if it increases accessibility of health services especially in rural areas. By confirming these attributes there will be a sound basis to commercialise the product.Read moreRead less