Immune Balance-regulating Interleukins As Targets For Immunotherapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$473,477.00
Summary
The immune balance is crucial to human health. Interleukins are a group of proteins secreted by immune cells to mediate their communication. They tune up or down immune responses, thus as attractive targets for immunotherapy to restore the immune balance to treat autoimmune diseases, allergies and infections. This fellowship will support translational research to develop Interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-21-based novel immunotherapies for autoimmune disease, infection and allergy.
New Strategies To Guide Tuberculosis Elimination In High And Low-prevalence Settings
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$262,220.00
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial disease that affects more than 10 million people worldwide each year. Dr Fox is clinical trialist with a rapidly growing international profile and demonstrated capacity to lead multi-centre studies in Asia. During this Fellowship, he will lead six studies - three in Australia and three in Vietnam –aiming to reduce the impact of TB among high-risk populations.
Enhanced Translation Of Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Protein, EBNA1, As A Target Fot T Cell-based Immunotherapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,558.00
Summary
Epstein-Barr virus, (EBV) is a human herpesvirus associated with a range of human cancers. EBNA1, an important EBV antigen, was thought to be “immunologically silent” however, recent studies from our laboratory show that EBNA1 is recognized by our body's defence system and these observations raise the possibility that EBNA1 may be an exploitable, immuno-therapy target for treating EBV-associated cancers.
Genomic-based Tools To Support The Control Of Urogenital Schistosomiasis And Hepatic Opisthorchiasis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$419,180.00
Summary
Over 100 million people are affected by parasitic flukes that promote malignant tumours. Parasite control depends on a single drug, making resistance an imminent threat. I will deliver new genomic tools to unravel the complex interactions between parasites and humans, and explore parasite population diversity on a continental scale. I will then prioritise a panel of anti-parasitic drug targets and vaccine candidates to deliver the next generation of interventions against parasitic diseases.
Proteomic Approaches To Explore The Pathogenesis And Secretomes Of Parasitic Flukes Of Humans
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$415,320.00
Summary
Ten percent of the human population are at risk of infection with liver, blood and lung flukes. These parasites cause considerable human morbidity and mortality including a strong association with cancer of the bile ducts. Current control efforts rely on drugs, but, reinfection and resistance are a problem. This research is aimed at understanding how these parasites cause disease (particularly how a parasite causes cancer) and the development of vaccines and new drugs.
The Relationship Between Immune Dysregulation, Infection And Cancer Incidence
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,558.00
Summary
The research aims to better understand the relationship between immune dysfunction, infection and the development of cancer. Established scientific methods will be used to examine the incidence and risk factors for cancer in people with impaired immunity, such as organ transplant recipients, and people with autoimmune disease. This knowledge is important in advancing our understanding of the causes of cancer, and in developing appropriate preventive strategies and health care for these people.
I have discovered particular factors produced by our white blood cells have the ability to shut down or boost protein production in the gut, pancreas and lung. My vision is to harness these to devise new strategies for treatments for infectious and non-infectious diseases (inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes) that have a high burden on our healthcare system.
In Vivo Responses To Pathogen-derived Mediators Of Acute Inflammation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$94,250.00
Summary
Sepsis causes large numbers of deaths worldwide. It is not known why some patients tolerate an infection and fully recover, while other patients with an equivalent infection are highly vulnerable to severe illness and death from sepsis. Heart failure is a common underlying condition in sepsis. This research will focus on how an infection can cause sudden cardiac death. It will have implications for care of patients with severe infection and also sudden infant death syndrome.
The pathology of many acute and chronic diseases associated with the inappropriate activation of genetically encoded programmed cell death pathways, such as sepsis, stroke, diabetes and neurodegeneration, is linked to detrimental inflammation. This project will accurately define at the molecular level how programmed cell death triggers inflammatory responses, and use this knowledge to test novel and next-generation therapeutic strategies in inflammatory-driven diseases.