A vaccine to prevent AIDS is urgently needed. The European Union recently awarded over 20 million euros to a European consortium, called EAVI2020, to advance multiple HIV vaccines into human testing. Five Australian HIV vaccine experts are named investigators on this award to provide advanced laboratory analyses and intellectual input into the 5 year program if this NHMRC-EU Collaborative Research Grant is successful.
The development of better ways to prevent and treat influenza infection will be a major step forward in lessening the impact of the virus in communities worldwide. We have assembled a research team of seven groups who will determine the ways in which the effects of influenza can be mitigated through an understanding of the factors which lead to severe disease, and how these can be lessened by novel vaccination and treatment strategies.
Mapping The Molecular Blueprint For Immune Cell Differentitation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$753,300.00
Summary
Killer T cells are white blood cells that are key for helping control virus infections and in the recognition and elimination of cells that have become cancerous. This proposal aims to identify novel molecular mechanisms that control the ability of killer T cells to mediate their antiviral and anti-cancer functions. This will provide molecular targets for possible clinical interventions designed to either promote immunity (vaccination) or limit damage caused by T cell responses that target self
Bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles As Immunomodulatory Agents In Helicobacter Pylori Infection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$306,510.00
Summary
Chronic inflammation of the stomach is a hallmark of Helicobacter pylori infection, and is a precursor to peptic ulcer disease and cancer. Like many other bacteria, H. pylori sheds spherical blebs from its surface. These blebs bind to stomach cells in vitro and have been found in stomach biopsies of H. pylori-infected subjects. The aims of the work are to investigate the mechanisms whereby H. pylori blebs enter and disseminate within host cells, and how this may contribute to inflammation.
Delineating Immune Circuits For Innate And Adaptive Immune Protection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$876,005.00
Summary
The immune system provides the essential frame-work to protect us against infection, disease and to heal tissues after trauma. This is achieved by a complex but elegant network of different types of white blood cells. Understanding the molecular wiring of these cells will provides fundamental insights to how the body fights pathogen infections and cancer and lays the foundation to therapeutic approaches to vaccination and disease treatments.
Immunoregulation, Innate And Adaptive Immunity, Viral Immunology, Ocular Immunology, Immunotherapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$880,454.00
Summary
The focus on our research is to understand how the immune system responds to viral challenges and how viruses attempt to counteract immune responses. We focus on systemic disease, as well as disease that involve the eye. Understanding how immune responses are regulated will allows us to develop improved therapies
Understanding The Key Attributes Of CD8 T Cell Receptor Transfer As An Antiviral Strategy And Harnessing The Process To Combat Persistent Viral Infections
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$612,885.00
Summary
We have recently discovered a new process through which the numbers of antiviral immune cells can rapidly expand, without dividing, to combat a virus infection that may otherwise be fatal. This represents a significant advance in our knowledge on how a speedy, virus-specific response can be mounted. We will study how this process can be applied to therapeutic strategies to overcome medically significant persistent viral infections.
Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity Based Immunity To Influenza
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$677,938.00
Summary
Pandemic influenza causes widespread disease, death and panic. Producing vaccines to new strains takes time. There is a need to produce vaccines that provide partial protection against unknown strains. We identified a type of anti-influenza antibody in people with prior influenza infection that may assist in reducing disease from new influenza strains. We will study these antibodies, understanding how effective they against influenza, with a view to making improved anti-influenza vaccines.
Deciphering How TCR Affinity Regulates CD4 T Cell Help In Immunity And Autoimmunity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$850,885.00
Summary
Immune responses require the coordinated interaction and cross-talk between two types of white blood cells known as CD4 and CD8 T cells. A dysregulated interaction between these cells could be the cause of autoimmune and persistent infections by pathogens leading to chronic diseases. The aim of this proposal is to provide a deeper understanding of CD4/CD8 T cell interactions to improve immune outcomes in many chronic diseases in which interaction between these two immune cells is critical.