Understanding immune mechanisms induced by pulmonary vaccination. This project aims to better understand the mechanisms of immune induction of a novel lung vaccination strategy. The ability to deliver vaccines that induce potent lung and body wide immune responses in a safe and efficient manner has wide implications for both human and animal health. Ultimately, the vaccine will be delivered to the lung as stable dry powders in an attempt to negate the need for a transport cold chain and therefor ....Understanding immune mechanisms induced by pulmonary vaccination. This project aims to better understand the mechanisms of immune induction of a novel lung vaccination strategy. The ability to deliver vaccines that induce potent lung and body wide immune responses in a safe and efficient manner has wide implications for both human and animal health. Ultimately, the vaccine will be delivered to the lung as stable dry powders in an attempt to negate the need for a transport cold chain and therefore facilitate the distribution of the vaccines to remote areas. The project will not only benefit the Australian biotechnology industry but also the community at large and in particular those in remote areas without access to modern medical facilities.Read moreRead less
Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. This project aims to develop a multicomponent vaccine system to deliver equal effectiveness against several disease targets in a single administration. New and innovative vaccine design strategies incorporating economical commercial production processes are urgently needed for new and existing human and animal health applications. A vaccine capab ....Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. This project aims to develop a multicomponent vaccine system to deliver equal effectiveness against several disease targets in a single administration. New and innovative vaccine design strategies incorporating economical commercial production processes are urgently needed for new and existing human and animal health applications. A vaccine capable of targeting multiple diseases by a single injection is an obvious way to expedite future vaccine development and deployment. However, the recipient’s immune system can repress equivalent responses to these multicomponent vaccines. This project’s research is expected to address these problems, and underpin the future commercial development of this vaccine platform.Read moreRead less
Multifunctional biodegradable nanoparticles for enhanced DNA vaccine delivery. DNA vaccine, which shows better immunological and economic merits than conventional vaccines, suffers clinical failure due to the difficulty of delivering intact DNA molecules to relevant cells. This project seeks to develop smart polymer nanospheres to protect the DNA molecules from premature degradation in order to improve its efficacy.
Development of an amoebic gill disease vaccine to protect Atlantic salmon. This project aims to identify candidate vaccine antigens and produce an experimental vaccine against amoebic gill disease (AGD) that will benefit the Tasmanian and international Atlantic salmon aquaculture industries. AGD is the most significant health problem affecting Atlantic salmon aquaculture in Tasmania. In the last decade, AGD has become a legitimate health threat to the multibillion dollar global Atlantic salmon i ....Development of an amoebic gill disease vaccine to protect Atlantic salmon. This project aims to identify candidate vaccine antigens and produce an experimental vaccine against amoebic gill disease (AGD) that will benefit the Tasmanian and international Atlantic salmon aquaculture industries. AGD is the most significant health problem affecting Atlantic salmon aquaculture in Tasmania. In the last decade, AGD has become a legitimate health threat to the multibillion dollar global Atlantic salmon industry. A solution is needed before AGD fully establishes itself in the largest Atlantic salmon producing nations. The expected outcome of this project is the development of a commercial vaccine that should significantly benefit the Australian and international aquaculture industries. Read moreRead less
Poly(amino acids) as immune stimulators. This project aims to develop nanoparticles built from natural hydrophobic amino acids as an immune stimulatory delivery system for peptide antigens. Currently available immune stimulants (adjuvants) are often toxic and/or are poorly chemically defined fragments of bacteria or toxins and vary from batch-to-batch. New adjuvants are in high demand; especially to facilitate the use of optimal, but weakly immunogenic, peptide antigens. It is expected that the ....Poly(amino acids) as immune stimulators. This project aims to develop nanoparticles built from natural hydrophobic amino acids as an immune stimulatory delivery system for peptide antigens. Currently available immune stimulants (adjuvants) are often toxic and/or are poorly chemically defined fragments of bacteria or toxins and vary from batch-to-batch. New adjuvants are in high demand; especially to facilitate the use of optimal, but weakly immunogenic, peptide antigens. It is expected that the proposed project will develop a novel efficient, safe and notably biodegradable self-adjuvanting delivery system that can be fully customised to match an antigen of choice. This foundational research should provide important advances for commercial immune stimulatory applications.Read moreRead less
Developing a chlamydial vaccine for koalas. Developing a chlamydial vaccine for koalas . This project aims to produce an optimised, safe, field-tested, protective Chlamydia vaccine for koalas. In many regions of Australia, Chlamydia infection severely reduces female koala reproductive rates, threatening the species’ long term survival. This project builds on work developing a prototype vaccine for koala Chlamydia, and intends to produce a vaccine ready for potential registration and use by koala ....Developing a chlamydial vaccine for koalas. Developing a chlamydial vaccine for koalas . This project aims to produce an optimised, safe, field-tested, protective Chlamydia vaccine for koalas. In many regions of Australia, Chlamydia infection severely reduces female koala reproductive rates, threatening the species’ long term survival. This project builds on work developing a prototype vaccine for koala Chlamydia, and intends to produce a vaccine ready for potential registration and use by koala care centres, wildlife hospitals and government departments.Read moreRead less
Development of a vaccine to protect koalas against koala retrovirus (KoRV). This project aims to develop a vaccine against koala retrovirus (KoRV) to arrest the increasing loss of animals due to this infection. Along with Chlamydia, KoRV threatens the long-term survival of the koala. KoRV infects over 95 per cent of Australia’s koalas and has been strongly linked to lymphoma and leukemia. Although quarantine and antiretroviral drug treatment are possible control measures, they are impractical in ....Development of a vaccine to protect koalas against koala retrovirus (KoRV). This project aims to develop a vaccine against koala retrovirus (KoRV) to arrest the increasing loss of animals due to this infection. Along with Chlamydia, KoRV threatens the long-term survival of the koala. KoRV infects over 95 per cent of Australia’s koalas and has been strongly linked to lymphoma and leukemia. Although quarantine and antiretroviral drug treatment are possible control measures, they are impractical in the wild, leaving vaccination as the only realistic option. This is valuable for both wild and captive koalas; zoos report high animal losses due to KoRV-associated lymphoma. The main outcome will be a KoRV vaccine which can be combined with a Chlamydia vaccine which is being developed in parallel.Read moreRead less