When Prometheus Needs A Hand – How Human Amnion Epithelial Cells Resolve Fibrosis And Regenerate The Liver
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$530,653.00
Summary
Cirrhosis can progress to end stage disease for which transplantation provides the only hope for survival. Liver donors in Australia are scarce; the need for donor organs is increasing. Using stem cells to repair and regenerate damaged liver may provide an alternative to organ transplantation. We are studying placental stem cells that can decrease inflammation and increase progenitor cells to repair and regenerate liver. Our goal is to use these stem cells as treatment for human liver disease
Mechanisms Underlying Growth, Lineage Commitment And Differentiation Of Liver Progenitor Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$535,333.00
Summary
Liver disease is a serious health problem. Viral hepatitis, obesity and alcohol can result in end-stage liver disease. Organ transplant is the only treatment available. A widening gap between organ donations and recipients mandates alternative treatments are developed. Cell transplantation and artificial liver devices are alternatives which can use liver progenitor cells. We will investigate how factors grow and convert them into liver cells for treating liver disease patients.
Development Of Microscope-in-a-needle Devices For Improved Clinical Diagnostics
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$327,746.00
Summary
We have developed a new high-resolution optical imaging technology. The unique aspect of our research has been to redesign the imaging probe, miniaturising it to a few hundred microns in diameter, and encase it in a hypodermic needle – a ‘microscope-in-a-needle’. We are developing specific imaging probes to aid in the assessment of lung disease; the diagnosis of liver disease; and integrated into a brain biopsy needle to enable safer brain biopsies.
Improving Sexual Health In Men With Prostate Cancer: Randomised Controlled Trial Of Exercise And Psychosexual Therapies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$583,416.00
Summary
Sexual dysfunction is one of the most common and distressing side effects of prostate cancer. Despite being a critical survivorship care issue, there is a clear gap in knowledge surrounding the optimal treatment of sexual dysfunction in men with prostate cancer. This project examines whether exercise aids in the management of sexual dysfunction and explores if an integrated treatment model incorporating pharmacological, exercise and psychosexual therapies maximises improvement in sexual health.
The Effect Of Human ApoE Isoforms And ApoE Receptors On The Clearance Of Oligomeric A 42 By Hepatocytes In Vitro
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$424,801.00
Summary
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive memory disorder. Increased production of a short peptide called amyloid- (A ) aggregates to form the sticky masses in the brains of AD patients. The amount of A in the brain is a balance between production and clearance. Surprisingly, we recently demonstrated that the liver clears the majority of A . These results connect AD and cardiovascular disease (CVD), enabling current CVD therapeutics to target A clearance by the liver.
KConFab - The Kathleen Cuningham Foundation Consortium For Research Into Familial Breast Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,176,975.00
Summary
Breast cancer is the most common malignant disease of women. In families with an inherited form of breast cancer, nearly half the women in every generation can develop the disease. The aim of this Australasian-wide study is to complete collection of clinical, epidemiological and genetic data on 1,600 of these severely-affected families. The national resource is, and will continue to be, of great value for researchers who want to identify and characterize the genetic and life style factors that a ....Breast cancer is the most common malignant disease of women. In families with an inherited form of breast cancer, nearly half the women in every generation can develop the disease. The aim of this Australasian-wide study is to complete collection of clinical, epidemiological and genetic data on 1,600 of these severely-affected families. The national resource is, and will continue to be, of great value for researchers who want to identify and characterize the genetic and life style factors that affect onset and progression of the disease.Read moreRead less
Can Exercise Delay Transition To Active Therapy In Men With Low Grade Prostate Cancer? A Multi-Centre Randomized Controlled Trial.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$604,429.00
Summary
Prostate cancer overdiagnosis is associated with increased rates of overtreatment and associated morbidity. Although nearly half of Australian men diagnosed with low risk prostate cancer are managed with active surveillance there are no established recommendations for slowing disease progression and delaying transition to active treatment. The proposed study would be the first to determine the efficacy of a comprehensive exercise program during active surveillance for prostate cancer.
Melanoma Mutation Profiling For Personalised Treatment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$571,191.00
Summary
Melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer, and the leading cause of skin cancer related deaths. Disease spread is difficult to detect and extremely difficult to cure. This bleak clinical outcome is changing with the development of personalised therapies which include small molecule inhibitors to treat metastatic melanoma. Here we seek to identify the spectrum of mutations in patient tumours and circulating tumour cells for advanced personalised treatment.
Leukaemia-cancer cells have altered biochemical properties resulting in their high rate of growth compared to normal cells. One of these is augmented activity of enzymes called tyrosine kinases including members of the Src family. One called Lyn has been implicated in several leukaemias as well as cancer. We have identified a novel mechanism of down-regulating this family of enzymes mediated by small proteins. These may allow us to develop novel therapeutics for cancer-leukaemia treatment.
Developing Interpretable Machine Learning Models For Clinical Imaging And Single-cell Genomics
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,312,250.00
Summary
Machine learning methods will be vital to make best use of the deluge of data generated by high-throughput technologies in biomedical science. To get the most out of these models, however, we need to be able to unpack the 'black box'. I will use curated clinical and public research data to benchmark and develop interpretable deep learning models and software tools. These models will be used for breast cancer screening programs and for analysis of complex, large-scale single-cell genomics data.