Atherosclerosis:Lipoproteins, Cell Biology And Vascular Physiology
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$7,274,391.00
Summary
The team comprises internationally recognised experts in basic, clinical and public health applied research in cardiovascular disease, particularly atherosclerosis that is the commonest cause of death in Australia and other developed countries. Over the last decade, improvement in cardiovascular health has been primarily the result of a better understanding on how to control 'bad' (or LDL) cholesterol. The significance of the proposed studies is that, on the one hand, they will provide new infor ....The team comprises internationally recognised experts in basic, clinical and public health applied research in cardiovascular disease, particularly atherosclerosis that is the commonest cause of death in Australia and other developed countries. Over the last decade, improvement in cardiovascular health has been primarily the result of a better understanding on how to control 'bad' (or LDL) cholesterol. The significance of the proposed studies is that, on the one hand, they will provide new information on how 'good' lipoproteins protect us from atherosclerosis. This information can then be used to regulate 'good' cholesterol in a meaningful manner. On the other hand, the proposed studies will provide fundamental insights into how a range of lifestyle factors, physiological processes and pathological conditions relate to both the function of blood vessel-lining cells and susceptibility of individuals to atherosclerosis.Read moreRead less
Understanding And Influencing Physical Activity To Improve Population Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,668,376.00
Summary
Three of Australia's leading researchers on physical activity and population health will use new NHMRC program grant funding to consolidate and extend their already internationally-recognised studies. Doing regular physical activity is very important for maintaining good health. It helps to prevent weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and breast and colon cancer. Unfortunately, most Australian adults are not active enough for health benefits. Rates of overweight and obesity are increasing ....Three of Australia's leading researchers on physical activity and population health will use new NHMRC program grant funding to consolidate and extend their already internationally-recognised studies. Doing regular physical activity is very important for maintaining good health. It helps to prevent weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and breast and colon cancer. Unfortunately, most Australian adults are not active enough for health benefits. Rates of overweight and obesity are increasing rapidly; more than 50% of Australian adults are above the healthy weight range. Rates of type 2 diabetes have doubled in the past 20 years. New ideas and practical tools are therefore needed to tackle these serious ‘diseases of inactivity’. To this end, Professors Neville Owen, Adrian Bauman and Wendy Brown will bring together innovative and practically useful scientific approaches drawn from psychology, epidemiology and exercise physiology. The approach is interdisciplinary – it combines theories and methods from their individual disciplines in an innovative manner, within a public health framework. Their research to date has developed better methods for measuring people’s exercise habits and has provided new insights into how personal, social and environmental circumstances can make people less active. They have also shown how to design and deliver wide-reaching programs for different social groups and evaluated their effectiveness. Their new research program will build on and significantly extend these ideas and approaches into new areas.For example, they will develop new measures of incidental physical activity and sedentary behaviour and will develop and test new, complex community interventions.Their new program will involve in-depth study of some of the most challenging researchproblems in an important and under-researched area of public health. They will further combine their disciplines and the skills of their research team in new, creative and practical ways, to answer important research questions about physical activity and population health. These ideas and approaches will be used to identify practical ways to help more people to be more physically active.Read moreRead less
Sitting Less And Moving More: Population Health Research To Understand And Influence Sedentary Behaviour
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$6,367,518.00
Summary
The majority of Australian adults spend most of their waking hours sitting: at home, at work, and in their cars; most do not participate in exercise or sport. This leads to weight gain and to diseases of inactivity (particularly diabetes, heart disease, cancer and depression). New research will measure sitting time and the physical activity in people's daily lives, what factors encourage inactivity, and how to increase activity levels, especially among the ageing 'baby boomer' population.
The goal of the proposed Program is to improve treatments forpain, especially persistent pain, which remains a poorly managed global health burden. Our pre-eminent team integrates a unique set of complementary research skills in using peptides derived from venomous invertebrates to dissect the pharmacology of pain pathways in persistent pain states, and develop these novel peptides to the point where they can be considered for pre-clinical development in collaboration with commercial partners.
Pathogenesis Of Persistent Human Virus Infections Of Global Significance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$6,571,328.00
Summary
The study will investigate why humans cannot eradicate particular viruses (HIV-AIDS, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus), the long term effects of these viruses and ways to improve control. Current treatments can only partly suppress the levels of these viruses, because they persist in certain parts of the body called reservoirs, only to resurge later causing disease. Thus, the overall aim of the research program is to discover the mechanisms by which these viruses are able to successfully ....The study will investigate why humans cannot eradicate particular viruses (HIV-AIDS, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus), the long term effects of these viruses and ways to improve control. Current treatments can only partly suppress the levels of these viruses, because they persist in certain parts of the body called reservoirs, only to resurge later causing disease. Thus, the overall aim of the research program is to discover the mechanisms by which these viruses are able to successfully persist within reservoirs in the human body. The research program brings together a group of 6 leading scientists and clinicians located at 3 sites in 2 Australian cities. The team is comprised of experts in the study of HIV-AIDS, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus who will combine their knowledge and expertise to speed up the process of research on these viruses that are of major health importance. Studies will also utilise a number of cutting edge technologies that now make it possible to much more rapidly and precisely determine how viruses cause disease. Advances in our understanding of how viruses persist may form the basis for treatments aimed at controlling persistent infections and the serious diseases caused by these viruses.Read moreRead less
THE INTERFACE BETWEEN INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,905,420.00
Summary
Allergic disorders including asthma are amongst the most prevalent diseases in Australia afflicting up to 25% of the population and costing the Australian Government in excess of $600 million annually. This program aims to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms controlling airway inflammation, focusing on the cross-talk between scavenger cells at airway surfaces and circulating cells of the immune system. These studies will combine sophisticated mouse models of airway inflammation in t ....Allergic disorders including asthma are amongst the most prevalent diseases in Australia afflicting up to 25% of the population and costing the Australian Government in excess of $600 million annually. This program aims to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms controlling airway inflammation, focusing on the cross-talk between scavenger cells at airway surfaces and circulating cells of the immune system. These studies will combine sophisticated mouse models of airway inflammation in the laboratory with clinical investigation and analysis of human tissue. Understanding these processes will translate into better treatments for patients suffering from life-threatening allergy and asthma.Read moreRead less
A major obstacle to the development of safer and more effective pain treatments is the poorly defined nature of the different pathways involved in chronic pain. The applicant team bring together a unique set of research expertise in using neurotoxins to define, at the molecular level, how the nervous system functions. The applicants also share a common interest in understanding and improving treatments for pain, especially chronic pain which continues to remain poorly managed Through a focus on ....A major obstacle to the development of safer and more effective pain treatments is the poorly defined nature of the different pathways involved in chronic pain. The applicant team bring together a unique set of research expertise in using neurotoxins to define, at the molecular level, how the nervous system functions. The applicants also share a common interest in understanding and improving treatments for pain, especially chronic pain which continues to remain poorly managed Through a focus on pain research, the Program will significantly enhance the scope of existing multidisciplinary collaborations between the Cis Lewis Alewood, Adams and Christie, which have already made a considerable impact in the fields of pharmacology and neuroscience. The CIs also have considerable experience in the development of pain therapeutics, having discovered two conopeptides now under commercial development with AMRAD (AM336) and Xenome Ltd (Xen2174). This Program will discover and use highly selective conopeptides such as these to dissect the pharmacology of peripheral pain pathways and their projections into the central nervous system, and to identify and characterise new targets amenable to drug intervention. The long-term goal of the Program is to discover new targets in pain pathways and develop conopeptides that act on these targets in animal models of chronic pain. These molecules will be optimised within the Program to the point where they can be considered for pre-clinical development in collaboration with commercial partners.Read moreRead less