Cell Surface Mucins In Gastrointestinal Infection, Inflammation And Cancer Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$469,627.00
Summary
Cell surface mucins are protective molecules that line all the wet surface of the body, including the gastrointestinal tract. Our research has uncovered that mucins regulate cell growth and cell death. Inappropriate control by the mucins, could lead to chronic inflammation and formation of cancers. We will test how important these molecules are in the development of cancers in the intestine, and further explore the mechanism of action.
Evolution And Function Of A Novel Lateral Flagellar Locus, Flag-2, In Pathogenic Escherichia Coli
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$465,158.00
Summary
This project will study how the bacteria that cause infant diarrhoea colonize the intestine and induce disease. We have identified a novel genetic region that allows E. coli to survive and persist in the intestine. Similar genes are also present in closely related organisms. This project will help us to undestand how new diseases evolve and emerge and may lead to the development of new vaccines to protect against infant diarrhoea.
Evaluating Hand Hygiene Interventions And Their Ability To Reduce Haelthcare Associated Infection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$508,848.00
Summary
Healthcare associated infection is a major problem for Australian hospitals. One of the best ways to reduce it is to improve hand hygiene among hospital workers. The National Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI) is currently being implemented to improve hygiene among health care workers. This research will evaluate the NHHI and measure how well the program works, what factors are important to its success, and whether implementing the program is good value for money.
Tuberculosis is one of the most threatening infectious diseases worldwide due to the low efficiency of the only licensed anti-tuberculosis vaccine, BCG. This project aims to interrogate two previously neglected immune mechanisms and their potential to enhance vaccine-induced immunity by incorporating these mechanisms into new genetically modified BCG strains. We will also investigate alternative BCG vaccination routes to generate long-lived immune cells that can rapidly control the infection.
Pathogenomics: New Ways To Exploit Genome Sequence Data From Pathogenic Bacteria.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$547,372.00
Summary
Bacterial pathogens are locked in an evolutionary battle of survival with their eukaryote hosts. The rapidly evolving genes of medically-important pathogens are generally those required for adaptation to the human host. This project aims to exploit the abundance of available bacterial genome sequences to predict rapid evolution in bacterial pathogens using computational methods. The protein products of such genes offer novel targets for therapeutic intervention.
Population-level Epidemiological Trends In Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Queensland 1996 - 2010.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$251,695.00
Summary
Incidence and mortality of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, the most common form of liver cancer) is increasing in Australia, driven by viral hepatitis infections. Disease burden is not defined in Queensland, particularly for Indigenous, migrant and regional and remote communities. Such factors may influence risk of viral hepatitis, access to treatment, and incidence and survival of HCC. Defining disease burdens will enable clinical programs targeted at groups most at risk in order to impact HCC t ....Incidence and mortality of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, the most common form of liver cancer) is increasing in Australia, driven by viral hepatitis infections. Disease burden is not defined in Queensland, particularly for Indigenous, migrant and regional and remote communities. Such factors may influence risk of viral hepatitis, access to treatment, and incidence and survival of HCC. Defining disease burdens will enable clinical programs targeted at groups most at risk in order to impact HCC trends.Read moreRead less
DsbA Foldases From Multidrug Resistant Pathogens As Targets For New Antimicrobials
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$743,401.00
Summary
Bacteria that cause common human infections, such as cystitis and diarrhoea, are now resistant to many antibiotics. If no action is taken, by 2050 antibiotic resistant infections will kill more people each year than cancer. This project aims to address this global public health crisis by characterising promising new bacterial targets and inhibitors designed to disarm multidrug resistant pathogens. Longer term this work could provide new infection therapies that are urgently needed.
ADding Negative PRESSure To Improve HealING (the DRESSING Trial)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,380,446.00
Summary
The aim of this 5-year randomised comtrolled trial is to test the clinical and cost effectiveness of vacuum dressings in reducing the incidence of surgical site infection in obese women undergoing elective and semi-urgent caesarian section. The trial will be conducted at 4 hospitals in south east Queensland. 2,100 women undergoing caesarian section will either receive a vacuum or standard surgical dressing and will be followed for 1 month after surgery.
Antibiotic resistance is a looming public health crisis. New antibiotics with new mechanisms of action are desperately needed. The long-term goal of this research is to develop new drugs that disarm bacteria to overcome the problem of antibiotic resistance.