Elder Abuse: A Longitudinal Prospective Study of Perpetrators and Victims. This project aims to improve the quality of the available data and fill major gaps in knowledge about elder abuse in Australia. The study is significant as it aims to generate new knowledge about the perpetrators and victims of abuse and neglect of older women. The Council of Attorneys’ General of Australia has explicitly prioritised this need for further research on the population prevalence of elder abuse. The anticipat ....Elder Abuse: A Longitudinal Prospective Study of Perpetrators and Victims. This project aims to improve the quality of the available data and fill major gaps in knowledge about elder abuse in Australia. The study is significant as it aims to generate new knowledge about the perpetrators and victims of abuse and neglect of older women. The Council of Attorneys’ General of Australia has explicitly prioritised this need for further research on the population prevalence of elder abuse. The anticipated project outcomes will be to identify the prevalence, causes and consequences of elder abuse in Australia, with the intended benefit of the development of reliable and validated estimates of the population prevalence of elder abuse and identify the early life and current circumstances of women who experience elder abuse.
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Unravelling cell wall polysaccharide biosynthesis in pathogenic zygomycetes. This project aims to define mechanisms that control cell wall composition and stability in Rhizopus oryzae, a zygomycete fungus responsible for life-threatening human infections. The biochemical properties and function of vital enzymes involved in a newly discovered cell wall polysaccharide biosynthetic pathway will be determined using innovative approaches at the interface of biochemistry, microbiology, cell biology an ....Unravelling cell wall polysaccharide biosynthesis in pathogenic zygomycetes. This project aims to define mechanisms that control cell wall composition and stability in Rhizopus oryzae, a zygomycete fungus responsible for life-threatening human infections. The biochemical properties and function of vital enzymes involved in a newly discovered cell wall polysaccharide biosynthetic pathway will be determined using innovative approaches at the interface of biochemistry, microbiology, cell biology and structural biology. Expected outcomes include new knowledge on the enzymes that synthesise major fucose-based carbohydrates, to guide the future development of novel strategies for antifungal therapies. The data will also be applicable to animal protection from related zygomycete pathogens.
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Role of the GxxxG domain in the function of mammalian prion proteins. Prion proteins have been associated with a number of diseases of humans and animals (such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans and BSE, or 'mad-cow' disease in cattle) which have had major public health, social and economic consequences in countries where they have been detected. This project will identify mechanisms by which a highly conserved region of the prion protein plays a role in the conversion to the disease associa ....Role of the GxxxG domain in the function of mammalian prion proteins. Prion proteins have been associated with a number of diseases of humans and animals (such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans and BSE, or 'mad-cow' disease in cattle) which have had major public health, social and economic consequences in countries where they have been detected. This project will identify mechanisms by which a highly conserved region of the prion protein plays a role in the conversion to the disease associated form. This will provide avenues for identifying the normal function of the prion protein, and increase our knowledge of prion biology. This will benefit both in terms of healthy ageing and in protecting the agriculture sector from prion diseases in farmed animals.Read moreRead less
Evolution of immunoregulatory networks: preventing autoimmunity at the expense of perpetuating chronicity in persistent infections. Chronic pathogens like HIV take advantage of human genes that regulate immune responses, which evolved to prevent autoimmunity, enabling them to evade eradication. This project defines the nature and interplays between these genes and will provide valuable clues as to how immunity can be manipulated to promote clearance of persistent infections.