Improving Decisions About The Funding Of High Cost Cancer Medicines In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$569,303.00
Summary
In this project, we will address the pressing policy question: How can those funding cancer medicines manage the intensifying economic and ethical challenges that they face? Specifically, we will explore ways of making funding decisions fairer and more legitimate in the eyes of different stakeholders, including patients, the general public, governments and pharmaceutical companies. We will also consider ways in which these guidelines might be generalised to the funding of other medicines.
Can One Health Strategies Be More Effectively Implemented Through Prior Identification Of Public Values?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$585,331.00
Summary
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are a significant risk to our region. One Health approaches to EIDs emphasize connections between human,animal and ecological health, enhancing capacity for disease prediction and intervention. This project will examine existing EID legislation,identify social and ethical barriers to effective EID risk governance and create a comprehensive statement of values to ensure the acceptability of One Health approaches to EID control to the Australian community.
Addressing Conflicts Of Interest In Public Health And Biomedicine: Enhancing Professional Integrity And Safeguarding The Public’s Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$583,014.00
Summary
It is common for health researchers, clinicians and policymakers to have "conflicts of interest" due, for example, to relationships with private industry. It is widely accepted that conflicts of interest can at times distort research, policymaking and practice, but there is no consensus as to how they should be conceptualised, assessed or managed In this project we will explore the causes and impacts of conflict of interest, and devise a sophisticated framework for managing them.
Cancer Genomics; Psychosocial, Behavioural And Ethical Issues And Outcomes, Two Inter-related Longitudinal Studies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$506,654.00
Summary
Over 1/3 of patients with cancer will die of their disease. Genomics offers hope of more tailored risk management and treatment, but will only realize its promise if patients understand, cope with, inform relatives about, and make informed decisions based on, genomic results. This study will be the first internationally to explore the knowledge, attitudes, preferences, experiences and outcomes of cancer patients who undergo genomic testing and their relatives, over time.
Developing Evidence Based Strategies For Addressing Childhood Vaccination Rejection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$743,927.00
Summary
Parental rejection of vaccines is a global concern that threatens to undermine disease control. A lack of evidence hampers the responses to this complex and persistent problem. We will interview parents who don’t vaccinate their children to learn what influences their decisions. We will then hold community juries and a public engagement process to refine strategies for responding to vaccination rejection that are acceptable to a well informed citizenry, practical and ethically justified.
Conquering Schistosomiasis In China: The Last Mile
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,432,780.00
Summary
Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia), caused by Schistosoma bloodflukes, is an ancient disease in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). After decades of control, the Chinese authorities have slated their intention to eliminate the disease by 2020. However, current diagnostic methods underestimate the true infection rates so we contend this target is unattainable. Supplementation of current control measures with additional public health interventions will be required to achieve the goal of elimination.
Novel Insights Into The Mechanisms Of How Chikungunya Virus Cause Disease In Humans
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$554,808.00
Summary
Many of the most dangerous and easily transmitted infectious agents are viruses. The emergence of chikungunya virus globally and the recognition of this pathogen in the aetiology of chronic diseases show the need for a better understanding of how the virus cause disease. The expected outcomes are a better understanding of human alphaviral diseases, with a view to improving prevention and treatment strategies to reduce the disease burden of CHIKV and related viruses.
Using High-throughput Genomics To Reveal The Deleterious Genetic Changes That Underlie Paediatric Leukoencephalopathies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,003,712.00
Summary
There has been an explosion of high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies in the past five years, which have the potential to completely revolutionise medicine and scientific research. Here we present a series of studies showing the successful application of this technology to children with genetic disorders of the central nervous system. This proposal seeks to expand this study to a large cohort of similarly affected paediatric patients.
Improving Patient Safety In Radiation Therapy With The Watchdog Real-time Treatment Delivery Verification System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$593,742.00
Summary
Radiation therapy is a highly effective cancer treatment with extremely high doses delivered using very complex treatment machines. Unfortunately errors have occurred resulting in cases of patient death and mistreatment. We have developed a novel method to assess the treatment delivery in real-time to prevent errors. The method uses imaging devices that are already present on the treatment machine meaning that this method could have a major impact on patient safety in modern radiation therapy.
Design And Application Of New Nanomaterials Theranostic Platforms For Targeted Treatment Of Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$530,626.00
Summary
The project aims to develop intelligent drugs that attract to malignant tumors like magnets. These powerful, next-generation chemotherapy drugs seek out cancerous cells, allowing physicians to see exactly where tumours lie. Nanoparticles inside the drugs then switch on upon contact with X-ray radiation beams. This new method, which can diagnose, deliver targeted therapy and monitor the response to therapy all at the same time, would reduce the amount of radiation needed to kill cancer cells.