Development of the PD GeneChip: a research and diagnostic tool for Parkinson's disease. The PD GeneChip will provide both social and economic benefits to Australia. It will be a key research platform for Australian scientists, and will facilitate collaboration both within Australia and overseas. It will assist with health care management of PD (Parkinson's disease) patients by providing a cost-effective diagnostic tool and the possibility of predicting the clinical course of disease. This inform ....Development of the PD GeneChip: a research and diagnostic tool for Parkinson's disease. The PD GeneChip will provide both social and economic benefits to Australia. It will be a key research platform for Australian scientists, and will facilitate collaboration both within Australia and overseas. It will assist with health care management of PD (Parkinson's disease) patients by providing a cost-effective diagnostic tool and the possibility of predicting the clinical course of disease. This information will provide the basis for tailoring treatment to a patients needs. It is anticipated that marketing of the PD GeneChip within Australia and overseas may produce revenue of at least $40 million annually.Read moreRead less
A high throughput Grid based environment for real time bio-medical imaging. Together with Leica, we will build a virtual microscope facility that will provide substantial functionality not currently available in Australia. This facility will have major national and international impact on bio-medical imaging. The software solutions and infrastructure, developed as part of this program will have considerable commercial and strategic value in their own right. One guaranteed avenue for exploitation ....A high throughput Grid based environment for real time bio-medical imaging. Together with Leica, we will build a virtual microscope facility that will provide substantial functionality not currently available in Australia. This facility will have major national and international impact on bio-medical imaging. The software solutions and infrastructure, developed as part of this program will have considerable commercial and strategic value in their own right. One guaranteed avenue for exploitation of the software will clearly be through our industry partner, Leica. Importantly, our proposal consolidates a critical mass of expertise connecting biomedical with computer science, thereby addressing a well-recognised constraint that to date has limited their national and international impact.Read moreRead less
Development of an ultrasensitive assay for human prion proteins. The aim of this work is to enable the detection of prion proteins in human blood and other tissues. The assay system to be developed will detect much lower levels of these disease-causing proteins than is possible at present; it will be more rapid and will measure prion protein levels more accurately than existing assays. The outcome of the work is expected to facilitate the production and certification of prion-free blood and bl ....Development of an ultrasensitive assay for human prion proteins. The aim of this work is to enable the detection of prion proteins in human blood and other tissues. The assay system to be developed will detect much lower levels of these disease-causing proteins than is possible at present; it will be more rapid and will measure prion protein levels more accurately than existing assays. The outcome of the work is expected to facilitate the production and certification of prion-free blood and blood products. Prions cause Bovine Spongiform Encaphalopathy and Creutzfeld Jacob Disease and attempts to control of these diseases would be greatly abetted by an optimal test for the disease-causing agent.Read moreRead less
Spectroscopy of complex and biological micro-objects for biosensing applications. The optically based test for specific DNA binding resulting from the conclusion of this project is of great potential benefit to all Australians as DNA is the building block of all living organisms. The technique developed and resulting biosensor will provide an invaluable tool for the determination and analysis of specific DNA reactions. The general technique developed for the genetic targeting of specific DNA rea ....Spectroscopy of complex and biological micro-objects for biosensing applications. The optically based test for specific DNA binding resulting from the conclusion of this project is of great potential benefit to all Australians as DNA is the building block of all living organisms. The technique developed and resulting biosensor will provide an invaluable tool for the determination and analysis of specific DNA reactions. The general technique developed for the genetic targeting of specific DNA reactions makes the detection of diseases and toxins like Chlamydia and anthrax, for example cheap, quick and accurate, keeping Australian's healthy, and strengthening national security.Read moreRead less
DEEP DRILLING OF THE HUMAN PLASMA PROTEOME. Like turning out city lights lets you see the faint stars more clearly - removal of high abundance proteins from human biofluids allows quantum leaps in biomarker discovery. This project will develop products that remove the biggest obstacle in proteomics - high abundance proteins (city lights). Cheap, efficient and routine removal of abundant proteins will amplify the power of ?cutting edge? proteomic technologies in the discovery of novel biomarkers ....DEEP DRILLING OF THE HUMAN PLASMA PROTEOME. Like turning out city lights lets you see the faint stars more clearly - removal of high abundance proteins from human biofluids allows quantum leaps in biomarker discovery. This project will develop products that remove the biggest obstacle in proteomics - high abundance proteins (city lights). Cheap, efficient and routine removal of abundant proteins will amplify the power of ?cutting edge? proteomic technologies in the discovery of novel biomarkers. This is possible because undiscovered low copy number biomarkers (faint stars) exist in human diagnostic fluids at levels far lower than current proteomic array detection limits.Read moreRead less
Engineering of anti-platelet antibodies for the diagnosis and therapy of infants with bleeding disorders. Foeto-maternal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FMAIT) is a serious clinical condition where infants suffer potentially fatal bleeding disorders from 14 weeks gestation to 1-2 weeks post delivery. The cause of the disease is through maternal antibodies destroying foetal platelets. Our aim is to produce human antibodies, which will be used as diagnostic agents to screen for the condition in preg ....Engineering of anti-platelet antibodies for the diagnosis and therapy of infants with bleeding disorders. Foeto-maternal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FMAIT) is a serious clinical condition where infants suffer potentially fatal bleeding disorders from 14 weeks gestation to 1-2 weeks post delivery. The cause of the disease is through maternal antibodies destroying foetal platelets. Our aim is to produce human antibodies, which will be used as diagnostic agents to screen for the condition in pregnant women, and to further develop such antibodies for therapy. Identification of mothers at risk of FMAIT and the development of a specific therapy are vital to the management and prevention of this serious condition.Read moreRead less
Metabolic Profiling of Human Embryonic Stem Cells. Stem cell therapies are becoming a commercial reality. Stem cell products have an estimated value of US$ 87 million this year and are predicted to be worth US$ 8.5 billion within a decade. Development of stem cell products will be an international research effort with many contributing to the final products. Research described here will augment this effort, strengthening Australia's contribution by developing novel intellectual property and appl ....Metabolic Profiling of Human Embryonic Stem Cells. Stem cell therapies are becoming a commercial reality. Stem cell products have an estimated value of US$ 87 million this year and are predicted to be worth US$ 8.5 billion within a decade. Development of stem cell products will be an international research effort with many contributing to the final products. Research described here will augment this effort, strengthening Australia's contribution by developing novel intellectual property and applications. The training of individuals skilled in stem cell research will add to Australia's pool of stem cell researchers. Individuals trained in this area will be paramount to maintaining Australia's research effort and in the application of these technologies into the Australian health sector.Read moreRead less
Development of an endofunctional capsule for targeted delivery of biomarkers in the alimentary tract. The proposed capsule will provide a solution to the problem of accessing the small intestine for targeted delivery of biomarkers and drugs, and contribute to translational medical research to enhance our understanding of the function of the gut. Successful completion of this project will build on defined priority areas of research strength in Australia (frontier technologies, smart information u ....Development of an endofunctional capsule for targeted delivery of biomarkers in the alimentary tract. The proposed capsule will provide a solution to the problem of accessing the small intestine for targeted delivery of biomarkers and drugs, and contribute to translational medical research to enhance our understanding of the function of the gut. Successful completion of this project will build on defined priority areas of research strength in Australia (frontier technologies, smart information use) and assist in the provision of information critical to the design of novel in vivo endofunctional devices. The technologies to be developed in this project will be translatable to the development of other in vivo functional investigation and treatment devices. Read moreRead less
Protein biosensors for detecting smoke exposure of grapes. Bush fires and controlled burns that take place in the vicinity of vineyards can lead to grape contamination with tasteless phenolic glucosides. Their hydrolysis during wine making leads to “smoke taint” – an unpleasant medicinal taste that can render wine undrinkable. We will apply a combination of organic synthesis, protein engineering and directed evolution to develop protein-based biosensors of phenolic glucosides. These biosensors w ....Protein biosensors for detecting smoke exposure of grapes. Bush fires and controlled burns that take place in the vicinity of vineyards can lead to grape contamination with tasteless phenolic glucosides. Their hydrolysis during wine making leads to “smoke taint” – an unpleasant medicinal taste that can render wine undrinkable. We will apply a combination of organic synthesis, protein engineering and directed evolution to develop protein-based biosensors of phenolic glucosides. These biosensors will be used to devise a simple portable colorimetric test that can be performed in the vineyard or the winery. The ability to rapidly determine the level of grape contamination with phenolic glucosides would give Australian wine growers and wine makers a powerful tool to mitigate the effects of bushfires.Read moreRead less
Discovery of Novel Respiratory Viruses Causing Influenza-Like Illness in Healthy Australian Adults Aged 18 to 64 Years. This work will inform our understanding of the causes of acute respiratory illnesses in Australia at the present time by looking for both known and previously undiscovered respiratory viruses. Increasing the knowledge base regarding causes of disease will have downstream relevance for health policy planners seeking to assess the burden of disease due to different causes. Early ....Discovery of Novel Respiratory Viruses Causing Influenza-Like Illness in Healthy Australian Adults Aged 18 to 64 Years. This work will inform our understanding of the causes of acute respiratory illnesses in Australia at the present time by looking for both known and previously undiscovered respiratory viruses. Increasing the knowledge base regarding causes of disease will have downstream relevance for health policy planners seeking to assess the burden of disease due to different causes. Early identification and description of new diseases will allow pre-emptive evaluation of new public health threats. This information will help to ensure availability and marketability of vaccines to prevent infection.Read moreRead less