Elucidating The Role Of Transthalamic Pathways In Cortical Processing
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$792,688.00
Summary
Your brain senses the world and produces a suitable motor response by processing information between brain regions, such as primary sensory cortex to secondary cortex. Surprisingly, cortical pathways have a parallel route through the thalamus (transthalamic pathways) but their function is entirely unknown. We will use novel genetic and viral tools to shut down neural pathways while mice make decisions, thus identifying new circuits in our understanding of disorders with cognitive deficits.
Motivation For Starvation: Understanding The Neurobiology Of Anorexia Nervosa
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$773,142.00
Summary
Anorexia nervosa is a debilitating psychiatric disorder which is currently untreatable. It is characterised by disrupted reward and cognitive processing. This project, which will ultimately inform treatment strategies, utilises the activity-based anorexia rat model combined with innovative behavioural paradigms and sophisticated techniques to manipulate and record from neural circuits. This will furnish a comprehensive understanding of the neurobiology involved in pathological weight loss.
Predictive Models To Design And Develop New Antibiotics Derived From The Community For Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$977,427.00
Summary
With the rise of infections from multidrug-resistant bacteria, and limited antibiotics in the development pipeline, new strategies are required to generate novel antibiotics. This project will apply artificial intelligence methods to study a unique dataset generated over five years with the help of over 300 academic groups around the world. It will produce predictive models that will then be applied to design new antibiotics, which will be synthesized and tested for antimicrobial activity.
Reversing Age-related Impairment Of Myelin Repair - A Novel Therapy For MS
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,053,161.00
Summary
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the brain and spinal cord caused by the loss of myelin which normally insulates the axons (cables) of nerve cells. When myelin is lost, electrical signals cannot pass along axons normally. Regenerating this myelin is key to restoring normal nerve function but myelin repair deteriorates with age. We will determine whether age-associated decline in myelin repair can be reversed by rejuvenating the myelin repair process.
Dissecting Brain Network Ageing Using Whole Brain Imaging
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$692,964.00
Summary
In this proposal, we will make the first attempt to map the whole brain activity change during ageing using a series of state-of-the-art techniques. We will also identify genetic and pharmacological interventions that improve brain network function during ageing. Outcomes from this research will provide an unprecedented understanding of functional ageing within the brain and identify therapeutic interventions to prevent this process.
DEEP LEARNING AND PHYSIOLOGY BASED APPROACH TO DERIVE AND LINK OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNOEA PHENOTYPES AND SYMPTOMATOLOGY
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$402,978.00
Summary
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a highly prevalent nocturnal breathing disorder strongly related to daytime sleepiness, accident risk and reduced quality of life. However, the current severity index, the apnoea-hypopnoea index, poorly predicts daytime sleepiness and vigilance. In this project we elegantly combine physiological insight and artificial intelligence to develop and evaluate novel clinically applicable computational tools for detailed quantification of OSA severity and its symptoms.
Unravelling The Behavioural And Brain Mechanisms Of Compulsive Disorders, And New Ways To Treat Them
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$635,076.00
Summary
Disorders of compulsion, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance use disorder, are chronic, debilitating, and present a significant cost to the individual and to society. Together, these disorders affect more than 10% of the population. Moreover, 40-60% of these individuals are resistant to current treatment. The current project is aimed at improving the preclinical research underlying our understanding the behavioural and brain mechanisms of such disorders and how to treat them.
Developing An In Vitro Model Of A Human Blastocyst
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$890,062.00
Summary
Using novel cellular and molecular technologies we propose to develop an artificial model of an early human blastocyst. This will allow us to study the first initial steps in human development without the use of real embryos. Such a model will not only help us decipher the first steps in human development, but we anticipate it will be essential to study how gene mutations and the environment affect this initial step in human development.
Vaccine To Prevent Influenza Virus And Bacterial Super-infection.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$707,717.00
Summary
Influenza viruses have the ability to pre-dispose infected hosts toward secondary bacterial complications. The mortality of viral infections that are complicated by a concurrent, or subsequent, bacterial infection (known as a super-infection), is often greater than that of either the virus or the bacteria alone. We will develop a novel multi-pathogen vaccine candidate against the major upper respiratory tract pathogens - Influenza A and Streptococcus pyogenes to prevent super-infections.
Growth Factor Directed Developmental And Pathological Lymphangiogenesis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,048,507.00
Summary
The formation of new lymphatic vessels occurs in normal development and in diseased tissues in cancer and cardiovascular disease. We have developed an understanding of how lymphatics form in development but we understand far less about how they form in disease. This project will apply multidisciplinary approaches, including genetics and computational biology, to compare how lymphatics form in development and disease. We hope to uncover new ways to manipulate this process for therapeutic gain.