Studies on peripheral T cell memory. Success in vaccination depends on the ability of the immune system to remember prior encounter with an infectious agent. This immune memory appears to work well for certain infections but not others, essentially meaning that for these diseases, effective vaccines remain unavailable. This application describes experiments based on a new leukocyte or white blood cell population that has been overlooked in studies of immune memory. The work involves identifyin ....Studies on peripheral T cell memory. Success in vaccination depends on the ability of the immune system to remember prior encounter with an infectious agent. This immune memory appears to work well for certain infections but not others, essentially meaning that for these diseases, effective vaccines remain unavailable. This application describes experiments based on a new leukocyte or white blood cell population that has been overlooked in studies of immune memory. The work involves identifying how they are formed and how they behave within the body. This work will therefore contribute to the development and production of new-generation vaccines to these so far uncontrollable infectious diseases.Read moreRead less
Structural and functional investigations into a novel chemokine binding protein encoded by evolutionarily diverse alphaherpesviruses. The outcomes of this project will help control disease caused by alphaherpesviruses, including disease in livestock (horses and poultry) and wildlife (kangaroos and wallabies). This will enhance animal health and welfare and will also benefit the associated industries. Livestock industries are critically important to the Australian economy (equine and poultry indu ....Structural and functional investigations into a novel chemokine binding protein encoded by evolutionarily diverse alphaherpesviruses. The outcomes of this project will help control disease caused by alphaherpesviruses, including disease in livestock (horses and poultry) and wildlife (kangaroos and wallabies). This will enhance animal health and welfare and will also benefit the associated industries. Livestock industries are critically important to the Australian economy (equine and poultry industries annually contribute approximately $7.7 and $2.6 billion respectively to our GDP). Wildlife species are crucial to Australian ecosystems and feature in the Australian tourism industry. This project is expected to strengthen international research collaborations and further enhance Australia's reputation as a world-class leader in research and biotechnology.Read moreRead less
A New Recombinant Subunit Vaccine against Equine Herpesviruses 1 and 4. Equine herpesviruses 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4) cause respiratory disease, abortion and myeloencephalitis in horse populations worldwide. Despite extensive use of whole virus vaccines, these two viruses continue to circulate among Australian horses and are a continuing threat to brading, and to racing performance. The current vaccines are expensive and are marked in Australia by an overseas company. The project will assess th ....A New Recombinant Subunit Vaccine against Equine Herpesviruses 1 and 4. Equine herpesviruses 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4) cause respiratory disease, abortion and myeloencephalitis in horse populations worldwide. Despite extensive use of whole virus vaccines, these two viruses continue to circulate among Australian horses and are a continuing threat to brading, and to racing performance. The current vaccines are expensive and are marked in Australia by an overseas company. The project will assess the ability of a new subunit vaccine produced by recombinant DNA technology to 1) provide horses with high levels of protective immune responses and 2) to prevent or limit EHV-1 and EHV-4 infection following experimental challenge.Read moreRead less
Equine rhinitis A virus; molecular pathogenesis and methods for control. The horse industry in Australia is primarily based in rural locations and is a major contributor to the national economy both in terms of direct economic contribution to gross domestic product and as a major employer of people in regional Australia. The research proposed in this project will improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of a virus that causes respiratory disease in horses that is related to the virus that c ....Equine rhinitis A virus; molecular pathogenesis and methods for control. The horse industry in Australia is primarily based in rural locations and is a major contributor to the national economy both in terms of direct economic contribution to gross domestic product and as a major employer of people in regional Australia. The research proposed in this project will improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of a virus that causes respiratory disease in horses that is related to the virus that causes foot and mouth disease in ruminants and swine. The technology developed during this project would have a global market.Read moreRead less