Strategies For Handling Missing Data In The Development, Validation And Implementation Of Clinical Risk Prediction Tools
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$451,692.00
Summary
Tools that predict the future outcome of disease are common. Missing data is a problem in studies that develop and validate such tools and affects their validity because simple approaches to dealing with missing data are biased. We will develop statistical methodology in this area and compare the performance of this and other methodologies. Alongside this methodological work we will re-assess existing prediction tools and develop new tools in the areas of cardiac surgery and kidney disease.
Lewy body dementia is a common yet under-recognised form of dementia in older people. There is a great need for biomarkers to reduce misdiagnosis and improve outcomes for patients and families. Recently there have been exciting advances in research regarding blood tests that might improve diagnosis and understanding of dementia. We will study these blood markers of neurodegeneration and inflammation in people with Lewy body dementia, which may improve diagnosis and help discover new treatments.
Antiphospholipid Syndrome Related Thrombosis: Understanding The Disease Pathogenic Mechanisms Is The Key To Better Diagnosis And Treatment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$607,497.00
Summary
Patients with the Antiphospholipid Syndrome develop thrombosis at a young age. It requires long-term treatment with blood thinning medications, which have risks of severe bleeding. Methods are needed to decide which patients require long term treatment, avoiding unnecessary treatment in low risk patients. Such methods do not currently exist. In this study we explore how useful two novel assays developed by us are in identifying which of these patients are at high risk of thrombosis.
Waxing And Waning Of Asthma During Transition From The Teens To Adulthood: Identification Of Immunophenotypic Markers To Predict Disease Trajectory And Guide Development Of Treatment Strategies To Prevent Progression To Chronicity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$736,166.00
Summary
The project will seek to identify biomarkers in teenage/young adult asthmatics that can distinguish between those who are "growing out" of the disease, versus those who are progressing towards chronic severe asthma. This knowledge will inform the development of more effective treatment programs for this age group.
Characterising The Tumour Suppressive Function Of Myoepithelial Cell Stefin A In Ductal Carcinoma In Situ
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$474,840.00
Summary
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a pre-invasive stage of breast cancer, whereby the tumour cells remain restrained by myoepithelial cells that surround breast ducts. Predicting which cases of DCIS will later develop invasive cancer is difficult, meaning that the majority of patients have treatment. Stefin A is a protease inhibitor in myoepithelial cells shown to block cancer invasion and we aim to test the function of this protein in DCIS and its potential as a prognostic marker.
Biomarkers In Barrett's Oesophagus And Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$67,690.00
Summary
Barrett’s oesophagus (BO) is a condition in which the normal lining of the lower oesophagus is replaced with intestine-like tissue as a response to long-standing acid reflux. BO can progress to oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC), an aggressive cancer with poor 5-year survival rates of ~15%. This project aims at detecting genetic and molecular changes that occur in both BO and OAC and which may help predict the risk of progression as well as survival for patients affected by this disease entity.
TARGETING THE CHK1-STAT3-CIP2A AXIS TO TREAT GLIOBLASTOMA (GBM)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$321,048.00
Summary
Glioblastoma (GBM is a high-grade brain tumour for which current treatments are inadequate. Tumour recurrence is almost inevitable and average life expectancy is measured in months. We have identified a DNA-damage signalling pathway and demonstrated that perturbation of the pathway significantly reduces tumour growth. We plan to target key proteins of the recently identified pathway and validate these findings using tumour cells directly from GBM patients and relevant animal models of human GBM.
Inherited Genetic Variants As Prognostic Markers For Colorectal Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$623,972.00
Summary
Bowel cancer is a major health burden. Surgical resection of the primary cancer is often possible at diagnosis, yet in many patients the cancer will recur. Together with mutations, inherited genetic variants influence the rate of bowel cancer growth. This study aims to identify inherited variants predictive of cancer recurrence. Improved prediction of recurrence will permit more targeted use of clinical interventions, tailored to the individual patient, ultimately improving patient survival.