A Fully Implantable Self Powered Extra Aortic Counterpulsation Device? For Translational Development In Hypertensive Heart Failure
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$901,586.00
Summary
The development of a low cost self-powered cardiac aortic assist device to improve blood flow to the heart and rest of the body. The device is placed on the external surface of the large blood vessel (aorta) leaving the heart and provides gentle counterpulsation to improve blood flow. This aortic cardiac assist device is a therapeutic treatment for early stage heart failure.
Improving Oocyte Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number To Enhance Female Reproductive Capacity.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$670,867.00
Summary
Eggs with too few copies of mitochondrial DNA either fail to fertilise or arrest during early development. By supplementing eggs with mitochondrial DNA, we have been able to enhance embryo quality and gene expression profiles. By breeding the offspring derived from eggs given mitochondrial supplementation, we will determine if they and their progeny meet normal developmental milestones, regulate the transmission of mitochondrial DNA appropriately, and are healthy and fertile.
Media Formulations To Enhance Embryo Formation In Assisted Reproduction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$660,133.00
Summary
The increasing age of parenthood has led to an explosion in the demand for assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF). This procedure has a poor success rate and is limited by the ability of fertilised eggs to mature into early embryos in the lab prior to being transferred into women. We will develop new compounds that improve embryo growth in the clinic, which will improve IVF success rates.
Development Of A Novel Microfluidic Device To Treat Male Infertility
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$508,397.00
Summary
This research aims to develop a novel technology for the separation of high quality sperm. It is envisaged this will replace existing technology to improve the reproductive outcomes of both humans, as well as animals.
Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+)-raising Agents For Improving Oocyte Quality
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$445,827.00
Summary
Many women cannot have children because of suboptimal egg quality, often due to aging. Currently, the only option is to use better quality eggs donated from another woman. This project will use pharmacological agents to promote recently discovered pathways in eggs central to determining quality. Importantly, we will investigate a simple and practical approach that can be used in clinics for augmenting these pathways to improve oocyte quality for the first time.
Infertility is common and although IVF is widely accepted, the procedure is expensive and is associated with health risks. Using laboratory animals, we have made significant advances towards developing new technologies that can mature eggs and produce embryos in vitro, but without women receiving hormone injections. This project will seek means to combine the benefits of two of our existing technologies into one integrated system, to provide hormone-free infertility treatment.