New Insights Into The Mechanisms Of Thrombogenesis In Atrial Fibrillation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$443,946.00
Summary
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common heart rhythm disturbance (arrhythmia), which is associated with a high risk of stroke due to clot formation within the left atria. At present we still only have a limited understanding of the mechanism of clot formation in AF. The aim of this study is to determine the critical mechanisms that contribute to clot formation within the left atria in AF. This knowledge is fundamental to the development of more successful interventional approaches.
Wounds, burns and scalds are frequent injuries which can lead to deformity, disfigurement and loss of movement. We have shown that the cytoskeletal protein, Flightless I (FliI), is an important regulator of wound repair. We plan to further investigate FliI in wound and burn injuries using new cell-specific transgenic animal models and to develop a new FliI-antibody based therapy to treat wound and burn injuries.
Osteal Macrophages: Novel Regulators Of Osteoblast Function And The Endosteal Stem Cell Niche
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$406,125.00
Summary
Bone diseases are a major health problem and current treatments are inadequate. We are investigating a novel role for macrophages (cells important in tissue maintenance and immune responses) in bone growth, repair and disease. Greater understanding of this will provide new ways to treat bone disease. We will also determine if these macrophages help support stem cells that reside near bone surfaces, which may provide new treatment strategies to improve bone marrow transplantation in cancer.