CD4+CD8β+ Double-positive T-cell Regulation Of CD8 T-cell Responses
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$430,983.00
Summary
T-cells are a type of white blood cell that play an essential role in the immune system. CD4+CD8+ Double-Positive (DP) T-cells are a rare and poorly defined T-cell subset associated with skin disease - however their function and subsequently their contribution to disease is not known. Our preliminary data suggest that these DP cells may regulate the function of other immune populations in the skin. This project aims to deliver key insights into DP cells and their role in skin disease.
A New Mouse Model That Determines The Effects Of A Unilateral Vestibular Prosthesis On Vestibular Plasticity.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$455,678.00
Summary
Much like a cochlear implant restores auditory function, a vestibular prosthesis restores balance function. It is not clear whether the limited results from vestibular prostheses is due the device not stimulating one component (the otoliths) of the vestibular system essential for self-repair. We will test mutant mice that lack otoliths to determine the importance of stimulating the otoliths in restoring function. This work will shape the future direction of prosthesis development.
Neuronal Activity And Variability Underlying Perception And Action
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$349,802.00
Summary
Perception and behaviour are often unpredictable. We do not identically perceive repeated stimuli, and even professional athletes cannot precisely replicate their actions. This project compares variations in the activity of motion-sensitive neurons in the brain with variability in motion perception and eye movements. This should give insights into how neuronal activity underlies conscious perception and eye movements and may ultimately help treat conditions with impaired control of movement.
Can Systematically Developed Alcohol Health Warnings Reduce Drinking Intentions And Behaviours?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$782,617.00
Summary
This research will develop differently worded and formatted warnings about a wide range of harms of alcohol and assess adult drinkers’ responses to them, compared to current messages on alcohol containers. The study will use population surveys, discussion groups, message ratings and an experimental study with follow-up to determine the content and format of warnings with the greatest potential to encourage drinkers to reduce their alcohol-related risk.
How Chromatin Compaction Is Regulated And Its Link With Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$493,747.00
Summary
Chromosomes are constructed from very small particles called nucleosomes. How these nucleosomes interact with each other to build an entire chromosome is not known but elucidating this mechanism is critical in order to understand cancer when chromosomes become unstable. Furthermore, the strength of nucleosome-nucleosome interactions determines whether a gene is expressed or not. This study will elucidate the nature and the mechanism of how nucleosome-nucleosome interactions are regulated.
Attentional Processing In Developmentally Vitamin D Deficient Rats: Modelling The Cognitive Symptoms Of Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$252,911.00
Summary
Schizophrenia is a poorly understood but very disabling group of brain disorders. There is an urgent need for animal models of cognitive impairments in schizophrenia. Based on clues from epidemiology, we have proposed that low prenatal vitamin D may be a risk factor for later development of schizophrenia. We propose to use a rat model with prenatal vitamin D deficiency to explore the neurobiological correlates of impaired cognition and as a platform to screen novel drugs to improve cognition.
Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records For Young Adults With Communication Disabilities: Charting The Course For Successful Child To Adult Health Service Transition.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,665.00
Summary
Adolescents and young adults with chronic health conditions and communication disabilities struggle to communicate their health information with service providers. This causes problems in care when moving from child to adult health services. This study will investigate their use of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record as a means to support timely and effective information exchange to improve healthcare for these vulnerable young adults.
Monitoring The Gap Between Evidence And Vaccination Behaviour By Sampling The Location-specific Consumption Of Health Information From News And Social Media
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$476,648.00
Summary
Vaccination programs have saved millions of lives in the last decade but vaccine refusal threatens their success. We propose new methods for tracking social media to measure how people in different locations are exposed to different information about vaccines from the media and other sources. This will help us understand why some communities appear to be more susceptible to vaccine hesitancy, and help public health organisations more effectively address the problem of vaccine acceptance.
Effects Of The Histone Acetyltransferases MOZ And QKF On Chromatin Modifications
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$349,576.00
Summary
Cancer of the blood (leukaemia) can be caused by rearrangements of the genetic material (DNA) that cause fusions between ordinarily separate proteins. Monocytic leukaemia zinc finger (MOZ) fusion proteins cause aggressive leukaemia. We have shown that MOZ associates with DNA packaged with histone proteins into chromatin, changes histones and gene activity. We will examine how MOZ and the closely related QKF protein affect the chromatin to elucidate the function of MOZ and QKF.
We will construct different genetically engineered viruses, which infect cells in the respiratory tract, to deliver genes encoding proteins from human immunodeficiency virus (the AIDS virus). These engineered viruses can be expected to generate an active immune response in mucosal tissues, including the vaginal and rectal tracts. As these are the major routes for transmission of the AIDS virus, these new vaccines are expected to reduce transmission of the AIDS virus.