A Phase I Study Of Autologous CD19 Specific Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cells For Therapy Of Relapsed And Refractory B-cell Leukaemia And Lymphoma (The Auto-CAR19 Trial).
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$584,666.00
Summary
Most people with leukaemia and lymphoma who relapse early after chemotherapy die of their disease. Inserting special genes into immune cells can enable them to kill leukaemia and lymphoma and has led to dramatic cures, but the cost of the viral vectors used to make these cells is prohibitively expensive. We will make leukaemia and lymphoma specific immune cells from patients using an inexpensive non-viral system, then administer the immune cells to patients to assess their safety and efficacy.
Fibre-Polymer Composites With Graded Microstructure. This project concerns the development of a novel fibre-polymer functionally graded composite material that mimics the structure of the spinal disk. The spinal disk comprises a soft core (nucleus) and a tough fibrous periphery (annulus). The graded composite approach of this proposal represents a significant advance over spinal fusion, and over the current generation of spinal disk protheses (metal plates with springs/polymers as shock absorber ....Fibre-Polymer Composites With Graded Microstructure. This project concerns the development of a novel fibre-polymer functionally graded composite material that mimics the structure of the spinal disk. The spinal disk comprises a soft core (nucleus) and a tough fibrous periphery (annulus). The graded composite approach of this proposal represents a significant advance over spinal fusion, and over the current generation of spinal disk protheses (metal plates with springs/polymers as shock absorbers). Chronic back pain affects a significant proportion of the population and is primarily caused by failure of the spinal disk. Therefore a strong social and economic imperative exists to develop engineering solutions to this problem.Read moreRead less
Formation of bone-like materials for bone repair and regeneration. A successful outcome for this project would lead to the production and application of new bone-like calcium phosphate materials. Enhanced bioactivity of this material would lead to higher but controlled rates of calcium phosphate release. An understanding of the formation process of these materials and the controlled release of calcium phosphates has the potential to slow the development of metabolic diseases such as osteoporosis ....Formation of bone-like materials for bone repair and regeneration. A successful outcome for this project would lead to the production and application of new bone-like calcium phosphate materials. Enhanced bioactivity of this material would lead to higher but controlled rates of calcium phosphate release. An understanding of the formation process of these materials and the controlled release of calcium phosphates has the potential to slow the development of metabolic diseases such as osteoporosis. The WHO reports that osteoporosis is the second largest health care problem world-wide. In 2002, 44 million people in the USA were estimated to be at risk. This and similar figures in Australia and around the world emphasize the urgency of understanding and appropriately combating weak bone degenerative diseases.Read moreRead less
Role Of Brm In Skin Tumour Progression From Benign To Malignant
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$457,267.00
Summary
Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world. Skin cancer is 3 times as common as all other cancers combined and continues to increase in incidence, particularly in the aging population. Skin cancer is caused by exposure to the ultraviolet radiation found in sunlight. Ultraviolet radiation causes the appearance of solar keratosis, or sunspots, benign lesions that are not particularly dangerous to human health. Some of these develop into malignant squamous cell carcinomas that ....Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world. Skin cancer is 3 times as common as all other cancers combined and continues to increase in incidence, particularly in the aging population. Skin cancer is caused by exposure to the ultraviolet radiation found in sunlight. Ultraviolet radiation causes the appearance of solar keratosis, or sunspots, benign lesions that are not particularly dangerous to human health. Some of these develop into malignant squamous cell carcinomas that can spread to other tissues and are potentially fatal. Little is known about the biological mechanisms involved in solar keratosis development into squamous cell carcinomas. We have identified the gene brm as being involved in this process. It has not previously been recognised that this gene is important for skin cancer development and therefore our preliminary studies have identified a potential new target. We will study the role of this gene in ultraviolet radiation induced skin carcinogenesis, determine whether it is mutated by ultraviolet radiation in human skin cancer, and what role in plays in some key biological processes in skin cancer development. This study will expand our understanding of malignant conversion during human skin carcinogenesis, the most prevalent human cancer in Australia.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the impact of obesity on knee load over time in those who have undergone optimal surgical re-alignment after total knee replacement . This project investigates the impact of obesity on alignment and knee load over time in those who have undergone total knee replacement. This information is critical for understanding whether obesity results in increasing knee load after surgery which can lead to more rapid wearing of the knee surfaces and an earlier need for revision surgery.
Intracellular calcium in intact muscle during fatigue and stretch-induced damage. Confocal microscopes can investigate intact tissues during normal function. We will develop and apply this novel approach to muscle. We expect this new approach to become a fundamental new tool for exploring muscle function under near normal conditions. Muscle pain and weakness are common disabilities in humans and we expect this new approach to provide insights into the causes and treatment of these common cond ....Intracellular calcium in intact muscle during fatigue and stretch-induced damage. Confocal microscopes can investigate intact tissues during normal function. We will develop and apply this novel approach to muscle. We expect this new approach to become a fundamental new tool for exploring muscle function under near normal conditions. Muscle pain and weakness are common disabilities in humans and we expect this new approach to provide insights into the causes and treatment of these common conditions.Read moreRead less
Development of a Prothrombogenic Bone Graft Substitute. The clinical demand for bone is massive and to counter this bone can be either harvested from the patient or bone substitutes are used. The success or failure of a bone substitute is determined the instant it come into contact with blood. The surfaces of traditional biomaterials induce a foreign body reaction. The aim of this project is to test the bone forming capacity of a biomaterial that is optimised to produce a natural response from ....Development of a Prothrombogenic Bone Graft Substitute. The clinical demand for bone is massive and to counter this bone can be either harvested from the patient or bone substitutes are used. The success or failure of a bone substitute is determined the instant it come into contact with blood. The surfaces of traditional biomaterials induce a foreign body reaction. The aim of this project is to test the bone forming capacity of a biomaterial that is optimised to produce a natural response from the blood. This response will lead to the formation new viable tissue and eventually bone. Such a material will cause faster bone healing, less pain from graft sites, shorter hospital stays and shorter waiting lists. Read moreRead less
The role of attention re-training in pain tolerance. Chronic pain is one of the most debilitating and expensive chronic health problems in westernized countries. Chronic pain develops when an individual is injured and is fearful of the pain that they experience. This causes them to become hypervigilant to pain, avoid activity and results in a vicious cycle of increasing disability. This research has two, related aims. First, we aim to test this model to see whether hypervigilance influences resp ....The role of attention re-training in pain tolerance. Chronic pain is one of the most debilitating and expensive chronic health problems in westernized countries. Chronic pain develops when an individual is injured and is fearful of the pain that they experience. This causes them to become hypervigilant to pain, avoid activity and results in a vicious cycle of increasing disability. This research has two, related aims. First, we aim to test this model to see whether hypervigilance influences response to pain, as predicted. Second, we will develop and test an intervention to reduce hypervigilance to pain in healthy people and those with acute injuries. If the intervention is successful, it will have the potential to prevent the development of chronic pain or reduce its severity.Read moreRead less
Surface engineering of biomaterials for optimal bone bonding characteristics. The ideal bone-implant material is hydroxyapatite. Chemically similar to bone mineral, hydroxyapatite is capable of inducing bone ongrowth. An ideal surface coating for metal hip implants, plasma spraying has been the preferred commercial hydroxyapatite coating technique. Until recently, it was always presumed that the bioactivity of hydroxyapatite resulted from its surface chemistry. However, a recent study has shown ....Surface engineering of biomaterials for optimal bone bonding characteristics. The ideal bone-implant material is hydroxyapatite. Chemically similar to bone mineral, hydroxyapatite is capable of inducing bone ongrowth. An ideal surface coating for metal hip implants, plasma spraying has been the preferred commercial hydroxyapatite coating technique. Until recently, it was always presumed that the bioactivity of hydroxyapatite resulted from its surface chemistry. However, a recent study has shown that the bioactivity of HAp coatings strongly correlates with surface roughness on the scale of bone cells. This project will explore cell-attachment behaviour for hydroxyapatite coatings prepared by plasma spraying compared with engineered surface morphology/chemistry by microlithography and vapour coating.Read moreRead less
Motherhood choices: a decision aid for women with rheumatoid arthritis. Decisions about pregnancy in the context of debilitating rheumatoid arthritis impact directly on both the mother and the child as well as their family and wider social unit. Providing evidence-based information to support women in making informed decisions about motherhood is critical in maximizing the well-being of the mother and ensuring a healthy start to life for a baby. The project will contribute to the national resear ....Motherhood choices: a decision aid for women with rheumatoid arthritis. Decisions about pregnancy in the context of debilitating rheumatoid arthritis impact directly on both the mother and the child as well as their family and wider social unit. Providing evidence-based information to support women in making informed decisions about motherhood is critical in maximizing the well-being of the mother and ensuring a healthy start to life for a baby. The project will contribute to the national research priority area of promoting and maintaining good health, addressing the goal of supporting a healthy start to life.Read moreRead less