Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is a very common blood cancer. Leukaemic tumour cells actively shut down key immune defences in patients who are very prone to severe infections. Current chemotherapies further immuno-compromise CLL patients and over a quarter will die from an infection despite having responded to cancer treatments. We propose that restoring key immune functions in CLL is key to improve resistance to infection and restore natural anti-cancer immunity.
Exploiting The Cross Talk Between Tuft Cells And Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells For Tissue Homeostasis And Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$831,162.00
Summary
The project investigates the cellular cross talk within the gastric mucosa between tuft cells, a rare epithelial cell type, and tissue-resident group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2). The tuft cell/ILC2 axis is driven by the two cytokines interleukin (IL)-25 and IL-13 and is required for tissue homeostasis but turns pro-tumourigenic in the context of chronic inflammation. Our investigation will dissect the underlying mechanisms using a combination of mouse models, immunology and bioinformatics.
Social Media To Enhance Indigenous Tobacco Control
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$922,680.00
Summary
Smoking prevalence among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is more than twice as high as the overall Australian population, and smoking is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity of Indigenous Australians. Accelerating the decline in smoking prevalence is an urgent priority to Close The Gap in health outcomes. The aim of this project is to understand how social media can be harnessed to enhance the impact of proven tobacco control strategies among Indigenous Australians.
Identification Of Testis-specific Markers Of Male Infertility
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$617,008.00
Summary
Infertility affects 1 in 20 men, and carries major health and financial burdens. Patient management is difficult because there are no tests to monitor testicular function. While sperm number is normally used, their absence in the ejaculate provides no information whether sperm are present in the testis suitable for IVF, or if sperm production could be ‘kick-started’ with hormones. Our goal is to identify new markers of testis function in blood, and then use them to help treat infertile men.
Identification And Molecular Characterisation Of High-risk Premalignant Breast Lesions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,382.00
Summary
Understanding the full repertoire of genetic events that underlie the development of breast cancer may allow development of prevention strategies. This study will analyse genetic data of benign breast lesions that may be non-obligate precursors of breast cancer. Importantly, clinical management of these lesions is difficult. A reliable method of predicting the risk of progression to cancer would be a significant advance, with benefits to individual patients and also the health system.
High-throughput genetic assays are commonly used to study the molecular basis of disease and such technology requires sophisticated data analysis methods that account for significant biological and experimental complexity. Specialized methods will be developed in free public software that will greatly benefit future genetic profiling studies.
The Effects Of Different Alcohol Pricing Policies On Alcohol Consumption, Health, Social And Economic Outcomes, And Health Inequality In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$276,738.00
Summary
This project will examine the effects, effectiveness and cost-benefits of alcohol pricing policy initiatives in reducing risky drinking, health and social harms and health inequalities among priority populations in Australia. This project will provide key research evidence to cut through current policy debates and will point towards the most effective potential options for alcohol tax reform.
COMPARE- Constraint Induced Or Multi-Modal Aphasia Rehabilitation: An RCT Of Therapy For Stroke Related Chronic Aphasia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,035,668.00
Summary
COMPARE is a 3 arm national randomised controlled trial comparing two types of intensive speech pathology treatment to usual care, for people with language disability 6 months to 3 years following stroke. After stratification by aphasia severity, participants are randomised to Multi-modality Aphasia Therapy, Constraint Induced Aphasia Therapy, or usual care. Cognitive, language, and speech assessments at baseline will enable sophisticated predictors of treatment responsiveness to be defined.
Pathways To Avoidable And Unexplained Deaths In The Early Lifecourse
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,108,086.00
Summary
There continues to be unacceptable numbers of avoidable deaths in early life in Australia, particularity among disadvantaged groups. This project will use novel, large-scale population data to identify and quantify the impact of risks to early life mortality and preventable pathways. This new knowledge will inform new strategies to prevent stillbirth and child deaths for the benefit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other populations.
Our overall objective is to significantly improve the efficacy and efficiency of image-guided neurosurgery for brain tumours by including realistic computation of brain deformations, based on a biomechanical model, in a system to improve intra-operative visualisation, navigation and monitoring. The system will create an augmented reality visualisation of the intra-operative configuration of the patient’s brain merged with high resolution pre-operative imaging data.