Susceptibility Of The Basal Layer Of Human Epidermis To UVA Oxidative Damage Due To Pheomelanin And Suboptimal DNA Repair
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$559,354.00
Summary
Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world. It is important to understand how sunlight causes skin cancer and the wavelengths involved in order to devise effective preventative and therapeutic strategies. Our proposal is that the cells in the skin that give rise to the most common forms of skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma, are particularly vulnerable to UVA. We aim to study why this is the case and whether this vulnerability can be prevented.
Brm And Brg-1 Protect From Ultraviolet Radiation-induced Skin And Ocular Damage
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$555,325.00
Summary
Ultraviolet radiation within sunlight is the most important environmental hazard to which Australians are exposed. It causes cancers of the skin and eye, in addition to other forms of skin and eye damage. However sunlight also has health benefits such as vitamin D production. To protect our health from the sun we need to understand how it causes damage and the meachanisms involved. We have discovered a new pathway that we plan to study, called Brm and Brg-1, that provides protection from UV.
Infectious And Lifestyle Determinants Of Non-melanoma Skin Cancer.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$983,711.00
Summary
Basal and squamous cell skin cancers are the leading cancers in Australia, with about 2% of the population developing them each year. As well as sun exposure, a number of other factors have been thought to effect these cancers. This study will examine if factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and infection with certain skin related human papillomaviruses also increase their risk. Even a small effect may make a big difference when it comes to preventing these common cancers.
Porous Mineral Formulations for Controlled-Release Applications. The controlled release of biologically active agents from host materials is a process that is used routinely in pharmaceuticals delivery but has received only limited attention in large-scale, low-cost areas such as the agrochemicals industry. Here we identify a number of rare tubular mineral phases as having great potential for low-cost controlled release. These little-studied minerals, for which high quality deposits exist in Aus ....Porous Mineral Formulations for Controlled-Release Applications. The controlled release of biologically active agents from host materials is a process that is used routinely in pharmaceuticals delivery but has received only limited attention in large-scale, low-cost areas such as the agrochemicals industry. Here we identify a number of rare tubular mineral phases as having great potential for low-cost controlled release. These little-studied minerals, for which high quality deposits exist in Australia, consist of hollow tubules of nanoscale dimension. This project involves the first ever studies of the kinetics of guest release from these fascinating hosts, and promises to generate important new technologies in agrochemical delivery.Read moreRead less
Development of environmentally-friendly bioinsecticides for control of Australian crop pests. Insect pests cause over $3 billion of damage each year to Australian crops. Current insecticides are becoming less effective, and they often have adverse environmental impacts. This project aims to develop a new generation of environmentally-friendly insecticides that can be used to control insect pests on farms and around the home and garden.
Defensive behaviours elicited by predator odours. Rats display a powerful anxiety responses when confronted with the odours of predators such as cats. This response may occur even though rats have never encountered an actual predator before. This project aims to investigate the nature of this anxiety and the nature of the stimuli that produce it. The outcomes should be a better understanding of the neural basis and pharmacology of anxiety states and the identification of novel chemicals that hav ....Defensive behaviours elicited by predator odours. Rats display a powerful anxiety responses when confronted with the odours of predators such as cats. This response may occur even though rats have never encountered an actual predator before. This project aims to investigate the nature of this anxiety and the nature of the stimuli that produce it. The outcomes should be a better understanding of the neural basis and pharmacology of anxiety states and the identification of novel chemicals that have powerful rodent repellent properties. Such chemicals may be of great use in domestic and agricultural contexts where rodents are pests.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0454050
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$312,205.00
Summary
Quarantine bioassay insectory. A climate-controlled, multi unit quarantine greenhouse to be located at the UWS Hawkesbury campus will support investigations into novel strategies for control of agricultural pests, particularly via bioassay. This world-class facility will enable researchers from Universities of Southern Cross, Sydney and Western Sydney to work with contained virulent/resistant strains of agricultural pests, and genetically modified organisms. It will enhance already existing coll ....Quarantine bioassay insectory. A climate-controlled, multi unit quarantine greenhouse to be located at the UWS Hawkesbury campus will support investigations into novel strategies for control of agricultural pests, particularly via bioassay. This world-class facility will enable researchers from Universities of Southern Cross, Sydney and Western Sydney to work with contained virulent/resistant strains of agricultural pests, and genetically modified organisms. It will enhance already existing collaboration between the institutions in the areas of: bioactives of biological origin, novel pesticide action, pesticide resistance management and new crop varieties, and will ensure better utilisation of existing excellent facilities within the consortium.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347262
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$150,000.00
Summary
Upgrading of Wind Tunnel Research Facility with Oxford Lasers VisiSizer. Bringing together expertise within five collaborating research Centres in two Universities, an Oxford Lasers VisiSizer will be used to study the atomisation of pesticide sprays and droplet behaviour in moving flow fields. This equipment, in conjunction with the construction of a new working section in a pesticide wind tunnel research facility, will enable the simultaneous measurement of particle size and droplet velocity. T ....Upgrading of Wind Tunnel Research Facility with Oxford Lasers VisiSizer. Bringing together expertise within five collaborating research Centres in two Universities, an Oxford Lasers VisiSizer will be used to study the atomisation of pesticide sprays and droplet behaviour in moving flow fields. This equipment, in conjunction with the construction of a new working section in a pesticide wind tunnel research facility, will enable the simultaneous measurement of particle size and droplet velocity. The VisiSizer will construct images of the atomisation process and enable the interaction of spray droplets and plant canopies to be studied. Data will support modelling of pesticide transport processes and accelerate leading Australian expertise in pesticide science.Read moreRead less
Defining domains within Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae surface proteins that interact with host extracellular matrix: efficacy testing of candidate vaccines in swine. Over 90% of Australian commercial pig production facilities are affected by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, the causative agent of swine enzootic pneumonia. This disease causes economic losses in Australia of over $20 million per annum and up to $1 billion per annum in major swine rearing countries worldwide. This project will determine the p ....Defining domains within Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae surface proteins that interact with host extracellular matrix: efficacy testing of candidate vaccines in swine. Over 90% of Australian commercial pig production facilities are affected by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, the causative agent of swine enzootic pneumonia. This disease causes economic losses in Australia of over $20 million per annum and up to $1 billion per annum in major swine rearing countries worldwide. This project will determine the protective efficacy of new generation vaccines against M. hyopneumoniae, which aim to block the colonisation process and prevent disease .Read moreRead less
Identification and characterisation of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae surface-molecules that interact with the host epithelium. Mycoplasma hyponeumoniae causes porcine enzootic pneumonia, a disease that significantly impacts swine production. Current vaccines are unable to prevent colonisation of the respiratory tract and are costly to produce and administer. The expression of microbial adhesins that mediate adherence to the extracellular matrix is considered the initial step in host colonisation for ....Identification and characterisation of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae surface-molecules that interact with the host epithelium. Mycoplasma hyponeumoniae causes porcine enzootic pneumonia, a disease that significantly impacts swine production. Current vaccines are unable to prevent colonisation of the respiratory tract and are costly to produce and administer. The expression of microbial adhesins that mediate adherence to the extracellular matrix is considered the initial step in host colonisation for many bacterial pathogens. We propose to identify M. hyopneumoniae cell surface moleculaes that interact with components of the extracellular matrix. Targetting these cell surface molecules will lead to therapeutics that prevent disease and block colonisation, eventually eradicating the host pathogen from pig production facilities.Read moreRead less