Pesonalised Risk Prediction For Severe Treatment-related Gastrointestinal Toxicity In Paediatric Cancer Patients Using Pre-treatment Gut Microbiome Analysis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,768.00
Summary
The gut is home to trillions of good and bad bacteria, critical to human health. Each person has a different balance of bacteria, unique to their gut, which shapes their immune system and susceptibility to disease. I will investigate how the unique gut bacteria, in children with blood cancer, can be used to predict which children will develop severe gut side effects (diarrhoea) from their chemotherapy. This will identify high-risk children, enable personalised treatment and improve survival.
Negative Symptom Formation In Schizophrenia: An Electrophysiological, Neurophysiological And Computational Modelling Investigation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,508.00
Summary
The Negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia have been recognised as being just as disabling as the more widely recognised positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions. Recently it has been proposed that negative symptoms in schizophrenia might be caused by alterations in learning from rewards and punishments. This project will investigate brain activity in people with schizophrenia during reward and punishment based learning tasks while applying computational modelling.
Pubertal Timing, Brain Development And Mental Health In Adolescence
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$786,976.00
Summary
Early timing of puberty is known to be associated with future mental health problems. This study aims to investigate whether children who go through adrenarche (an earlier phase of maturation) early are at risk for poor mental health during adolescence, and whether abnormal brain development is responsible for linking early adrenarche and mental health outcomes. The results of this research will have implications for the early detection of children at risk for mental health problems.
Protecting The Gut: A Novel Therapeutic Avenue For Reducing The Damaging Consequences Of Obesity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$570,205.00
Summary
Most patients with obesity develop gut dysfunction. Symptoms including constipation and diarrhoea often present before other common comorbidities like diabetes and heart disease, suggesting that early pathology in obesity may begin in the gut. This research project aims to understand the mechanisms through which gut dysfunction develops in obese mice and human patients, and test a clinically approved compound that has demonstrated gut protective properties for the first time in obesity.
Mood Regulation Using Music: A Community Health Strategy For Improving Quality Of Life In People With Mild Dementia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$601,540.00
Summary
This research aims to improve quality of life in people with dementia via community-based strategies for managing depression using music. The impetus comes from my prior research which shows that depression affects both the way people use music and its impact on the listener, a factor not considered in previous studies. Findings will lay the ground for development of an online tool for promoting effective self-regulation of mood with music for use by patients and caregivers in multiple settings.
Characterization Of Novel, Colitis Associated Pathobionts To Identify Therapeutic Targets In The Host Immune Response
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$684,609.00
Summary
Applying cutting edge methods to grow bacteria from the human gut, we have identified three species, two previously unknown, that are found in many inflammatory diseases including Inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer and in cancer immunotherapy patients who experience colitis. By characterizing these bacteria and the immune response in human cells we are seeking to discover novel targetted methods to prevent colitis and gastrointestinal inflammation.
Gabapentin In The Treatment Of Idiopathic Chronic Cough: A Randomised Double-blind Placebo-controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$331,229.00
Summary
Better treatment approaches are needed to address the significant quality of life impairment associated with chronic cough. We propose to conduct a double-blind, placebo controlled study comparing the efficacy (and safety) of oral gabapentin therapy on cough reflex severity and cough-specific quality of life in people with idiopathic cough. The advantages are a strong design, use of objective assessment techniques, and investigation of a new treatment modality for cough.
The Role Of A Low Emulsifier Diet To Treat Crohn's Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$447,603.00
Summary
Currently, there are no specific diets known to treat Crohn’s disease (CD). Initial lab- and animal-based studies have indicated emulsifiers added to food drive inflammation in CD, but no human trials completed. This study will design and feed high and low emulsifier diets to healthy and CD subjects and measure markers of inflammation. This will establish the role of a low emulsifier diet to treat CD.