RELapses PrevENTion In Chronic Autoimmune Disease: Common Mechanisms And Co-morbidities (RELENT)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$499,837.00
Summary
Treatment of people with chronic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases is not optimal, as we do not know how intensively to treat people, and current treatments often have significant side effects. The RELENT program aims, using multiple approaches, to gain a deeper and more useful knowledge of why these diseases are occuring, what might indicate that disease requires more treatment, and which treatments will be most targeted and have the fewest side effects.
A vaccine to prevent AIDS is urgently needed. The European Union recently awarded over 20 million euros to a European consortium, called EAVI2020, to advance multiple HIV vaccines into human testing. Five Australian HIV vaccine experts are named investigators on this award to provide advanced laboratory analyses and intellectual input into the 5 year program if this NHMRC-EU Collaborative Research Grant is successful.
Boosting Effectiveness Of New Vaccines For Dengue ,HFMD And Influenza By Targeting Vaccine Antigens To Clec9A On Dendritic Cells.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$396,332.00
Summary
Australian and Singapore laboratories will collaborate to develop improved vaccines against virus diseases, particularly Dengue, Hand Foot and Mouth Disease and Influenza. A novel technology will be used, the targeting of vaccines to a receptor on the surface of the dendritic cells that control immune responses. This will be used to boost responses to a series of vaccine candidates that are otherwise insufficiently immunogenic.
Understanding The Host Pathogen Relationships Of Hendra Virus In Bats, Horses And Humans
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$648,339.00
Summary
We will examine why bats can be infected with Hendra Virus with no apparent symptoms, yet the virus causes severe disease in other mammals including humans. We will examine the innate immune response towards the virus in the natural host (fruit bats), horses and humans. In addition to the innate immune response we will also examine the adaptive immune response in bats and humans. We hope this information can be used to design new drugs or vaccines to Hendra Virus.
Targeting Neuroinflammatory Pathways As Novel Treatments For Dementia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,116.00
Summary
Australia has a rapid increase in its ageing population, and consequently an increase in detrimental age-related dementia and neurodegenerative diseases which are a major healthcare burden. Current treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s are inadequate and there is a desperate need for new treatments. I have unique access to molecules that target two novel mechanisms for neurodegenerative diseases. This fellowship will explore their therapeutic potential.
Il-18 helps to prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes, however the process by which this cytokine is activated to prevent obesity is not known. We have now found the pathway that drives to this process. This project will seek to extend our observations to show how this can be targeted therapeutically to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Understanding Pathogenicity And Immunity In An Encephalitic Mouse Model Of Hendra Virus Infection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$572,342.00
Summary
Our understanding of Hendra virus infection and immunity is extremely limited and has been hampered by a lack of appropriate animal models of disease and reagents. This Project will employ a newly-established mouse model to study encephalitis, the most life-threatening manifestation of this infection. We will use unique, state-of-the-art infrastructure and a plethora of mouse-specific reagents to investigate the mechanisms involved in regulating the host response to infection.
Kidney Mesenchymal Stem Cells In Tubular Development, Repair And Turnover
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$989,141.00
Summary
In Australia, 11.3% of deaths are associated with chronic kidney disease with >$1 billion per annum spent on treating this condition. At present, only dialysis and transplantation are available to treat end stage kidney disease. We have found a kidney stem cell population in both human and mouse that can form new epithelial structures. In this project, we will investigate the normal role played by these kidney stem cells and examine whether they can contribute to kidney regeneration.
Dementias affect a large number of Australians each year with the number of patients expected to triple by 2050. As such, there is need to develop a better model of this debilitating disorder to provide improved treatments. Mesenchymal stem cells, are relatively easy to obtain and grow, and are able to produce the key cell types in the brain. We can use these cells to identify the processes that control the production of brain cells, which will likely provide better treatment of this disease.
How Do Mutations In Autophagy Receptors Cause FTD And ALS?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$566,966.00
Summary
As cells age the "garbage disposal" process within cells slows down, becoming less functional. In inherited forms of dementia the genes involved often code for damaged proteins that "clog up" the disposal system or directly affect the “garbage men”. These defective garbage men genes include SQSTM1/p62, OPTN, VCP and UBQLN2. We will determine how these defective genes lead to build up of garbage in neuronal cells and how leads to disease.